A Few Stills from Carrie the Musical

Steve Barton |

Feb 11, 2012

Source Name:

Playbill

Source Url:

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/158976-Cult-Musical-Carrie-Starring-Molly-Ranson-and-Marin-Mazzie-Resurrected-Off-Broadway-Starting-Jan-31

Post Thumb:

/jun11/carrie.jpg

It isn’t often, but when opportunities like this come along, we wish we lived closer to New York City. Carrie has returned to the stage in a newly revised Off-Broadway production that began January 31, and to help make up for the fact that many of us won’t be able to see it, we have a trio of stills to share.

Playbill provided the photos, which feature Molly Ranson in the title role, opposite Tony Award nominee Marin Mazzie as her religiously fanatical mother, Margaret White.

Stafford Arima helms the latest incarnation of the pop musical that has been retooled by the original writers, who have refined the focus of the story, including lyric rewrites and several new songs. Carrie has a score by Academy Award winner Michael Gore and Academy Award-winning lyricist Dean Pitchford and a book by original film screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen. It officially opens March 1st and will run through March 25th at MCC Theater’s Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street.

Arima told Playbill, “It was really important for us, when we approached coming back to Carrie and reinventing it for 2012, that we took a very hard look at making sure that we were making this presentation, making this story, making this narrative, its unique own self – we weren’t putting the novel on the stage, or putting the movie on the stage – that we were bringing to life Carrie in a theatrical way.”

Mazzie added that fans of the original Broadway production, who are familiar with rare live audio recordings, will hear the songs in a whole new way. Much of the material originally written for the characters Carrie and Margaret remains intact.

Ranson also pointed out the timeliness of the story. “It’s especially relevant now, more than ever, with all of the bullying that’s coming to the forefront of our consciousness in our nation,” she said. “We’re hearing this in the media all the time about these kids taking drastic measures. Now I think it’s a really great time to be doing it.”

The cast also features Christy Altomare as Sue Snell, Carmen Cusack as gym teacher Lynn Gardner, Jeanna de Waal as Chris Hargensen, Derek Klena as Tommy Ross, Ben Thompson as Billy Nolan, Wayne Wilcox as Mr. Stephens, Corey Boardman as George, Blair Goldberg as Norma, F. Michael Haynie as Freddie, Andy Mientus as Stokes, Elly Noble as Helen, Jen Sese as Frieda, Mackenzie Bell, Jake Boyd, and Anne Tolpegin.

For more details, including ticketing info, visit the MCC Theater online.

Synopsis
Carrie White is a misfit. At school, she’s an outcast who’s bullied by the popular crowd and virtually invisible to everyone else. At home, she’s at the mercy of her loving but cruelly over-protective mother. But Carrie’s just discovered she’s got a special power, and if pushed too far, she’s not afraid to use it…