Revisiting Carrie

I'm not going to say that I'm the sort of person who read the book about Broadway flops, Not Since Carrie, and wished I could go back in time to take in the infamously dreadful musical version of Stephen King's Carrie. Or has watched every YouTube clip of the show that seems to be available and became moderately obsessed with the song "Eve Was Weak." Or spent the past three years religiously following updates about the attempt to revive the show and immediately bought tickets to a discussion of the show with the original creators as soon as they went on sale. But there I was on Monday night at the Lortel on Christopher watching them discuss the show, their decision to open anew, and the revisions that went into making it new.

From what I can gather, Carrie was the Spider-Man of its time only without the rewrites and apparent success (seriously--how is that show selling out?). It was the most expensive show ever to hit Broadway, arriving on Broadway after a stint in the UK under the auspices of the Royal Shakespeare Company--no, I don't understand it either. The story was convoluted, the staging bizarre, and the word of mouth deafening. Hell, maybe if it opened today, the crazy internet buzz could have kept it going.

The creators of the show took the stage of the Lortel appearing rather defensive. They laid the blame for the initial debacle squarely at the feet of original director Terry Hands. And yes, I've seen some photos and video so can attest to the fact that the direction was a hot mess. That said, if they needed to cut ten songs and add fourteen while also rewriting the book...maybe the show wasn't in exceptional shape to start with. There was a q & a, and I desperately wanted to ask whether they were undertaking the show again to see the show as they initially envisioned it or whether this was a late-game attempt at vindication. And whether they were scared of the potential critical response. But I thought that would make me a douchebag, so I kept my hand down. Regardless, they pretty much dodged even the softball questions they got (did the success of Glee inspire you to bring back this teen musical?), so it probably wouldn't have mattered.

Five songs from the show were performed--three in pretty much their original shape, one each from Carrie and her mother, and one duet between them. Molly Ranson is playing Carrie, and I don't want to judge a performance based on a blip of stage time before rehearsals even begin, but she seemed a bit to sweet and...normal. This is a show about a girl whose mother is a crazy zealot, is ostracized by everyone, and is telekinetic. She's got to be a little odd for that to work. It wasn't on stage on Monday, but she has plenty of time to work on it. More concerning was her voice which sounded like she was straining for the notes and to get enough power behind them. It made me curious how she'll hold up to a whole show, let alone eight shows a week. As her mother, Margaret, Marin Mazzie also didn't seem to have a full performance locked in, but she sang with breathtaking beauty and enough hard edges and creepy confidence that I will be very, very excited to see what she has in store once they really go to work.

The new song, for the good girl who feels bad for Carrie and the boyfriend she convinces to take her to the prom, was a treacly teen love duet called "You Shine." It was cushioned by some book work that felt really inauthentic and made me seriously question the decision to update the show from the late 70s to "now." I understand that they consider the themes of the piece timeless, but I'm less confident they have an ear for a current teen voice. Lastly (though the first song performed), the number "In" felt similarly plagued by awkward phrasing and seemed a bit discordant, though sound issues may have been to blame.

Will I go see Carrie when it opens in January? Yeah, of course I will. But "Revisiting Carrie" didn't exactly send me out feeling confident that it would be a brilliant show rescued from the ashes OR that it would be a hot mess worth seeing for camp value alone. If anything, the evening made me feel a little less excited about the show's resurfacing. There are months to go before this hits the rehearsal studio, let alone the stage. The only way to know how it's going to play is to wait and go. See you this winter, Carrie White.

I know what you're thinking right now: "I wonder how they staged the prom slaughter with all the telekinesis and stuff in the 80s. Hint: lasers, smoke, and...well, no, that was really it.