She's Back! CARRIE - First preview !!! - Page 21

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 9:12pm

You guys are almost certainly correct. I am just writing under consideration of the public comments Arima has made about the direction he wants the show to go in.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 9:42pm

I just got home from seeing the show. The good-Molly Ranson is the reason to see it. If it weren't for her, I would have been bored.

Perhaps I'm biased by the movie but I thought Marin Mazzie sung beautifully but for me she wasn't enough of a lunatic. She was too subdued for me.

The show in general was a bit of fluff. Some beautiful music though. I hadn't seen the original stage version so I don't know which are the new songs but I can guess. The old ones are beautiful and sung beautifully.

I thought the choreography was a little embarrassing and no one in the ensemble stood out for me.

But I can't say enough about Molly Ranson. From the first note out of her mouth I was mesmerized. She more than nailed Carrie.

Edited to add about the lack of BLOOD. I'm sorry but I needed it! I didn't think it would matter but it did. That scene lacked the magnificent violence that the film had. If you can't possibly have blood, do SOMETHING to knock me out!

Updated On: 2/5/12 at 09:42 PM

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 9:48pm

Has there been a single person to comment after the show who has not felt that the direction Margaret has been taken into is entirely misguided?

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 9:58pm

This is such a shame. I know how talented Marin is. She could play this any number of ways successfully. I admire her for collaborating with the director and writers and their collective vision for the character.

But for CHRIST sake (lights a little candle in Carrie's closet), cut her loose and let her shine! She could wipe up the floor with this role if they'd only let her.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:02pm

The thought of her taking notes from the director of Altar Boyz is preposterous in and of itself.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:09pm

I agree. The one thing everyone has agreed upon is that Marin needs to stop holding back. I hope the creators take this note and let her bring the venom. From the way it sounds, Carrie's home life is not really all the bad, minus a few slaps here and there (if even that). They need to make her as scared to go home as she is to go to school, if not more so.

C'mon, people! Let's make this work a little better this time. Cut "The World According To Chris" which I never liked ever since the 2009 workshop and tighten it up a bit. I'd also like a way for them to actually use blood, but that's a small concern at this point. I'll use my imagination as long as the rest of the show has been strong.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:11pm

I don't blame Marin for trying it. It's an "interesting" (at best) idea for how to approach the role of Margaret, and Marin is a good sport and a professional. But now that this director has seen it isn't working, he needs to change course quickly. Not "finesse" or get all "stone-faced" when he hears remarks in feedback sessions about how her character is a wet noodle and his vision isn't working. He needs to go a whole new direction.

From the comments I've read here, he seems to have a Julie Taymore-esque ego and indignant attitude about it.

How about this, pal? YOU WERE WRONG! Try something else now or go away. You have time still. Fix it.

Updated On: 2/5/12 at 10:11 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:21pm

he seems to have a Julie Taymore-esque ego and indignant attitude about it.

Except Taymor has much better credentials than he does.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:26pm

It will be interesting to see what feedback, if any, the creatives actually listen to-- I have a hunch not much-- though I know several patrons have mentioned some of these comments to them after performances and I know some of the creatives are also aware of this very thread.

But hopefully I'm wrong- there has been a lot of good constructive criticism and I think a lot of people giving it are rooting for their success.





Updated On: 2/5/12 at 10:26 PM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:33pm

I think there is a reason that they have such a long preview period and thats to allow for changes. From what everyone is saying he needs to free Mazzie up and let her run wild, hopefully he will if that adds to the show. From the audio the only song that needs cutting is The World According to Chris which is awful. Don't Waste The Moon (a rewritten version) would work much better.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:43pm

I agree about "The World According to Chris" though I think you could make an argument for the cutting, or at least trimming of a few others.

Honestly, I don't think any of the new songs are better than what they replace. The script for this production is much more cohearant but there are some
Musical moments from the original that are a lot more complex and interesting musically- namely "Do Me a Favor" (including the portion in which Carrie is asked to the prom) and the entire "Heaven"quartet at the prom, which was a lot closer to their original idea of Carrie as a kind of contemporary opera than the kind of banal simple song that replaced it.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:44pm

What was wrong with Altar Boyz? It was a great show and ran 4 years.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:56pm

MB i LOVED Do Me A Favour in the original but the asking Carrie to the prom bit at the end of that song was AWFUL, it was quick, had no build up, she had no reason to say yes.....and the staging was so funny.

I think A Night We'll Never Forget is far better than Out For Blood and You Shine is far better than the dull songs Sue had in Stratford and Broadway. I also really like Why Not Me.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 10:58pm

Jane i loved Alter Boyz, it was so much fun. People also seem to forget he directed the Olivier Nominated West End Production of Ragtime that was superb.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 11:00pm

Altar Boyz was Naked Boys Singing with clothes on.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 11:06pm

Naked Boys Singing wishes it had even one song that could compare with any of them in Altar Boyz

# Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music (Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker, nominees)
# Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics (Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker, nominees)

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 11:10pm

Oh I loved the original ending of Do Me a Favor with the overlapping voices of Sue and Chris asking (demeaning) the phrase while Tommy was asking Carrie to the prom- for me the moment is tense and illustrates that even Tommy's asking of Carrie to the prom is the result of peer pressure. To me it doesn't need to be the long scene that it is now and I liked the tension going straight into the scene with Margaret.

I think what I miss about some of the cut songs is that the replacements are for the most part a lot more sentimental.

Even "Wotta Night" ( wotta dumb title) in the original felt a little sinister and sexual. Since most of us acknowledge that Carrie is never going to be Adam Guttel, I would kind of preferred to have seen them do more rewriting to some of the old material- I like for example how they reinvented "In" which was one of the more stupid songs the first time- but the work they did on that does work.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 11:28pm

As a huge fan of Carrie i have to say Wott Night was dreadful (those lyrics), it didnt sound sinister, it sounded dated. And i cant agree on Do Me a Favour (the ending). The way he asked was so silly (also made no sense), that moment he needs to put her ease to get her to say yes, in the 88 one he just kept shouting DO IT FOR ME!!!!, Carrie should have slapped him and told him to p**s off lol

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 11:45pm

The original "In"also sounded dated and had dreadful lyrics- my point being that the rewrite in this version shows that some of that old material can be successfully reconceived

We will have to agree to disagree on the ending of "Do me a favor"which for me was more abstract but alsomore interesting - integrating the prom asking into the fabric of the song is an interesting concept and I think could have been made to work in this production with some tweaking.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 12:12am

"Unfortunately, the problem remains the material itslf. Just as it was the first time around, it's tawdry, preposterous, grotesque, and trashy. It's just less screechingly outrageous about it."

I totally agree with AFTER 8'S assessment of Carrie, the musical.

Sweeney Todd is stylized melodrama about a maligned man falsely thrown in prison and plotting his clever revenge many years later; nothing tawdry about that. We can all relate to revenge especially when it's deserved. Look at the success of the tv show Dexter.

Little Shop of Horrors is a spoofy camp piece so while it is tawdry, it is deliciously and delightfully tawdry. That is part of the fun and humor.The same would go for Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This Carrie takes itself way to seriously so its not camp its just melodrama of the grotesque and tawdry kind.

The crux of Carrie is a period in the locker room. It doesn't get any tackier than a period. The malicious kids bullying Carrie are one dimensional cruel and ridiculous. The mother is just unbelievable and odd. I'm not saying there aren't religious fanatics out there but a religious fanatic mother who would kill her kid with a knife? Preposterous. This woman would have Thou Shall Not Kill as one of her most important mantras.

This just does not work as a musical.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 3:58am

I'm not saying there aren't religious fanatics out there but a religious fanatic mother who would kill her kid with a knife? Preposterous. This woman would have Thou Shall Not Kill as one of her most important mantras.


Here's a CNN story from last year about a Fundamentalist Christian couple in Paradise, California, who beat their adopted daughter to death as a disciplinary action.
They did it in the name of God.

Updated On: 2/6/12 at 03:58 AM

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 4:09am

I'm not saying there aren't religious fanatics out there but a religious fanatic mother who would kill her kid with a knife? Preposterous. This woman would have Thou Shall Not Kill as one of her most important mantras.


That is the dumbest comment ever. Ever heard of Andrea Yates...the religious mother who drowned her kids in the bathtub?

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 4:19am

Religious fanatics will do anything in the name of God.

They will rape, murder, torture, abuse, start wars, convince others to kill themselves, even knock over two tall towers in New York.

All because they love God so much. In fact, that's how they prove their love.

Updated On: 2/6/12 at 04:19 AM

[My Oh My]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 6:26am

I love the travesty that is Carrie.

I don't agree with the assertions of Carrie being inappropriate musical theatre material. How is that? I don't think anything is inherently inappropriate for musical treatment. It might not always work but that would be because one or more of the many components needed to write, stage, and perform a musical hit a snag along the way. Most musicals hit a snag or two minor ones that are easy to overlook.

Carrie trapped itself in a web of them. I like it because there is still a sense of honesty in its effective score. Its foundation was strong and later tainted by a serious lack of integration. The result? Every creative team member putting on their own show and none of them agreed with the other.

And the lyrics. Oh lawd have mercy. Those lyrics.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 6:38am

I agree. I think Carrie is terrific source material for a musical.

Just maybe not this one.