Theater review: 'Carrie: The Musical' from Clandestine Arts
By Matthew J. Palm
Theater review: Stephen King's bloody prom transfers to the stage in "Carrie: The Musical"
August 23, 2015, 2:18 PM
"Carrie: The Musical" ranks as one of the biggest Broadway flops in history. Its original Broadway production, in 1988, lasted just five performances after 16 previews, losing millions of dollars.
Unfortunately, Clandestine Arts' production of the revised 2012 version is unlikely to bolster the musical's reputation.
It would be a herculean task to overcome flaws in the play's structure — the endless procession of mid-tempo ballads, the clunky lyrics that often seem halfheartedly lifted from other shows. But directors Derek Critzer and Sylvia Viles do themselves no favors with a staging that fails to build any sort of dramatic tension.
Most know the iconic moment from Stephen King's novel and 1976 film adaptation: When shy misfit Carrie attends her senior prom, she is humiliated by a prank involving a bucket of pig's blood. The blood-spattered set by Critzer and Tom Limbacher even serves as a reminder of the nightmarish prom. But if everyone knows what's coming, it's incumbent on the production to build interest all the way up to the climactic moment — and "Carrie" quite simply doesn't.
It doesn't help that the large cast is kept shuffling around the stage — some actors seem lost, some literally run into one another. Or that Carrie's telekinesis, a key component of the novel and film, is so downplayed that it feels like an afterthought.
"We were kids just trying to do our best," explains Carrie's classmate Sue early on — and maybe that applies to the production's creative team, as well. But sometimes doing your best just isn't enough.
As earnest Sue, the story's narrator of sorts, Jasmine Forsberg has her reliable spark and her singing voice is lovely as ever — unlike several of her castmates who turn to scream-singing in their upper range.
Natalie Doliner makes a more convincing gym teacher than the film's Betty Buckley, and Wendy Starkand thankfully tones down Piper Laurie's cinematic camp for more realistic fervor in Carrie's religion-obsessed mother.
In the title role, Dorothy Christopher is an appealing misfit, but there's no sense of the story's subtext — Carrie's dawning realization that it's OK to be herself and finding the power in being unique.
Clandestine Arts had success with a quirky production of "Sweeney Todd" and a well-sung "Aida." But the best that can be said about "Carrie: The Musical" is it gives Orlando audiences a chance to see a notorious Broadway disaster. It's a thriller that's lacking in thrills.
'Carrie'
• What: A Clandestine Arts production of the Broadway musical based on Stephen King's horror story
• Length: 2:15, including intermission
• Where: ME Theater, 1300 La Quinta Drive, Orlando
• When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 27-29; 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30
• Cost: $20
• Online: clandestineorlando.com
By Matthew J. Palm
Theater review: Stephen King's bloody prom transfers to the stage in "Carrie: The Musical"
August 23, 2015, 2:18 PM
"Carrie: The Musical" ranks as one of the biggest Broadway flops in history. Its original Broadway production, in 1988, lasted just five performances after 16 previews, losing millions of dollars.
Unfortunately, Clandestine Arts' production of the revised 2012 version is unlikely to bolster the musical's reputation.
It would be a herculean task to overcome flaws in the play's structure — the endless procession of mid-tempo ballads, the clunky lyrics that often seem halfheartedly lifted from other shows. But directors Derek Critzer and Sylvia Viles do themselves no favors with a staging that fails to build any sort of dramatic tension.
Most know the iconic moment from Stephen King's novel and 1976 film adaptation: When shy misfit Carrie attends her senior prom, she is humiliated by a prank involving a bucket of pig's blood. The blood-spattered set by Critzer and Tom Limbacher even serves as a reminder of the nightmarish prom. But if everyone knows what's coming, it's incumbent on the production to build interest all the way up to the climactic moment — and "Carrie" quite simply doesn't.
It doesn't help that the large cast is kept shuffling around the stage — some actors seem lost, some literally run into one another. Or that Carrie's telekinesis, a key component of the novel and film, is so downplayed that it feels like an afterthought.
"We were kids just trying to do our best," explains Carrie's classmate Sue early on — and maybe that applies to the production's creative team, as well. But sometimes doing your best just isn't enough.
As earnest Sue, the story's narrator of sorts, Jasmine Forsberg has her reliable spark and her singing voice is lovely as ever — unlike several of her castmates who turn to scream-singing in their upper range.
Natalie Doliner makes a more convincing gym teacher than the film's Betty Buckley, and Wendy Starkand thankfully tones down Piper Laurie's cinematic camp for more realistic fervor in Carrie's religion-obsessed mother.
In the title role, Dorothy Christopher is an appealing misfit, but there's no sense of the story's subtext — Carrie's dawning realization that it's OK to be herself and finding the power in being unique.
Clandestine Arts had success with a quirky production of "Sweeney Todd" and a well-sung "Aida." But the best that can be said about "Carrie: The Musical" is it gives Orlando audiences a chance to see a notorious Broadway disaster. It's a thriller that's lacking in thrills.
'Carrie'
• What: A Clandestine Arts production of the Broadway musical based on Stephen King's horror story
• Length: 2:15, including intermission
• Where: ME Theater, 1300 La Quinta Drive, Orlando
• When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 27-29; 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30
• Cost: $20
• Online: clandestineorlando.com