Carrie the Musical makes its MNSU debut
Yes, you read that right. Carrie the Musical, as in the Stephen King horror novel and movie about the infamous prom night and what happens when you’re abusive to a girl with telepathic powers.
Now they’ve added music and dancing to accompany it. This is the first time MNSU is presenting this show and, considering the cast and design crews’ talent and passion, there couldn’t be any better timing.
The show itself has an interesting history to it as well. Originally on Broadway in the early 1980s, it became one of the most referenced flops in history when it closed after five performances. However, in 2012 it was revamped Off-Broadway to much better success. Some tweaks were made, some songs were changed up, and it became the fantastically dark musical it is now.
Much of the music follows the style of a standard rock musical. It’s a great score for people who appeal more to a modern pop genre, so if your excuse to not see a musical is because it sounds “old-fashioned,” it won’t apply to this show. The rhythms are strong, the singing is loud, and it has choreography to match. Prepare to be energized and hooked, should you make the right decision in seeing this amazing musical. Carrie spares no mercy on its audience’s emotions, as it will have the ability to rip your heart out to your own enjoyment.
As mentioned before, the cast is absolutely stellar and the performances rival professional productions. Amanda Mai plays Carrie White, the sheltered girl who gains powers when the people in her life betray her. Alongside her, the show stars Mikhayla Clausen, Daniel Lane, Michaela Shapiro, Emily Scinto, Matthew Sather, Maureen O’Malley, John Nicol, Zoe Hartigan, Delanie Weidrich, Tucker Brewster Schuster, and Keegan Gore. All of them have been making their returns in the department, each having been in multiple shows at MNSU before. In addition, third-year graduate student Erin Horst makes her MNSU directorial debut after recently starring in The Full Monty as Georgie and as the title role in Mary Poppins. Suffice it to say, this is a bit of a change of scene.
Emily Scinto, who plays the school tormentor Chris Hargensen, chimed in on why this is a show that should be attended.
“At the heart of it, I think there’s a really important message to people. It’s about bullying, but at the end of the show there’s a moment when everyone is together in the same place. It’s a strong cast of artists telling a story they feel strongly about, and it’s amazing when that happens.”
Tickets are now on sale for the weekend of performances from Nov. 16-18 and are available at the box office in the performing arts building, either between 4-6 p.m. on weekdays, or during the hour before each show. The show runs on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m., as well as for two midnight shows on Friday and Saturday nights. A perfect element of elevation to add to this already spooky show! After all, what better college experience is there than to go see a live version of Stephen King’s Carrie in the middle of the night? Tickets are $11 for students and $15 for guests, except for the midnight shows where they’re two for the price of one. This is the last play of the semester, so go home for Christmas break with something to talk about and come see Carrie The Musical.