Review: CARRIE THE MUSICAL at Musical Theatre Southwest

As a performer, what do you do when the material you are asked to perform is, for lack of a better term, not that great? Such is the question posed to the stalwart cast and crew of Musical Theater Southwest's Carrie the Musical, playing now through October 23 in Albuquerque.

This cast made the best of it, to varying degrees of success. Carrie tells the story of Carrie White, a young woman who is bullied and ostracized by her classmates and abused by her religious zealot of a mother. When she discovers she possesses the power of telekinesis, strange things begin to happen. The play is based on the original novel by Stephen King and was subsequently turned into a very successful movie in the 1970s, a less successful update and sequel in the 1990s and a BOMB of a musical in the 1980s. The original Broadway run for Carrie was 16 previews and 5 performances, and I was lucky enough to see that trainwreck back in the day.

The story was rewritten/reimagined and had a successful run in Los Angeles in 2006, and this is the book that MTS is working with for their production. While many of the songs and dialogue were tightened up, it's still not a great score and the dialogue and lyrics can be pretty trite.

The MTS ensemble did give it a valiant go, with several standouts, including Carrie White herself, played by Madison Rose Zehnder, Sue Snell, played by Morgan Geddes, and Margaret White, played by Emily Melville. All three women had strong vocals and good, well-rounded performances. Zehnder was particularly effective as Carrie, a role requiring a gamut of emotions and some vulnerable moments onstage. Her opening number is the strongest one in the show, and Unsuspecting Hearts, her duet in act two with her gym teacher (a strong performance by Angie Alley) is also well-sung and staged.

The ensemble was given a lot to do, but most of the dance numbers felt cramped in the small stage area - some of the more novice dancers could have been moved to the side to offer vocal support and to allow for more dynamic choreography. There was a lot of face pulling and side glances between dancers to ensure they were in unison, which was distracting.

Having seen several productions in the MTS space, I am usually impressed with their use of the black box. For this production, there were some strange choices, including a banner atop the set that sometimes had lyrics to the songs being projected, off center, onto it. I wasn't sure if this was intentional or a technical glitch, but it was distracting and didn't add anything to the performance. The walls were painted a dismal black (maybe to resemble a burned-out building?), a nondescript white and blue for the classroom and Carrie's house a dull paneling and wallpaper. The walls felt clunky and cumbersome - the production would have been better served by a more open stage and implying of place, with more props and furniture, especially for the pivotal prom scene, which was a big letdown.

Since the occult and telekinesis play a big role in the show - which included a few nifty stage tricks with pages turning by themselves and cards standing on end - I wish there had been more attention paid to lighting effects to heighten the drama - the lighting fell flat through most of the show, and to not show the climax of action at the prom, but instead going to blackout, was not effective. I know budgets are small in community theater, I just wish there was more innovation or thought put into this part of the show. There was also no explanation given as to why Tommy was unconscious, so anyone not familiar with the story was probably confused.

More thought could have also been given to costume design. Morgan Geddes as Sue Snell is so effective vocally and her acting is great, but she looked like one of the moms instead of one of the students throughout the show, something that would be an easy fix with a younger look (a cute dress with tights and combat boots, maybe?). Tommy, her love interest (played by Devin Raymond) also came off as too old in his stiff costumes. Since it's a contemporary take on the material, instead of the 1970s original, it would behoove the company to have another look at some of the costumes and change them up for the remainder of the run.

Like many community theater shows, Carrie is using a backing track in lieu of live musicians. While this is usually a more cost effective way to go, it's really important to check the levels between the singers and the track. On opening night the track drowned out most of the ensemble numbers, as well as some solos. In addition, attention needs to be paid to fading the music out instead of cutting it off too abruptly, which happened several times over the course of the evening. A few tweaks and a sound run through should be in order before the next performance.

I want to give kudos to MTS for always pushing the envelope and trying more daring material than most community theaters in New Mexico. They have an exciting lineup for 2023, including Sweeney Todd and Rent; I hope they continue to grow as a company and a force for musical theater in our state!

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