CARRIE THE MUSICAL to premiere in Los Angeles- Page 4

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 3:27pm

Tony and Tina's Fatal Prom

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 3:31pm

Ha ha ha ha ha!

[nealb1]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 6:06pm

I've got tickets for Sunday, March 15th. Really looking forward to seeing the show.

[Almira]

Posted: 3/10/15 at 1:09pm

Going on the 15th as well. Looking forward. A little birdie told me there will be "flying " in this production.

Updated On: 3/10/15 at 01:09 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 3/10/15 at 11:29pm

My friend and I are seeing the matinee on Sunday. Are you seeing the matinee or the evening show?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/11/15 at 6:32am

Please report. Now that I've read about the flying, I picture Carrie frowning (talk about "indicating"), and some poor actor in a tux being hoist on high only to be slammed into a wall. And then left there. Singing. Okay. In the MCC revival, the only camp was that peculiar choreography for the writhing near-dead, which looked like some particularly bad panto of the Passion Play.

[Almira]

Posted: 3/11/15 at 2:15pm

nealb1, I'll be at the 7pm show.

[whatacharacter]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 12:52pm

Anyone on the board see this yet?

[nealb1]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 3:18pm

Sorry we will miss one another, Almira. Next time!

[Alessio2]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 4:56pm

I'm going on Friday the 26th. I really hope this is good!

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 3:32pm

One of my friends saw it last night and liked it.

I asked her, "Did any of you become part of the show"

and she responded,

"Not really. It wasn't quite like they described in the letter they sent. The seats on the floor section were moveable so they just moved us around. I liked it....the prom scene was really good! Looking forward to seeing it again"

Hopefully we'll get more info from nealb and Almira when they see it tomorrow.

[istoleatv]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 6:20pm

I saw the show last night on Friday the 13th, it's 1st public preview. I hesitate saying much about my critiques of the show because I really admire La Mirada for doing this musical in their space. Most of their audience base is subscribers, and I'd say it's safe to say most are over 60 years old. It was worth the price of admission just to watch the subscribers reaction to the show!

Here goes -
When you first get to the theatre, you get a wrist band, based on your seat section and ticket price. We were "red" which means we got to sit in the moving bleachers. There are 4 sets of moving bleachers - 2 stage right and 2 stage left. Our set of bleachers didn't move, and I wondered if it was because the weight wasn't evenly distributed or if it was because the casters didn't work. Regardless, it was fun to be moved around when it did work and it added a great element to the show. My only complaint of the seating is that we couldn't see any action that took place above the stage on the platform. If we would have purchased a green or yellow ticket we would have seen everything. If you sit in the handicap section (purple I think) then you are out of luck. Some of the staging was awkward in those scenes, when Sue would be talking to Tommie - who was down below on the main stage. The production takes place on La Mirada's stage. They've curtained off the audience seats and made it very intimate. There's a huge reveal for Act 2 and the prom scene, which was breathtaking.

Over all the technical aspect of the show was fantastic. It IS a theatrical experience unlike any I've seen in Los Angeles. Granted it wasn't as cool as Here Lies Love, but again it's La Mirada - a suburb of LA. Kudos to the volunteer ushers who were on top of their game seating everyone and making sure they didn't slip on the stage blood while exiting the theatre! There is a lot of cool magic type effects and Jesus does fly above the stage - along with others during the prom scene. It is after all Cathy Rigby's theatre, so of course she's gonna have flying ; ) I was impressed with how seamless the magic and tech stuff went for a preview. They obviously rehearsed hours and hours on this stuff.

Here are some issues I had -
I had some issues with a few props - the Bible that Margret White uses looked like it was just bought at a Walmart down the street. It didn't look worn or used at all. I know crazy christians love to write in their bible with a highlighter and post its - but hers looked brand new. Also her knife was so comical. They should have taken a page out of Alice Ripley's knife used in Seattle's production. That was some scary ****. And speaking of scary, I had an issue with Misty Cotton's portrayal of Margaret White. She was very mousey and not scary at all. She looked like a hippy you'd buy weed from on Venice Boulevard. She didn't look at all like a scary religious freak. In part it was her costuming, both Margaret and Carrie White looked like their costumes came from Anthroplogie. Bohemian chic is not what I think about when I think of Carrie White. But back to Misty Cotton and her portrayal. I thought she was miscast. Sure she can hit the notes, but I didn't think she knew what she was singing about. I saw no relationship between her and Emily Lopez, who played Carrie. She was much smaller in size and it wasn't believable that she'd have any power over her daughter. And again that Bible. If you're gonna slap your daughter with a Bible, then I would think it would be a little worn - but perhaps that's just me sitting too close to the action on a riser.

Other than Margaret White, I enjoyed the rest of the casting. The ensemble was tight in harmony and the choreography was fun and current. I would have loved to hear the band more - and even see them. I had no idea where they were. The cool thing about this updated score is that it's pretty rocking. It would have been nice to see the band and hear them rock out. I felt some of the actors were holding back while singing to balance better with the band. We had little speakers on our risers, so we could hear everything, which was a nice added touch. One last technical thing that I didn't enjoy was the shower scene. Carrie is fully naked with blood and everything - but there was no haze or lighting change to let us know we were in a shower. Just nudity to shock the audience isn't cool. These are supposed to be awkward girls showering after gym, not modeling their Victoria Secret bras. I was disappointed in the staging of that scene, probably because I've seen it done better before. It was fun to watch the reactions of the subscribers during that scene. Again, the prom reveal was spectacular. I really liked all the projections they used and special effects. It's the best I've seen done for Carrie, without looking too campy or cheesy. I thought for sure they would move our risers around when Carrie goes all nuts, but they didn't. Probably too many stage hands flying Chris and Billy in the air.

Overall, if you're in LA go see this production. I'm sure it'll get nominated for a bunch of Ovations just like Floyd Collins did.

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 12:22am

I'm sorry. Flying Jesus? Please explain....

[istoleatv]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 4:04am

During "Evening Prayers" there is a cross that comes down from the ceiling, and one of the actors is dressed like Jesus and is flown in above the audience.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 12:23pm

And people dumped on the original production for being over-the-top.

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 10:24pm

I have a hard time seeing a flying Jesus descending in what should be an intimate moment between mother and daughter as anything other than camp.

I have always thought with this show it's best to keep things intimate and not overdo the physical production. Less is more. Avoid the intentional camp in staging. Was going to see the LA one, but the more I hear the more I think perhaps I should give it a miss.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 10:29pm

Less is not more in this show. Less gives you too much time and space to notice everything that's wrong with it.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 1:24am

At this point that's basically everything but the music, and considering what they've done to it, even that's a maybe.

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 2:08am

That flying Jesus idea sounds atricious. Sad to hear Margaret is still being timid and just like a concerned mother with an inch of crazy. Also, as someone who saw Alice's production, that scene with the knife was anything but scary. The awful staging made it downright laughable.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 6:33am

I really wish people would give up on the "mousey Margaret" idea. It doesn't play, nor is it that interesting.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 10:18am

What's the deal with people "attending" the prom? Like, is everyone just supposed to be a guest and the whole audience dies?

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 12:38pm

best12, you just get it.

[Almira]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 3:04pm

When you go, I STRONGLY recommend bringing a cushion to sit on.

Trust me.


UPDATE: I've been told the "hard" seat issue is being addressed.

Updated On: 3/16/15 at 03:04 PM

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 7:06pm

Best12Bars I've been in the room with a few actresses who were cast as Margaret (I've worked on the show a few times) it is almost always the actress who makes the horrendous choice. Every actress I've seen play Margaret in rehearsal is so in love with the Mazzie way, and turn their nose up at Piper Laurie's portrayal. Frankly I think the "I'm just a mother " is simply easier to play, and a copout. That's not the story, screw easy and justifications that water down the material; Do the work! No actor can come up with better choices for Margaret White than King, and the normal mother in love is not King's Margaret, sorry. The character is what the character is, don't bring the character down to you, find something else to perform. Actors need to stop trying to be clever to go around the material and just live in the truth of the material.

Updated On: 3/16/15 at 07:06 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 3/16/15 at 9:41pm

"At this point that's basically everything but the music, and considering what they've done to it, even that's a maybe."

The one thing about Carrie that I will never understand is how completely atrocious some of Dean Pitchford's lyrics are - both new and old songs. There's really only two or three songs that don't need to be altered without some awful rhyme or awful cliche, etc.

To that note, I do agree. Maybe Terry Hands realized that Dean wouldn't change the lyrics and just did the staging as such as a distraction all those years ago. Hahaha