*
So, this summer at the Edmonton International Fringe, I played Carrie in Carrie: The Musical with 50% Fruit Theatre!
To answer your questions: Yes, it is that Carrie, and yes, the original flopped on Broadway. This is a 2012 revival, which has some kickass music that I was privileged enough to get a chance to sing !
In fact, here's a hilarious tech rehearsal of me singing it on CTV Edmonton, complete with me still in my City of Edmonton work clothes.
In case the link doesn't work:
http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=983769&binId=1.1203433&playlistPageNum=1
* * * * * * *
Kristen Finlay of Finster Finds said lovely things (thank-you!):
'' This show has a powerhouse performance from Alyssa Billingsley as Carrie whose voice is so huge that she belted her first song with no mic and was heard clear as a bell above the band. The duets between Billingsley and Amanda Neufeld (Carrie's Mother) alone are worth the price of admission. Other strong performances come from Jaimi Resse as narrator Sue Snell, Zachary Parsons-Lozinski as Tommy Ross and Kerry Johnson as the teacher. I should also mention the fabulous choreography (Amanda Neufeld) which is executed so well by this capable cast as a whole. As a Musical buff, I loved the music, which I had never heard before.''
* * * * * * *
We received a review from The Wanderer:
''The first character that we come across is Sue Snell and I was immediately smitten by actress Jaime Reese’s portrayal of the traumatized high school student. As I took in each musical number and the various instances of character development, I became increasingly invested in the performance. Abigail MacGregor as Norma also effortlessly added many well-timed comedic moments; the ease with which she could make the audience laugh, or stand out from the backdrop of whichever scene she was a part of was one of my favourite parts of the show. However, the actresses that stood out the most for me were Alyssa Billingsley and Amanda Neufeld as Carrie and Margaret White, respectively. They embodied the roles of sheltered misfits and overly-protective mothers. Every ounce of emotion came across beautifully. The standout song “And Eve Was Weak” was compellingly sung by this duo.''
* * * * * * *
Here you can watch me on Global Edmonton, after starting a cappella in a key that is much too high than the original (ha) : http://globalnews.ca/news/783843/fringe-festival-reviews/
* * * * * * *
Steven Angove
Saw this last night, I must say, it had some very powerful moments, beautiful vocals and an awesome band! Congrats!
***************
Tyrel Lougheed
The cast was AMAZING! I've seen/heard recordings of almost all previous productions and this was up there as one of the best in terms of voices/acting. Bravo, everyone!
Alyssa's voice and mannerisms floored me, she had the look of Sissy Spacek and the voice of Linzi Hateley! Margaret is such a tough character to get, and I really feel that Marin Mazzie (in the Off-Broadway revival) made her too nice, but this Margaret was PERFECT (Sorry, I don't see her picture/name to call her out), she was a horrible woman yet very sympathetic because of her religious ignorance, it was a tight-rope VERY well walked across
Miss Gardener and Sue always melt my heart and this was no exception. Tommy Ross was easy to fall for and I sympathized with the closeted George (he he). Billy Nolan and Chris were perfectly evil and their paper blood spill was awesomely effective! The supporting characters all had awesome chemistry that brought the bare-bone sets to life, it was easy to create the scenery in your head because of them, I was ESPECIALLY impressed with Adam Mazerolle-Kuss who switched between characters almost too well, I double-taked the first few times thinking it was someone new (glasses really do change a face, Clark Kent)
Thank you cast for making a dream of mine come true in seeing this show live and thank you even more for doing it justice!
*******************
Herb
2013/08/18 at 9:23 am
I thought the show was fun. The right flavour of tension, scary, weird and wonderful.
Alyssa and Amanda were stellar! As we’re the entire cast.
Sad Vue could not see past the end of their long day and realise that 11, not 10 actors were on stage.
Could that be the only thing they were wrong about?
I doubt it.
Go see this show if u like musicals, horror or thrillers.
4 stars from me.
REPLY
*************
Kevin
2013/08/18 at 3:39 pm
This kind of low budget, big talent, production is what the Fringe is all about.
Not another one person improve, but eleven performers and a four piece live band.
The band plays well if somewhat too loud at times. The singing, especially from Amanda
Neufeld, Alyssa Billingsley, and Zachary Parsons-Lozinski, is amazing. This a full length
musical. The set is a bit minimalistic, but the show is incredible band-for-your-buck.
Go see this show.
*************
kim barrett
2013/08/18 at 1:58 pm
There were really stellar individuals that stood out during this performance. Great cast, talented singers. 4 stars
*************
Tom
2013/08/19 at 4:52 pm
Honestly the show was simply great. The cast is energetic, the choreography great, and they manage to render different locations on stage with very little scenography. The duets between Carrie and her mother are to just die for.
It seems to me that the Vue reviewer simply googled up the show, noticed that the first Broadway production of the show was a flop (due to bad reviews by the way… not because the public didn’t like it) and let this fact color their perception. The show is 2h long? Well, this is what a full musical is. Deal with it
**************
Jeff
2013/08/20 at 1:47 pm
Excellent and very well done: thoroughly enjoyed the show! The cast is amazing, and Alyssa Billingsley is “bloody” awesome as Carrie! The 2 hour run time is different from most Fringe shows, but this is a full-fledged musical after all. Worth the time. I found the ending both touching and horrifying.
The technical issues that were mentioned have obviously been fixed as there were no problems the night we were there (Monday, August 19).
Highly recommend it!
****************
Laura
2013/08/21 at 12:36 am
Great quality, so impressed they did the full length show – such a rare thing at the fringe when stuff is always getting cut down and over condensed. Great time, great talent. Some minor tech issues but that’s theatre. See it.
So, this summer at the Edmonton International Fringe, I played Carrie in Carrie: The Musical with 50% Fruit Theatre!
To answer your questions: Yes, it is that Carrie, and yes, the original flopped on Broadway. This is a 2012 revival, which has some kickass music that I was privileged enough to get a chance to sing !
In fact, here's a hilarious tech rehearsal of me singing it on CTV Edmonton, complete with me still in my City of Edmonton work clothes.
In case the link doesn't work:
http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=983769&binId=1.1203433&playlistPageNum=1
* * * * * * *
Kristen Finlay of Finster Finds said lovely things (thank-you!):
'' This show has a powerhouse performance from Alyssa Billingsley as Carrie whose voice is so huge that she belted her first song with no mic and was heard clear as a bell above the band. The duets between Billingsley and Amanda Neufeld (Carrie's Mother) alone are worth the price of admission. Other strong performances come from Jaimi Resse as narrator Sue Snell, Zachary Parsons-Lozinski as Tommy Ross and Kerry Johnson as the teacher. I should also mention the fabulous choreography (Amanda Neufeld) which is executed so well by this capable cast as a whole. As a Musical buff, I loved the music, which I had never heard before.''
* * * * * * *
We received a review from The Wanderer:
''The first character that we come across is Sue Snell and I was immediately smitten by actress Jaime Reese’s portrayal of the traumatized high school student. As I took in each musical number and the various instances of character development, I became increasingly invested in the performance. Abigail MacGregor as Norma also effortlessly added many well-timed comedic moments; the ease with which she could make the audience laugh, or stand out from the backdrop of whichever scene she was a part of was one of my favourite parts of the show. However, the actresses that stood out the most for me were Alyssa Billingsley and Amanda Neufeld as Carrie and Margaret White, respectively. They embodied the roles of sheltered misfits and overly-protective mothers. Every ounce of emotion came across beautifully. The standout song “And Eve Was Weak” was compellingly sung by this duo.''
* * * * * * *
Here you can watch me on Global Edmonton, after starting a cappella in a key that is much too high than the original (ha) : http://globalnews.ca/news/783843/fringe-festival-reviews/
* * * * * * *
And here is my favourite part:
Audience reviews!
Steven Angove
Saw this last night, I must say, it had some very powerful moments, beautiful vocals and an awesome band! Congrats!
***************
Tyrel Lougheed
The cast was AMAZING! I've seen/heard recordings of almost all previous productions and this was up there as one of the best in terms of voices/acting. Bravo, everyone!
Alyssa's voice and mannerisms floored me, she had the look of Sissy Spacek and the voice of Linzi Hateley! Margaret is such a tough character to get, and I really feel that Marin Mazzie (in the Off-Broadway revival) made her too nice, but this Margaret was PERFECT (Sorry, I don't see her picture/name to call her out), she was a horrible woman yet very sympathetic because of her religious ignorance, it was a tight-rope VERY well walked across
Miss Gardener and Sue always melt my heart and this was no exception. Tommy Ross was easy to fall for and I sympathized with the closeted George (he he). Billy Nolan and Chris were perfectly evil and their paper blood spill was awesomely effective! The supporting characters all had awesome chemistry that brought the bare-bone sets to life, it was easy to create the scenery in your head because of them, I was ESPECIALLY impressed with Adam Mazerolle-Kuss who switched between characters almost too well, I double-taked the first few times thinking it was someone new (glasses really do change a face, Clark Kent)
(aside from Alyssa: this part is my favourite!)
*******************
Herb
2013/08/18 at 9:23 am
I thought the show was fun. The right flavour of tension, scary, weird and wonderful.
Alyssa and Amanda were stellar! As we’re the entire cast.
Sad Vue could not see past the end of their long day and realise that 11, not 10 actors were on stage.
Could that be the only thing they were wrong about?
I doubt it.
Go see this show if u like musicals, horror or thrillers.
4 stars from me.
REPLY
*************
Kevin
2013/08/18 at 3:39 pm
This kind of low budget, big talent, production is what the Fringe is all about.
Not another one person improve, but eleven performers and a four piece live band.
The band plays well if somewhat too loud at times. The singing, especially from Amanda
Neufeld, Alyssa Billingsley, and Zachary Parsons-Lozinski, is amazing. This a full length
musical. The set is a bit minimalistic, but the show is incredible band-for-your-buck.
Go see this show.
*************
kim barrett
2013/08/18 at 1:58 pm
There were really stellar individuals that stood out during this performance. Great cast, talented singers. 4 stars
*************
Tom
2013/08/19 at 4:52 pm
Honestly the show was simply great. The cast is energetic, the choreography great, and they manage to render different locations on stage with very little scenography. The duets between Carrie and her mother are to just die for.
It seems to me that the Vue reviewer simply googled up the show, noticed that the first Broadway production of the show was a flop (due to bad reviews by the way… not because the public didn’t like it) and let this fact color their perception. The show is 2h long? Well, this is what a full musical is. Deal with it
**************
Jeff
2013/08/20 at 1:47 pm
Excellent and very well done: thoroughly enjoyed the show! The cast is amazing, and Alyssa Billingsley is “bloody” awesome as Carrie! The 2 hour run time is different from most Fringe shows, but this is a full-fledged musical after all. Worth the time. I found the ending both touching and horrifying.
The technical issues that were mentioned have obviously been fixed as there were no problems the night we were there (Monday, August 19).
Highly recommend it!
****************
Laura
2013/08/21 at 12:36 am
Great quality, so impressed they did the full length show – such a rare thing at the fringe when stuff is always getting cut down and over condensed. Great time, great talent. Some minor tech issues but that’s theatre. See it.
****************
This one may be a wee bit biased, because this gentleman knows me personally, but I'm posting it anyway:
Ryan Coke
''CARRIE: THE MUSICAL definitely gets my top nod for this season. The entire cast rocked it. I was never the biggest fan of the original Sissy Spacek classic, but musicals have a way of turning coal into diamonds and CARRIE was chock full of that tonight.
What appealed to me most, besides the amazing singing (I've never doubted Alyssa's ability in any musical - keep on rockin', lady), was the authenticity of emotion. You knew Tommy Ross wasn't supposed to be "the dick" like your typical jock; you knew Norma was an evil, ruthless, bitch who loved being exactly that; and you knew Carrie White was absolutely terrorized for her entire 4-year high school tenure. You didn't have to know the story to truly feel like these characters weren't characters at all. That's hit n' miss with Fringe productions, and I was so glad to see how everybody did their part. Everybody.
Highlights:
Carrie & Margaret White. Terrific actors with seemingly natural chemistry that, especially when juxtaposed with the movie, borders on scary with its accuracy. They both look, act, and live the roles too damn well. Don't believe it, watch the film again. I rest my case.
Norma. I read that on this particular evening, there was a sickness in the cast and Norma was, in fact, not the original Norma. Could've fooled me! Between the obvious dance background and the "suck on that, biatch" demeanor in basically every scene, what can I say? She was fun to watch.
If I can take my way-too-easily-frightened fiancee to this, anyone and everyone will enjoy it. If you don't like musicals? Well, then ... you're outta your goddamn mind.
GREAT SHOW, YOU GUYS! Broken legs aplenty for the remainder of the run!''
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