The cult musical “Carrie The Musical” opened on Broadway in
1988 to less than favorable reviews. However
if you are a fan of “Carrie” the movie, OnStage Theatre in Chula Vista is
staging the musical version of it through Nov. 3rd.
The musical pretty much follows the story of a group of
empty- headed high school kids bullying the shite out of a vulnerable and
frightened innocent…until she wasn’t.
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| Cast of "Carrie: The Musical" At OnStage Playhouse |
If you are a fan of the movie be prepare to find less blood
and more compassion for the harassed, harangued and hassled high school senior
Carrie White, played with candor, naiveté and a lovely voice by Mary Grace
Summer.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie and for the sake
of a small disclosure, I’m not inclined to watch as many scary/horror movies
now as I was in my younger and more fearless days. They just enter my head at
night when I’m looking for more calming thoughts.
“Carrie: The Musical is based on the Stephen King novel and
later the movie of the same name. “Carrie: The Musical” with book by Lawrence
D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford and music by Michael Gore officially opened
on May 12th in 1212 and closed on May 15th after 5
performances. An off-Broadway and revival of the cult musical came in
2012.
With all the hoopla surrounding the announcement of the “Carrie:
The Musical” I was inclined to skip this one based on the above disclosure. But
I know better than to miss out on a Teri Brown directed show.
Unfortunately I was as underwhelmed with the overall production
as I was pleased with her choices in some casting and the ulterior motive for her decision
to show this particular play at this time in our history and political
atmosphere. In her notes she zeros in on the abuse, bullying and humiliation
Carrie White lived with on a day -to day basis.
No doubt she’s different… but how? She’s pretty (OK she wears
the same dress every day and at 17 knows nothing about her menstrual period), she’s shy, she doesn’t feel comfortable with the
other students on many levels and there is no way she can stand up to her most
brutal nemesis, Chris Hargensen (Sierra McMurtry). She becomes a virtual
outcast among her classmates and sadly, they have no qualms in following Chris’
lead.
At home she falls under the spell of her religiously crazed
mother Margaret (Wendy Waddell) who manages to frighten the bejeezus out of her
and prevents her from being a ‘normal’ teenager. When Carrie tells her mother
of the onset of her menstrual period, her mother goes bonkers and locks Carrie
up in some sort of a confessional sacrificial box surrounded by candles and
books. She’s held there overnight.
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| Mary Grace Summer |
Some help comes in the form of her P.E. teacher, Miss Gardner
(Lenelle Wylie) and classmate who feels the love, Sue Snell (Lauren Ashley).
Sue is secure in the fact that she has a steady and kind boyfriend, Tommy Ross
(Jake Strohl) who would do anything for her. Both Sue and Tommy try to friend
her much to the chagrin of Chris who still doesn’t get it.
When Chris finds out that Carrie is going to the Sr. Prom
with Tommy at Sue’s request, she goes viral and plans some nasty pranks like
having a bucket blood fall on them. Soaked in blood, Carrie has found her
telekinesis powers and all hell breaks loose.
There’s blood, there’s chaos and in between the dancing
(Patrick Mayuyu) and a score of about twenty or so musical numbers keeps the
running time at a little over two hours.
Most lyrics were difficult to follow as the too loud -recorded sound track
made it impossible to understand most of the lyrics especially in Act I.
The good news is that the lively and fully engaged cast
participated and kept the production moving be it dancing, tormenting Carrie or
singing particularly in the opening number “In” that pretty much set the tone
for what was to come.
A powerful performance was turned in by Wendy Waddell as
Carrie’s mom Margaret. Her madness,
appearance and overall demeanor, behavior, and expressions convinced that we
have not seen enough of this talented actor in some time. She even had me
convinced that she was in dire need of an exorcism.
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| Mary Grace Gardner in background, Wendy Waddell as Margaret |
Lenelle Wylie as Miss Gardner the PE teacher showed enough
strength and conviction on the part of negotiator and would be advocate for
Carrie lends credence for her being there.
Lauren Ashley’s Sue, who was instrumental in changing the
dynamics for Carrie to go to the prom stood out both vocally and convincingly as
she changed her attitude mid stream to change the errors of her way. (I
couldn’t help myself on that one.)
Of the young men, Jake Strohl’s, (“Spring Awakening”) Tommy
whose posture and unassuming poise is the antithesis of most leading men, impressed so much in his
gentleness, soft voice and genuine concern for Carrie at the dance, he could
have been my date.
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| Mary Grace Summer and Wendy Waddell |
Strong in her role as Chris, Sierra McMurtry, did what she
was supposed to do as the anti-hero; she stirred up as much dust and venom
about Carrie that her followers i.e. the rest of the seniors, were afraid to
criticize what she was doing. And…was effectively on target and had no regrets
or remorse. (Sound familiar?)
Assisting in the production are: Martin Martiarena, Musical
Director, Charles Peters, special effects, set Design, Duane McGregor, Lighting
design, Kevin “Blax” Burroughs and sound design Jennifer Peters and Javier
Piñon.
With all good intentions and proving her craft a successful
director, Brown did the best she could with a flawed score. There’s a blood prank that
unleashes Carries psychic powers, windows open by themselves, wind swirls in and
the high school gym looks like it was struck by a tornado (Chris Peters)
causing some excitement from the audience.
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Confession: I did have to cover
my eyes when Margaret’s knife hung over Carrie… and the audience, on opening night, composed of
many of “Carrie” devotees ate it up.
If you are a fan of the occult, conspiracy theory’s or
whatever alternative narrative strikes you best “Carrie: The Musical: will be
playing through Nov. 3rd.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through Nov. 3rd
Organization: OnStage Theatre
Phone: 619-291-7787
Production Type: Musical
Where: Third Ave. Chula Vista, CA 91910
Ticket Prices: $25.00
Web: onstageplayhouse.org
Venue: OnStage Theatre
Photo: Daren Scott
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