Scarrie! The Musical

Scarrie! the Musical (originally s'Carrie the Musical) is an unauthorized musical stage spoof of the 1976 Brian De Palma film Carrie and the 1988 Broadway musical, both based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Stephen King, the tale of a high school misfit.[1][2] The musical had a script by David Cerda with music and lyrics by Cerda, Scott Lamberty and Taylor E. Ross. The musical spoof played in two different productions in Illinois. The musical uses a 1970s influenced score and "lots of pigs blood".

Scarrie! The Musical
An Unauthorized Musical Parody
MusicDavid Cerda
Scott Lamberty
Taylor E. Ross
LyricsDavid Cerda
BookDavid Cerda
BasisThe 1976 film Carrie
Productions1998 Andersonville
2005 Chicago
2012 Chicago

Production history

Scarrie was originally staged by Sweetback Productions entitled s'Carrie as a late night's show at the Sweetcorn Playhouse in Anderson, Illinois. Featuring a male only cast, the show ran for over a year and a half and closed when Sweetcorn Playhouse closed down. In 2005, a new production previewed July 1, 2005 and opened the following day, receiving mixed reviews and closed on August 2, 2005 after 22 performances at the Theatre Building in Chicago.

The show was amended and re-staged in 2005 from Cerda's own company Hell in a Handbag Productions. This new production featured revisions of old songs as well as an additional ten tracks. The production was produced by Jackie Anderson and directed by Margot Bordelon.[3]

The show featured Joey Steakley as Carrie and Ed Jones as Margaret. The production also featured Trista Smith as Miss Collins, Veronica Sheaffer as Sue, Robyn Senchak as Chris, Ryan Lanning as Tommy and Tim Howard as Billy. The shows creative team included Bobbie Bagby as the choreographer, Matthew Kollar as the set designer, Bill Morey as the costumes designer and Doug MacDonald as the lighting designer with Robert Steel as the sound designer and John E. Buranosky on props.[4]

The official cast album is on the Hell in a Handbag Productions website.[5]

Hell in a Handbag launched another (and allegedly final) revival of Scarrie which started previews September 28 and opened October 6. It plans to run until November 10. The production is set to feature music from both the original and the 2005 production, as well as some new editions to the script and score. The revival will star Alex Grelle as Carrie, Danni Smith as Margaret White, Steve Love as Sue Snell and Aubrey Stanton as Chris Hargenson. Ed Jones (2005's Margaret White) will play Miss Collins, AJ Wright will play Tommy Ross, and David Lipschutz will be Billy Nolan. As a treat to Handbag fans, writer David Cerda will be featured in the production as well. The rest of the cast takes a traditional turn, in that all of Carrie's other classmates are played by females. The production will be Directed by Cheryl Snodgrass, with musical direction by Josh Walker and Choreography by Kristen Smiley.

Reviews

The Chicago Reader said the original production "revels in its own mind-numbing stupidity" and, comparing it to the flop Broadway musical version of Carrie, said "a just plain terrible show and a self-consciously terrible show really aren't all that different".[2]

Reviewing the 2005 revival, the Chicago Tribune said it needed half an hour cut but praised Joey Steakley, cross-dressing in the title role.[1] The Windy City Times praised the cast and called it a "triumph".[6] The Chicago Reader said the revival was "often entertaining but never quite as funny as it could be".[7]

Musical numbers

Notes
  1. Chris Jones, "`Scarrie' can't carry its upgraded image", Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2005, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-07-13/features/0507120298_1_late-night-tacky-camp
  2. Nick Green, June 11, 1999, http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/scarrie-the-musical/Content?oid=896546
  3. http://carriefansite.blogspot.com/2007/06/about-scarrie.html
  4. http://carriefansite.blogspot.com/2007/06/scarrie-musical-cast-crew.html
  5. http://www.handbagproductions.org/store/
  6. Rick Reed, Windy City Times, 2005-07-13, http://backup.windycitytimes.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=8879
  7. Zac Thompson, "Scarrie--the Musical", Chicago Reader, July 07, 2005, http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/scarrie--the-musical/Content?oid=919321
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