No I’m not joking they really did try to adapt Carrie into a Broadway Musical and it failed hard.

Inspired by the opera Lulu, Lawrence D. Cohen the original writer of the 1976 movie worked with Michael Gore to adapt his original film script into a musical format. The Musicals went through tons of rewrites before finally hitting the stage in 1988.

The musical was a mess to say the least during multiple Stratford shows technical errors completely ruined the experience for the actors and audiences, Linzi Hateley’s microphone would malfunction because of the blood during the prom massacre, Barbara Cook was almost decapitated by a set piece in the White house living room and multiple songs had to be removed or rewritten before its Broadway release.

During its broadway run Betty Buckley who played the gym teacher in the 1976 film joined the cast. Even after the changes were made the musical was hit with mixed reviews, during the curtain call some actors got booed but standing ovations were given to Linzi Hateley and Betty Buckley who played Carrie and Margaret White. Even with fully sold out shows the financial backers pulled out after only 16 previews and 5 performances, the show cost more the 7 million dollars and is now forever known as one of the biggest f*ck ups in broadway history.

The show did get various re productions over the years although with a much smaller budget but it never hit broadway again and unless you are a lover of the theatre most people still don’t realise that this even existed.

So here’s a special treat, I’ve only managed to find a copy of the original Stratford recording on YouTube and best part is it’s the one were the blood clogs the microphone!

So without further ado please join me in watching the original Carrie the Musical

I apologize for the video quality due to this being recorded in 1988, but it is really cool that we got to watch this version and to be honest I really enjoyed the show and I don’t really understand what the big deal is?

The show is a lot of fun and has a great cast that all give off heartfelt and emotional performances, the highlight of the show was definitely the relationship between Carrie and Margaret White, of course unlike most media domestic and emotional abuse is quite hard to portray in a musical, but as the two duet the atmosphere is hauntingly beautiful and at times will chill you to the bone.

The rest of show is pretty high pace and loud, I think this might be one of the biggest issues regardless I really enjoyed the show but I think the majority of it is maybe a tad too energetic for this story, it doesn’t feel right and is out of place in a sad tale such as this. The majority of musical numbers are a good listen but are also forgettable and don’t have you looking them up on music providers afterwards.

The outfits are also quite bland and forgettable none stand out enough to leave an impact. The choreography is wild and a little bit too in your face at times but is one of the more memorable directorial choices, the acts between Chris and Billy are where this really shines like a sadistic ballet, its sexual, sensual and absolutely brilliant.

The grand finale of the show was a little lacking but that was to be expected on stage compared to film, the prom night massacre happens under a red light with very little visibility and is over very fast, the final act is all a bit disappointing but overall the show was pretty good and I wouldn’t mind seeing the original version re-designed and updated, I see a lot of potential in this show and it is a shame that it never worked out, I’ve seen worse shows than this and those were successful which only leaves me forever puzzled with this production and the negative response it garnered.

If you would like to help support the website please use the donation button at the top of the page, your donations will help to improve the website by allowing me to afford products to review and to be able to execute any costly updates and changes, any amount in donations are welcome.

Thank You for all of your support.

Want me to review a specific game/movie/product or do you have a general question you would like me to answer? if so please email me at ragglefragglereviews@gmail.com