Jerks are eternal.
While "jerks" isn't the word that first comes to mind, this article could be seen by those who may be offended by any other word. I'll leave which word I actually want to use up to your imagination. Who knows? Maybe you'll think of one worse than I'm currently thinking.
Everyone has the potential to be one. You end up having a bad day because the wrong kind of milk was put into your morning latte or you get a ticket on your way to work and it's easy enough to take your aggression out on someone else. Notice I use the word "easy" here. What I don't mean is "inevitable". Each of us has the innate ability to quell such anger/frustration before it seeps into our normal lives.
Now, I say this from the perspective of an adult. Well, "adult" in the sense that I'm old enough to be one. Not necessarily because I'm mature enough, but I'm working on it. Children don't always have the wherewithal to stop and think before they act. Often, they're controlled solely by their emotions.
In groups, it's a matter of tribalism. It's, again, easy to participate in group attacks. You're with your people and those people over there? Those aren't your people. Those people are "them" and you and your friends are "us". Maybe one of "them" has different interests than you. They like sci-fi, you like sports. Sci-fi to you is stupid, sports to them are dumb.
Then the judgments begin.
Bullying, unfortunately, will never die because it's primarily based around emotions and insecurity. Every single person you can think of has been bullied or harshly judged by their classmates and sometimes even by their own friends and family. It's also a lot about projection. People will point out perceived flaws in others that they see in themselves.
One of the more significant bullying events in my high school career came when I was taking a communications class. The gist of the class was that you had to research news stories and try to create either a video or audio segment to present to the class. I'm sure it won't come as much of a surprise to many, but I wasn't exactly popular in high school. People weren't falling all over themselves to work with me.
When we had to split off into partners, I was the odd person out. The class had an odd number of people and the teacher, in his infinite wisdom, told people to "pair off". After everyone did, I noticed I didn't have a partner. I brought this up to the teacher and he frustratedly put me in an already established pair with (not their real names) Henry and Dave.
Henry was your typical high school "cool" guy. His father was a school administrator so, not only did he come from money, but he also was able to get away with whatever he wanted to. He was smart, but he rarely applied himself, mainly because he probably believed he didn't have to. He was always dressed in the most fashionable clothes, drank and did drugs on the weekend and gave all teachers a heavily sarcastic attitude. He kinda reminded me of a young Bruce Dern, if that helps anyone out there.
Dave, on the other hand, fancied himself a rapper. His hat was always backwards and he often hung around with "the wrong crowd". He was half the high school's weed dealer and didn't care about anything besides money and his music. Where Henry would give attitude to the teachers and get away with it, Dave would give attitude and be held to task. He didn't have any relatives in administration to protect him. So, he was in trouble often, but couldn't care less.
The idea behind the group project was that all three of us had to produce our own separate segment with the help of our group members. Because I felt like I was intruding, and the two of them didn't disabuse me of this belief, I was willing to push my project to the end while we finished Henry and Dave's first. Dave's was done relatively quickly as he had everything planned out ahead of time.
Henry's was a different story. He wanted to shoot a news report in our high school gymnasium. Dave refused to be on camera. Henry told me that I had to be on camera. After pleading against this for a while, Henry said, "Well, if you don't help us, we'll tell Mr. (So and So) that you didn't help and he'll give you a bad grade."
Begrudgingly, I agreed. Because of Henry and Dave's respective active social lives, we had to shoot the segment after school. We went to the gym, set up the camera and they gave me a microphone. I was supposed to be reporting on high school sports and it was just a general report. My on-screen presence, I don't think, mattered. Just that we went through the motions, edited the video somewhat professionally and then moved on.
Henry and Dave stood behind the camera when Henry called action. The light on the camera went red and I began reading the report. Because it was an active gymnasium, I didn't initially pay attention to the sound of a door opening and shutting behind me. I was too focused on trying to do a good job. Before I knew it, I was being punched in my side and knocked to the ground.
I fell on my chest, getting the wind knocked out of me. I tried taking a deep breath and it felt like someone dropped a piano on my back. A blunt point had slammed into my spine, knocking what little breath I gained from the half-inhale back out. My glasses shot across the gym floor. I went to grab them and another sharp slam came down on my back.
I yelled out, "My glasses..."
I looked up. Henry and Dave were laughing hysterically, filming the entire thing. The slams kept happening and then someone grabbed my right wrist, putting it behind my back. This pummelling went on for probably five or so minutes before the gym teacher finally took notice. He didn't approach the scene, instead staying where he stood across the gym. He just yelled out, "Gentleman..."
My wrist was let go and the camera was turned off. It took me a minute before I got back up. I turned around and three different guys from the wrestling team were standing there. As everything settled, Henry and Dave told me they set this up because they thought it would be hilarious. I walked over to my glasses, picked them up and put them back on.
I said, "Okay. So, we're done, right? Can we work on my project now?"
Henry and Dave looked at their watches, shaking their heads. Henry said, "No, man. I'm sorry. We don't have time."
And they all left. All of them. The three people who assaulted me on camera and the two that filmed it. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I didn't know what to say or to whom about it. The deadline for projects was coming up and neither Henry nor Dave were willing to take time to help me. I went to our teacher and the teacher told me, "If you can't organize your group, Adam, that's on you." I ended up cobbling together the remainder of my project just in time.
What I didn't realize was everyone's projects were going to be presented to class. The video of me being jumped by three enormous football/wrestling folks was shown to the entire class to raucous laughter. Henry and Dave received an A- for their project. I received a C. Henry and Dave were not held accountable for what happened, the other three were hardly even mentioned. And life moved on.
That's unfortunately the mentality for a lot of things. While we can't live in the past, it is useful to stay grounded and remember where things came from. "If you want to know the future, look to the past" or something like that. The themes of every iteration of Carrie are universal in this sense. You have the bullies, the victims, the (mostly) useless administrators. Carrie is a tragedy, so when I heard there was such a thing as a musical version of it, it's fair to say I was a bit skeptical.
That's not to say that horror and music don't mesh. I think there needs to be an element of camp which doesn't really present itself in Carrie: The Musical. Directed by Don Crowe, the CNY Arts Center's production is overflowing with talent. Director Crowe has said, on multiple occasions, "This cast has the most talent I've worked with in my long career of local theater." This was the main reason he decided to double cast some of the roles for the show.
First weekend cast:
Julianna Buchmann as Carrie White
Haley Georgia as Margaret White
Cassie DeLore as Sue Snell
Desiree Alexander as Miss Gardner
There was a distinct difference between the leads for both casts. While I'm unsure if this was the exact intent of the cast and crew, it still stood out to me. Buchmann's version of Carrie was a masterclass of understatement. She nailed the vacillating emotions of her character from meek and bullied to personified vengeance. The opposition of her quiet nature and her broad, confident singing voice showed there was a version of Carrie that would be heard, one way or another.
At one point, there is a duet between Carrie and Margaret. To me, it was the most moving piece. Buchmann and Georgia showed true chemistry during their scenes together. Georgia portrayed Margaret as the villain she is, but, similar to her daughter, there was conflict. Much of the violence she inflicts upon Carrie feels less like a choice than a compulsion. The internal struggle was clearly on display here and Georgia deftly walked that line.
Sue Snell is a polarizing character. She joins in on Carrie's bullying early in the play, only to have a change of heart later on. Cassie DeLore's performance showed the strength of someone that was trying to set herself apart from her terrible friends. It is always hard to stand up for what you believe in when everyone seems to be against you and DeLore gets the audience on her side early on. Her ability for empathy shines through, making Sue a much more palatable and tolerable character compared to other iterations.
Desiree Alexander plays Gardner with unerring strength. While the teacher in my story just kinda let things happen (and then blamed me for it), Gardner is a character that's not going to let the outright bullying of Carrie just happen. Alexander plays Gardner as a person of many masks. There are times that she needs to be seen as the tough and gruff gym teacher, someone not to be messed with. At other times, such as when she speaks with Carrie about her looks, Gardner softens. Alexander's duet with Buchmann was another highlight.
Second weekend cast:
Kelsie Davis as Carrie White
Korrie Taylor as Margaret White
Lillian Campudoni as Sue Snell
Meghan Lees as Miss Gardner
Despite having the same director, script and crew, the second weekend's performance seemed almost imperceptibly different. While I don't know for sure if this was the intent of the cast and director, it seems like the performance veered into camp. For those of you unfamiliar with the style, it is characterized as something being so exaggerated that it becomes almost ironically entertaining.
Davis' version of Carrie has a much more overt quality about it when compared directly to Buchmann's, Davis' singing more affected than Buchmann's. For sort of a strange comparison, watch the original 1960 Psycho. There are subtleties to Perkins' performance that you might miss at first glance. Fast forward to 1998 with Vince Vaughn taking over the role, there's a certain amount of nuance that is missing. Both performances are good in their own right, but they're different. Same goes for Buchmann and Davis.
Taylor's characterization of Margaret seems to follow suit with Davis' style. Maragaret comes off as Mommie Dearest by way of Faye Dunaway. It's a big, confident performance that swings for the fences. In her duets with Davis, you can feel Margaret pleading with Carrie to live a "normal" life. What the script lacks for in character development, Taylor's skills as an actor bridge the gap. Somehow, against all odds, there is some sympathy given to Margaret, despite her evil intent.
Campudoni plays Sue from DeLore. Campudoni's performance seems more worldly, as though she's been through a lot herself and needed this particular situation to snap out of it. Campudoni's confidence as a performer informs her character. Sue knows what she wants, speaking with Tommy and others.
Similarly, Lees performance as Miss Gardner has a bit more edge to it. More grit. When she yells at the students, it feels like a teacher should. She's the only one in administration that seems to care about Carrie and her situation. When Davis and Lees sing together, you can truly feel a bond amongst the performers.
The remainder of the cast played their parts both weekends. Danie Merrill plays Chris, the main antagonist to Carrie. Merrill, fresh off her role as Nurse Ratched in The CNY Arts Center's production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, imbues Chris with such menace and vitriol, you can feel it in each of her line deliveries. Similar to Ratched, Merrill's Chris seems to relish in the suffering of others for her own selfish ends. Her high school beau Billy, portrayed by Nolan Callahan, seems to just be going along for the ride, becoming the yin to Chris' terrible yang. Between Merrill and Callahan, they create a pair you enjoy cheering against.
Tommy Ross, played here by Sammy Overton, is one of the more complex characters in the story. Egged on by his girlfriend Sue, Tommy is aloof at times but, deep down, seems to really care about Carrie. He loves Sue enough to go out on a limb for her in order to "right a wrong" of Sue's. Overton is able to run the gamut of emotions where you can see Tommy's struggle and the seemingly ever vacillating emotions over the situation. It's an impressive performance.
And that's kind of what's so interesting. The script isn't all that great and, to me anyway, most of the music is good. But, what I find impressive is that, despite these setbacks, the production was able to shine through, especially the performances. The script is too similar to the original film so, tonally, I don't think a lot of the themes work with the pop-ish musical choices. As a matter of fact, a lot of the music dilutes the impact of the villains. Margaret and Chris are pretty much completely evil but their musical numbers seem to force a rewriting of their motivations.
Seeing both performances, as well as going through all of the versions of Carrie that currently exist, was an experience. The vast talent in the area was on display for both weekends, as director Crowe stated. The performances were the highlight of the shows, as they should be and sometimes you can't do much about a bad script.
If there's a lesson to be found in any version of Carrie, it's to give space to people instead of trying to quash their spirits. Maybe Henry and Dave have learned their lessons from years ago. It's doubtful. But, they're probably grateful I never developed telekinesis.
Rating(s) (out of ****):
Carrie (1976): ****
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999): **
Carrie (2002): *
Carrie (2013): **
Carrie: The Musical (both weekends): **1/2
All Carrie films are available on Tubi for free.
