She's Back! CARRIE - First preview !!! - Page 23

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 5:54pm

Why, hello, Lurkers, pro and con!

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 6:00pm

The original production's commercial remains haunting to this day.
CARRIE TV Commercial

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 8:32pm

Besides the lurkers, I'd like to welcome the streakers.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 8:36pm

Maybe Carrie could walk into the prom, everyone laughs, and then Sue joins her and they do a dance number together and Sue makes Carrie popular.

Then you dont need blood.

[philly03]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 9:32pm

I haven't seen the revised version yet (next week), but it always amazes me how different people take different things. I liked the old "In," and the choreography may have been over the top but I like the opening in the gym with the girls. Relistening to the soundboard makes me realize how bad the lyrics are as compared to even the music.

Also I thought the commercial was bad, it makes no sense it makes me even more confused about why Carrie is a musical. I'll remain optimistic for the new version, but it is kind of a ridiculous property to musicalize.


Updated On: 2/6/12 at 09:32 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 9:38pm

"Since this production takes place in the present, those outfits are appropriate (unfortunately, lol)."

Then heaven help us, then. Thank you, Jane, for elucidating this.

I think the creaive staff needs to work on the girls' reactions to Carrie's dress. It's not clear when they start oohing and aahing over it, if it's genuine admiration or a put-on to toy yet further with Carrie.


The latter would make more sense in this context, but the staging seems to indicate the former. And If they are just putting her on, they should have some sort of private grimaces among themselves to indicate that. But if they actually admire it, as seems to be the case, then why wouldn't they themselves have chosen a traditional prom dress instead of the monstrosities they're wearing?

And then there's Sue's blue dress, much spoken of, but never seen. I wonder.... traditional or Halloween style? Too bad we'll never know. (Just like we'll never know about Sally's green dress in Follies) It's left unworn.... what a waste of money! And why couldn't she go with another guy to the prom, so that she could attend the proper way? Would her parents let her give up this iconic moment in one's lifetime?

So much makes so little sense in Carrie.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 9:45pm

Again in the audio the girls are heard been really nice to her, but then a few mins later you hear Norma and a few others insulting her behind her back.

And why would Sue wear her prom dress to a prom she is not 'attending'?

[Famebroadway2]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 9:55pm

I def heard "don't waste the moon" during "The world according to Chris" and I loved every second of it!!! I wish they would put more back in!

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 10:05pm

"And why would Sue wear her prom dress to a prom she is not 'attending'?"

Exactly. First, she should have abandoned her idiotic scheme and have gone with her boyfriend in the first place. But if she insisted on carrying it out, then she should have gone to it with another guy. Her boyfriend did with another girl, didn't he?

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 10:18pm

erm why would she go with another guy?
She asked Tommy to take Carrie, it's not like he ran off with someone else. Maybe she did not want to be at the prom without him.

Carrie has many plot holes (book,movies and musical) this is not one of them.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 10:21pm

I don't think it's an outrageous story conceit that Sue wouldn't go to the dance with another guy- though there is also not the need to build up the story between Tommy and Sue the way this new version of the musical does-- the original story is kind of straight forward and simple- in this version you might ask more of the questions After Eight poses because they've spent so much time making the prom seem like a big deal for Sue and Tommy.

I do think a lot of that new stuff for the two of them is superfluous. Nobody is going to come out of Carrie caring deeply about Sue and Tommy and if they do it's probably at the expense of the main characters.

One thing this production totally glosses over which I'm surprised at given how much they've built up his role, is Tommy's death-- in the book and film he is actually knocked out by one of the buckets used to rig the blood. In this production I'm not even sure what happens to him- it's kind of a staging mess.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 11:34pm

I agree that Tommy's death should be more clear...he seemed to disappear or blend back into the ensemble as soon as the blood 'dropped.' Maybe it would be hard to show his death as portrayed in the book and film (how do you safely hit an actor with a falling bucket eight times a week?), but that only opens up more possibilities...after all, wouldn't Carrie save her worst vengeance for HIM in that moment?

Updated On: 2/6/12 at 11:34 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 6:15am

In the book, Tommy doesn't die from the bucket hitting him on the head. He's just knocked out cold. He dies from electrocution when the water hits the stage covered with mic cords and amplifiers. That's what kills him. Maybe they could show him being electrocuted (safely, 8 shows a week?) instead.

EDIT; Another major change is that in the book, she destroys the entire town, not just the high school. They couldn't afford to do that in the film, so they just had her burn down the school, flip Chris and Billy's car, and go home.

If the musical is being "symbolic" in its approach to her destruction, why not go back to her burning down the whole town? They're not lighting any matches here anyway, so what difference does it make? You might as well say that's what she does.

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 06:15 AM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 8:10am

OK, What?

It's pretty obvious that Sue and Tommy talk about the prom a lot to establish what they are giving up to help her (the Prom with the one you love is a big deal to kids). On top of that Tommy acts out their version of the prom so they have their little moment. Sue is not going to go to Prom because how is Carrie going to feel if Sue is looking over and keeping an eye on them all the time. And she would simply rather not go with anyone other that Tommy.

As for the way Tommy dies, i agree his death should be seen, it's important to see that since in reality Tommy did nothing wrong. The 88 production did not show him die either (just Billy and Chris).

[Dave]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 8:14am

I have enjoyed hearing both the positive and negative comments on this board. I just wanted to post a few more comments. On Friday night during intermission I actually got to meet Lawrence Cohen and compliment him on his book. When I told him I enjoyed having Tommy's Poem from the 1984 workshop restored he said, "Oh, you really do know it." Mr. Cohen was very nice to me and I also got to chat with Dean Pitchford after the show...what a special night for a true CARRIE fanatic!

Christy Altomare deserves a special mention...I was so very impressed by this young, pretty actress and think she is the perfect Sue. Molly Ranson totally deserves all the praise she's been getting but I'm surprised almost no one has talked about the nice job Christy does. Who is your all-time favorite Sue? Amy Irving was great but I think Christy could be better--she looks younger and can sing!

Also, I was wondering if people could give an example of a new lyric that they really liked or didn't like. I was disappointed that they dropped the lyric from "In" where the boys sing, "...I hope that no one thinks that I'm-- gay!"

But I think my favorite new lyric was at the prom in the reprise of Unsuspecting Hearts when Carrie sings to Miss Gardner, "Well, I guess I'm not the only one who ever felt this way/Now, I'm thinking suddenly/You got through it, why not me?"

Please share your thoughts....

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 8:17am

I agree that Tommy and Sue don't need to be overly developed here. This isn't their story, and the general plot gains nothing by the additional insight into who they are.

They set the story's major event into motion by deciding to invite Carrie to the prom. We need to know enough about their personal motivations in doing that, absolutely, but not more. There's no payoff to it, so why waste the time?

EDIT: When I hear things like "Why does Carrie go from not knowing what a period is to putting on all this makeup and fixing her hair?" I see there are areas in need of development far more important than a secondary love story like Tommy and Sue.

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 08:17 AM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 9:09am

I love Amy Irving's performance in the film and the way the character is treated. In the film you can see Sue is a born 'follower' and while it at first appears that she is taking a stand, one of the brilliant things DePalma does in the movie is that he keeps the audience guessing right up until the moment before the bucket drops whether Sue is helping Carrie of the goodness of her own heart or if she has actually been in on Chris's prank the entire time.

Sue is arguably the biggest role in the revised version and I think Christy Altomare does a nice job, though I think the character is less interesting without some of the ambiguity I mention above.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 9:17am

I agree about the ambiguity, MB.

Not only that, but teenagers don't always know or understand why they do what they do, good or bad.

Sue's impulse is to do this. She may not be able to voice exactly why. I find that realistic and refreshing for a high school senior.

Just like all the girls who shouted "plug it up!" and threw tampons at Carrie. They didn't all know exactly why they did it. It was a terrible thing to do, and they were bullies, and in this story, they pay for it with their lives.

But we don't need to "dig deep" on stage to understand why.

I'll give the classic answer to all of the above, good and bad: "Because they felt like it."

EDIT: And I will even add that this is the very reason ("because they felt like it") that Stephen King hurls back at us saying it can ultimately create monsters.

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 09:17 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 9:31am

Christy A. didn't stand out for me as Sue because she's a nice looking girl, nothing very characteristic about her looks, and for me, her performance was the same.

I can't help comparing the show to the film, and Amy Irving had a streak of malevolence in her pretty face and also in her performance. I thought she was completely right for the part, while Christy could easily be replaced, I thought.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 9:37am

Do you know one line from the book and film I actually always wish was in the musical? Its in the first scene between Margaret and Carrie when she says "Oh Lord help this woman to know the sin of her ways. Show her that if she'd remained sinless the sin of blood would never have been cursed on her."

To me without that line, you don't quite a) get why Margaret reacts the way she does to the news of Carrie's period and b) get what a lunatic she really is.

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:04am

I'm going to be at the show tonight! I am so excited to see this. There is also a post show talk back tonight, which should be interesting.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:19am

You should ask what Piper Laurie thought of the musical....

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:41am

"I do think a lot of that new stuff for the two of them is superfluous. Nobody is going to come out of Carrie caring deeply about Sue and Tommy and if they do it's probably at the expense of the main characters. "

MB makes a good point here, as he always does.

Fact is, due to their assorted idiocies, I found myself more intrigued, bemused, and amused by the teens than by Carrie and her deranged mother.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:42am

I just watched all the documentaries on the DVD again, and I found Piper's comments about her choices to be fascinating.

When she stabs Carrie, she chose to think of this as the most wonderful gift she could ever give her daughter.

When Carrie is killing Margaret, she also chose to think of it as terrific. She was enjoying it, because now she would be with God. She was going to her Heavenly Father, and Carrie was giving her that as well. So each time she's impaled and feels pain, it's the most wonderful feeling she could imagine.

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 10:42 AM

[supportivemom]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:54am

Ok- so my daughter and I were in New York this weekend for college auditions. We saw the show Sunday night with Jane2 and Elphaba and his partner. My daughter has never seen the movie and sort of knew what the story was about. Anyway, we really enjoyed the show. The ensemble sounded great together. When Molly sang her first note I turned to my daughter and said day-um. Her voice is amazing. I also love Marin Mazzie and I thought she was great. When she sang "When There's No One" she was just so emotional - loved it. We also like the gym teacher but not a real fan of the male teacher. Oh- and the girl who plays Norma has a crystal clear voice- so pretty. My daughter said that girls wear those kinds of dresses at the prom even though she doesn't like them. To be honest, we were paying more attention to the performances and not so much as to what makes sense. We did think the prom scene was a little too dramatic with the lights and the sounds- that was a little campy to us. Overall though- we had a very enjoyable evening. Even though it was freezing outside, we stage doored. All of the actors couldn't have been nicer or more appreciative. They talked to my daughter a lot about her college auditions. Molly and Mazzie were so gracious when we were taking pictures with them. We also met a man who was sitting in front of us in the audience who is in the pit at Anything Goes. My daughter asked him about Sutton Foster and he said she is a real sweetheart. My daughter told him how much she admired her and especially after hearing how nice she is. He told her he would pass this on to her. We also saw the dress rehearsal for SNL the night before and went backstage. My daughter noticed the actors who were thanking their dressers. That's very important to her. So- as you can imagine- we had a great time in New York and a great time with some of my BWW friends!