RIALTO CHATTER: CARRIE One Step Closer to Bway?

As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, producers Jeffrey Seller and Kevin McCollum, resurrected the infamous flop musical CARRIE for an Equity reading that had a notoriously short 3 night, 5 performance run on Broadway in 1988. The reading took place on November 20, 2009. The hope is to bring "Carrie" and her supernatural powers back to the Broadway stage.

The reading starred Marin Mazzie, Sutton Foster, Molly Ranson, Jennifer Damiano, Diana DeGarmo, Matt Doyle, John Arthur Greene, Philip Hoffman with Corey Boardman, Lilli Cooper, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, Benjamin Eakeley, Emily Ferranti, Kyle Harris, Kaitlin Kiyan, Max Kumangai, Mackenzie Mauzy, Preston Sadleir, Jonathan Schwartz, Bud Weber, and Sasha Weiss. To read the full scoop on the cast and creative team click here.

It's approaching a year since any CARRIE rumblings have been heard On the Rialto - until today.  THE ADDAMS FAMILY's Wesley Taylor has posted on his Facebook page:

"I'm participating in three new readings all within the next month...
"The Dogs of Pripyat" music and book by Jill Ambramovitz and Aron Accurson 

"Susquehanna" music by Eugene Berton and sophie B. Hawkins, book by Thomas Meehan and gigi gaston.

"Carrie" music by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford, book by lawrence cohen

Staying busy, but its very delicious to be apart of the development of something new."

Could this mean CARRIE is one step closer to a much anticipated (if not surprising) Broadway revival?

The confused and tragic original theatrical journey of CARRIE is well documented in Ken Mandelbaum's now classic book "Not Since 'Carrie': 40 Years of Musical Flops." It will be interesting to see how this new "chapter" plays out as the reading takes shape. McCollum did not return Riedel's call in relation to his Post article and details regarding the CARRIE reading are being kept a tightly held secret. 

Stafford Arima will be directing the reading. Music Direction will be by Stephen Oremus.

With original music by Michael Gore (Fame) and Dean Pitchford (Footloose) and a script by Lawrence D. Cohen (who wrote the 1976 film as well), CARRIE: THE MUSICAL is often considered the biggest Broadway flop of all time.

The show had its first four-week run beginning on February 13, 1988 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Directed by Terry Hands and choreographed by Debbie Allen, the cast included Broadway veteran and cabaret singer Barbara Cook, Charlotte d'Amboise, Gene Anthony Ray, Darlene Love, and Linzi Hateley, in her stage debut, as Carrie.

The show transferred to Broadway at an expense of $8 million and Hateley (who ultimately won a Theatre World Award) and other members of the UK cast remained with the show, but Cook was replaced by Betty Buckley (who had played the teacher Miss Collins in the 1976 film version). It opened on May 12 and closed a mere 3 nights later after only 5 performances.

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