Revised CARRIE on Broadway?

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:12pm

I recently saw a production of the 2012 revision of Carrie and have fallen in love with a show that previously I was not at all familiar with. The score is absolutely gorgeous and I would love to see this live on in New York. Is there any plausibility to mounting the show on Broadway? The revisions brought new life into a musical that was borderline awful in it's original form (based on a bootleg of the Stratford production from '8, but now is a masterpiece, IMO. Who could play the roles? I can see Krysta Rodriguez as Carrie.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:25pm

It was IN NY (off byway) within the last few years.  pretty sure it did not recoup.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:28pm

The MCC production was obviously being groomed for a commercial run, whether Broadway or Off-Broadway is hard to say.

Those hopes were dead in the water though once the reviews came out. They were mixed to negative. The show, which extended before opening, discounted and papered the hell out of those final weeks. Word of mouth was not good. I'm sure a person with more time on their hands could dig out some choice comments from the forum archive.

I saw the production and found it to be a monotonous, pointless bore.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:29pm

Wasn't it a limited run to begin with? It also extended. I'd love to see it happen (it's one of my favorites), but at this point, I highly doubt it would return to NYC so soon. The recent production near LA got amazing reviews. Wasn't there a rumor that it would do some kind of mini tour? 

 

EDIT: I wrote the above as the 2nd comment was posted.

Updated On: 7/13/15 at 11:29 PM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:30pm

I read the script last year when a local theater here in Michigan was looking to do a reading for it, the book is absolutely dreadful. It takes place (kind of??) in the modern day and it's just terrible. I was kind of sad said theater didn't do it, because the lady that would have played the mother is so talented (and varied; she's an opera singer and she just played Nellie in South Pacific at the Encore theater in Dexter MI).

But this Carrie should not be seen on Broadway.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:34pm

I agree that the book (at least for NYC), needs a massive overhaul. The star of the show is the score. Hypothetically, if this ever opened again on broadway, would it be eligible for best score at the Tonys? I know they rewrote and cut a ton of it. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:37pm

The score was heard on Broadway in 1988 and there isn't enough different material to warrant a possible Tony nomination. And to call the score a "star" is an overstatement; there are a few good songs and a bunch of mediocre ones (When There's No One, And Eve Was Weak, and I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance being the only good songs I can think of offhand).

ETA: I also kind of like the song Unsuspecting Hearts (mostly because of Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner).

Updated On: 7/13/15 at 11:37 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 7/13/15 at 11:40pm

A lot of the lyrics are also so pedestrian and amateur... I will never understand why they wouldn't throw some "homage" to the campiness of the original - it would've made it more enjoyable. The creators take the material way too seriously and will throw anyone (notably Terry Hands, Debbie Allen) under the bus when the public perception is not good. I wish Lawrence Cohen's behind the scenes book would've been published!

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 12:35am

What Production did you see GingerBreadMan?

[Fantod]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 12:38am

The inherent problem with the idea of a Carrie musical is that the book just does not have any musical elements. There is no reason for anyone to sing in the story. Also, we already have two terrible adaptations of the book on film, so why would anybody think that another one would work? Carrie is a fantastic book that simply cannot be adapted properly without a serious runtime. Without all of Stephen King's wonderful and important details, Carrie becomes just another horror movie instead of an excellent story.

[Pauly3]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 12:39am

"The recent production near LA got amazing reviews. Wasn't there a rumor that it would do some kind of mini tour?"

A tour was a rumor, along with a possible sit-down production.  The latter looks to be true with an October 1st start scheduled at the historic Los Angeles Theatre in downtown LA.  Much, if not all, of the La Mirada, CA cast are supposed to reprise their roles - and the same "immersive" format will be used.

Whatever the issues of previous productions, this one worked!

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 12:58am

If memory serves me right, didn't the show announce an extension and then close earlier than announced?

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 1:06am

^exactly.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 1:16am

Here we go with this again...

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 1:35am

The brilliant Los Angeles staging is coming back this fall for an open ended sit-down run downtown.  The recent fringe production in the UK at the Southwark Playhouse also got nice reviews and is rumoured to be potentially resurfacing for a limited West End run, so anything seems possible.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 1:37am

I'd rather they try bringing Dance of the Vampires back to NYC first. (No, I'm being 100% serious.)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 5:02am

All I know of CARRIE are the pages a friend secretly faxed to me while he was working at Theatre Now on casting the original production.

Do the other girls still sing...

"PLUG IT UP!
PLUG IT UP!
PLUG IT UP!"

...when Carrie gets her first period in the shower after P.E. class?

'Cause there are some things that just don't need to be said out loud, much less set to music.

[The8re phan]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 6:26am

My thoughts?  Taking the camp out of the original musical is where the revisal failed, big time.  Re-mount the original production, in all it's over-the-top glory..... that's what we want to see

 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 8:44am

The fact that it was intentionally campy worked AGAINST the original production and that's why the show closed so quickly, it was never meant to be campy and even playing it up goes against it's source material. I know the show has a huge cult following and there are some good songs in the score but it's a show that has proven that not everything lends itself so easily to a musical treatment.

This show keeps on getting re-visited as if it needs to be "saved", what it needs to be is shelved. No one, not even the original team that put together the original production was able to save this turkey. It's like trying to resuscitate a corpse...pointless. It's dead. Leave it be already.

I saw the ill conceived revisal over at the Lucille Lortel a couple of years ago against my better judgement and I hated it even more and I agree with Vespertine 1228 it was a monotonous, pointless bore.

 

Updated On: 7/14/15 at 08:44 AM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 8:59am

"I'd rather they try bringing Dance of the Vampires back to NYC first. (No, I'm being 100% serious.)"

A DOTV-related lawsuit is coming down the pike related to someone who tried to bring it back. Watch the news in the days to come.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 1:12pm

Honestly, I think the revised version base renamed "six eggs" to "half a dozen".  They fixed some book and score problems only to create new ones and the new score really lacks the energy and vibrancy of the original.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 6:27pm

Re: Gaveston

EW. I'm so sorry you had to read that!

[binau]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 6:36pm

Given that some of the score is actually really good (the new In, Those Boys, Eve Was Weak, When There's No One, Carrie come to mind), I do somewhat disagree that the story is one that simply cannot be musicalised. I feel the problem is just that the writing is often poor at times.

I'm really thankful for the recent recording and Marin Mazzie's performance in particular. I personally feel the time has come and gone, and it's time for the show to be left behind in regional/community theatre.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 6:41pm

"The inherent problem with the idea of a Carrie musical is that the book just does not have any musical elements. There is no reason for anyone to sing in the story. Also, we already have two terrible adaptations of the book on film, so why would anybody think that another one would work? Carrie is a fantastic book that simply cannot be adapted properly without a serious runtime. Without all of Stephen King's wonderful and important details, Carrie becomes just another horror movie instead of an excellent story."

You talking about the made-for-television version and the most recent version, right? Because DePalma's Carrie is a classic and one of the best horror movies ever made.

 

[Fantod]

Posted: 7/14/15 at 6:44pm

Oh, I guess three terrible movie adaptations. Never heard of the made for television movie. Yes, the original is pretty awful because it turns sharp social satire into cheesy 1970's horror with pretty embarrassing performances to boot.