Marin Mazzie Is Still In Carrie? Sad Day... — Page 4

"The cult status or the name alone can get people into a theatre"

For a few weeks.

---

Songanddance - I think that assumption is if this production were hypotehtically to move to Broadway or the West End. But I think its safe to say that probably about 90 percent of the people who will be going to the limited run Off-Broadway production at the tiny MCC will be doing so because of the cult history of the show.

Namo so because the few friends you have told that Carrie was a musical seemed unexcited then the show will not got anyone excited?

I also saw the original production (Swan Theatre, RSC 8 and people i told i saw Carrie the Musical who knew nothing about it were fascinated by the idea of a show based around Carrie. It's a show thats going to divide people.

A huge thing Carrie has going for it is Stephen Kings name and its based on his book/movie. After all these are times when theatre goers are more inclined to watch a show based on a book/movie etc than something brand new.

I think people on here are far to quick to jump on this show. The simple fact remains that even after it was a huge flop people still talk about it, long to hear it, track down anything to do with it because the idea at first seems so crazy that you just have to know more.

Some people will see the ads for the shows and go 'that sound awful' and some people will go 'that sounds great', as they do with EVERY SHOW opens.

Carrie is no different.

---

I also dont think there can ever be a perfect production of Carrie unless a whole new team wrote all new songs and book etc, but i think with the ideas Stafford and co have i think they can create something quite wonderful.

People will always think some shows are bad ideas because of the sounds of the story, source material etc. I mean a show about a womans mental health breakdown could never run, and a throat slitting barbour is a horrid idea, however people (audience members) can suprise you with what they choose to accept.

---

As interesting as the concept is if you listen to the London cast it was a bad show from top to bottom...the beautiful songs sung between Carrie and her Mother were just ok until Betty Buckley sang them and made them scary and over the top with her steely vibrato that raises the roof. Barbara Cook sang them like she always does and they were just pretty nothing spectaclar.
I heard the new tapes of Marin and although I think she is an amazing singer I think the only reason this is even talked about today is because Betty and Lindsay were unreal, the voices shattered the weak material with an amazing strength that really cannot be captured again.
Record the originals with a full orchestra and let the legend live on in a great recording with Betty .. this is the only reason to hear it again...I love Marin but the only reason it worked at all was Bettys thrilling one of a kind vocals that made it the legend it is....RECORD BETTY ...

Updated On: 11/11/10 at 12:03 PM

This was kind of an interesting discussion for a while.

Is CARRIE the musical striving to be horror or what Larry Fessenden called "American magic realism" when he was referring to horror?

Some thoughts:

The problem of familiarity is a, well...problem. Remember: Hal Prince's production of SWEENEY TODD wasn't well received in London, largely because Brit critics and audiences were already much more familiar with the story than Americans were and they felt Prince/Sondheim's musical approach was overblown.

That straight-play production of THE EXORCIST is apparently in the works. Sigh.

Ultimately, this production faces bigger problems than marketability and seventies lingo. Namely, the fact that Pitchford and Gore's score is not sophisticated enough for such a challenging project with its opera-supertitle lyrics...they just simply bit off more than they can chew and, no, it's not all Terry Hands' fault. That, and the fact that the climax--a knockout in the movie and book--is nigh unstageable.

That said, like everyone, I can't wait to see it. Yeah, it's probably been transformed from the 1988 "You're all going to laugh at it!" to the plain ol' 2011 "Well, that didn't work." But still...

---

I just find it nuts after all this long and all these people basically begging GORE to have Buckley record it he has not.
It seems crazy...the market is there ....it would be a major coup for him to get it out there. She could still with the help of ..a recording studio... get the notes out there...remember 10x trying 1x actually hitting it in a studio is all is needed

"Do you think I've only told "a few" friends about Carrie?"

A few, a few hundred, in the grand scheme of things it does not really matter

"List, songanddanceman, you just hold on to your dream, I hope everybody finally gets that Carrie revival

My dream?, I’m just speaking my opinion about a show and an industry i work in, you make it sound like I’m a 12 year old fan girl who you can speak down too.

"I know there's no possible way it can meet anybody's expectations, no matter how low they are"

How do you know it cannot meet ANYBODY'S expectations? are you working on the show?

"I don't know WHY you necessarily think that King's name, even tangentially attached to the show, will in and of itself be such a draw."

Oh come on, really?, of course his name is a draw. He has the most diverse fan base in the world from teens to the elderly who enjoy his books/movies/tv epics etc. Carrie is a brand name as is King.

"I think you're the kind of person the producers are foolish to listen to if they ever consider an open ended run."

Again, when having a debate with you you have to get nasty. I own a successful production company which produces theatre so I’m just talking from that perspective as well as my partners who works in Advertising and Marketing for theatre.
Im not saying the show will be a smash hit, I’ve not said anything of the sort, I’m just not so quick to write a show off before its even taken to the stage.
All im saying is Carrie has a much of a shot as any new musical.

---

Can we put the claws away and just start suggesting who we think could play Margaret...here are a few suggestions to start it off:

Alice Ripley, if Marin can take over for her on Broadway then Alice can definitely do the reverse, her belt is really awesome.
Julia Murney, crazy belt that would wipe the floor with those songs.
Nancy Opel, she has a nice mix that could sound great and i think she can do both campy and serious at the same time.

JUDY KUHN!!!!!

---

A calm, easy-going, and non-controlling choreographer who can do the show justice but still leave the directing to the director, unlike others who know who they are!

The book has already been reworked and made perfect sense. Originally the 87 draft of the show had a very strong book, more and more if it vanished as the production went on. It would appear they are going back to the original book which was very heavily based on the movie script, and im pretty sure that made sense.

The score has some clunkers as do most shows. It's biggest problems were always Out For Blood (Gone), Wotta Night (Gone), Dream on (Gone), Hurts to be Strong (Gone).
Apart from the lyrics i think 'IN' worked fine as did 'Do Me a Favour'. The replacment songs are a mixed bag. 'The World According to Chris' makes ther point it needs too but is rather forgettable. However i think 'A Night We'll Never Forget' works quite well. It has a great teen feel and energy which is after all what its supposed to capture.
The Mother/Daughter songs are superb.

Unstageable finale - be real. They can fly people around the air, set stages on fire etc, the finale is far from unstageable. The main way the original went wrong was going for almost abstract. A simple wall of fire behind her and accross the front of the stage and some clever lighting would be fine.

The show has a 'Bad Reputation' as you say amongst the die hard musical fans who know about it, and even then i would not say that reputaion is a bad thing since it's kept it alive for so wrong.

I do find your points intresting though Namo, it's nice to hear and see both sides because essentially thats whay will happen when it opens so it all needs to be said.

---