This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Chris Adams: Oh my god, we're back again! Here we are! I was struggling without Carrie in my life this week. Why not make another episode? Why not? Just a short one though. Someone needs to put a stop to this. Tom, can you change the password on the uploady thing? What, have you got the password? Yeah, it's just Icallherstupidbitch88, but the I in the bitch is a one. Oh, cool, thanks.

[0:43] Anyway, after week seven's episode Are You a Friend of Carrie, which was a sort of tribute to the fans of the show who kept it alive all those years, we were a bit overwhelmed by the response. It was a bit totes emosh, as we Brits might say. I don't think I've ever said that in my life, but we're going with it. It really feels like Carrie is back in the zeitgeist. She's the show that will not die. After that episode, and every week since then, there's been a real outpouring of love for the show and lots of memories and stories about how it changed the lives of so many people who grew up hearing the myths and legends about Carrie and hearing those songs for the first time. It really echoes your conclusion, Holly, from the final episode that in some way, we are all Carrie. We are all the underdogs, and so many people see echoes of themselves in her story. Just maybe without the fiery hands. Mostly.

[1:27] So to round off the Carrie journey... We promise this time. ...we opened the Friends of Carrie hotline and asked all the fans to leave us a message. Thousands of voices forever repeating Carrie. And here they are. Enjoy.

[1:40] Enjoy.

[1:45] Brett: Hey, this is Brett from Cincinnati, and I am a huge fan of the Out for Blood podcast. I encountered Carrie the Musical when I was in middle school. I was obsessed with theater, and I came across Ken Mendelbaum's book, Not Since Carrie, and instantly became obsessed with finding out every ounce of information I could about this infamous show. And flash forward to now, and I get to hear it in a podcast form. It is such a fun and unique experience to have an hour of my week spent learning more about this infamous cult classic. I'm now searching the interwebs for playbills and posters and other things. So this podcast has reinvigorated my love for Carrie, and I can't wait to see what's next. Thank you guys so much.

[2:41] Brandon: Hi, my name is Brandon. I am a line designer based in the United States, and Carrie the Musical is the reason that I work in the entertainment industry, and the reason that I pursued a career in the entertainment industry. And I became obsessed with it at a very young age. I was obsessed with the destruction, and the Broadway orchestrations were just so powerful. And mixing with those really incredible abstract visuals that the creative team had, it is just like such an interesting experience that I can't really articulate. It's so inappropriate for that story. But it was so right for the emotions that they were conveying. I am so thankful for this podcast. It has reignited my passion and love for this musical. And I am starting to religiously listen to the Broadway closing that recording that we all have. And it is just a really monumental piece of theater that I think should be shared with everyone. So thank you for this podcast.

[3:40] Nicola: Hello, Chris and Holly. This is Nicola here listening in Kent. I just wanted to say that I absolutely adored Out for Blood. And I actually came to it not knowing much about Carrie the Musical at all. I mean, I'd heard that it was a flop. But I knew nothing more than that. And this whole podcast ticks many boxes for me. I'm a huge musical theater fan. I love horror and I love Stephen King. And I also really adore true crime podcasts. And in a way, I guess that Carrie the Musical was kind of the true crime of Broadway. It seems like a lot of circumstances led to the murder of this musical. But you know, it was such a triumphant flop. And it's amazing to see how many fans are still to this day, so passionate about it.

And I feel like having not known anything about it before, now I'm one of them. I'm definitely a friend of Carrie. I've been down all the YouTube holes. And now all of my recommended videos are new, juicy Carrie vids that I need to check out. And it's got me thinking that other West End or Broadway musicals have probably been on and done really well. But they may not live on in people's memories or have this kind of cult status that Carrie does. So I think everyone that you interviewed should be darn proud to be involved in this. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love love love the pod. And big hugs and lots of love to theater creatives that I know are going through a big, tough time at the moment. Theater will return. It will, whether it will be good or not. Turns out, it's all brilliant. Anyway, lots of love. Bye.

[5:41] Philip: Hey, Holly and Chris. This is Philip and I wanted to thank you for your wonderful podcast. Back in 2013, I was about a year out of undergrad and I got cast as Tommy in this weird show called Carrie the Musical. And I didn't know much about it at the time other than the fact that it was the fastest flopping Broadway musical in history. But when we were done, Carrie was one of my favorite shows I'd ever been in. And it still holds this place in my heart today. So thank you for helping me learn more about it and sending me down different memory lanes each time I tune in. I also wanted to let you know that in an alternate universe, Carrie and Tommy make it out of the prom, knock around Minneapolis for a few more years, and then move to go to grad school.

So first day of rehearsals, I'm sitting like the shy new kid on the first day of school, and this woman in front of me belts out Carrie's first big notes. It was so amazing that I turned to the guy playing Billy, also someone I had never met before, and go, who the fuck is that? Turns out the person behind the voice was my future fiancée. And even though I spent all of Carrie thinking she hated me, we became friends, worked together on and off for four years in the theater, and eventually got together. We're getting married in May and are the proud owners of a lobby display poster of her covered in red corn syrup that we put up every Halloween. Thanks again for all you do. Can't wait for the next episode.

[7:02] Johnny Jones: Hi there. My name is Johnny Jones, and my connection with Carrie started when I was in high school, in the late 90s, early 2000s. I had this book about A Chorus Line, and in the back of the book, they had listed all of the shows that A Chorus Line had outrun while it was on Broadway. And in 1988, they had listed Carrie, and I had just seen the movie and read the book and was instantly fascinated. Couldn't get to the internet fast enough to try and find it. In those days, there wasn't much information out there, but I found a few clips and fell in love with it instantly. Found a bootleg cassette on eBay, and yeah, just was mesmerized and fell in love with it. I just love the 80s sound of it, and yeah, it's my favorite show. Absolutely my favorite show.

[8:00] So I'm of the new wave of Carrie fanatics, because I didn't discover the show until the revival came out. I was in my sophomore or junior year of high school at the time, and I specifically remember going up to my drama teacher and telling him how I was obsessed with this new show in New York, or at least it was new to me. And little did I know that he was a friend of Carrie. So a couple days later, he stopped me in the hall, and he told me that he had a present for me. And that present ended up being the infamous sound booth recording from the closing night on Broadway. And I hold those now very, very special to my heart. They gave me a completely new understanding and admiration for the show that went above and beyond what I ever even thought or knew Carrie could be.

As a lifelong Carrie-obsessed person, when the revival came out, I ran to New York City to see the show, and I cried. I cried so much. Just the new production focusing on the bullying and me remembering high school days, I really was affected by it. And I became obsessed that no one in my home country of Canada was producing it. And years went by and no one was putting it on. And so I was like, I'm going to find a way to put this on myself, I guess. So I was doing the Canadian sit-down production of Kinky Boots at the time, and I saved a portion of my paycheck every week and self-produced a one-night-only concert version of the show. And we did it as a benefit for the Actors Fund of Canada. Now, that kind of thing happens all the time in New York.

So I was like, let's do it here. We can do it. And of course, I asked a bunch of fabulous, amazing, talented equity members, and everybody said yes and donated their time. And it was amazing. And I put all of my money into it, relying on the fact that I knew that there was enough Carrie fans, or at least Carrie Curious people to sell out the show. And we sold out the show, I paid myself back, and we gave the Actors Fund of Canada a big check. And it was honestly the best night of my life.

[10:25] Then, about a year or so later, Stafford Arima was the new artistic director at Theatre Calgary, and he was starting a mentorship program. And so I reached out to him and I told him my Carrie story. And that Carrie connection got me into that mentorship program. And I worked with him as an assistant director on his first production at Theatre Calgary. And that was life-changing. And this whole journey has taken me on this new out-of-performing-into-directing route, which always has been my dream and my goal, but I was kind of afraid to do that. And the magic of Carrie, you know, has given me the bravery to follow my dreams. And it's amazing. And that's why I love Carrie.

[11:17] Alex Kirk: Hi, my name is Alex Kirk, and I'm a 21-year-old musical theatre student from London. I was introduced to not just Carrie the Musical, but the whole world of Carrie when a friend took me to see the 2015 Southwark Playhouse production of the show. I went in completely blind. I'd never seen any of the films. I'd never read the book. I didn't know anything at all. But by the end, I was completely inconsolable. I've never had such an intense emotional reaction to a show. Immediately, it became the best piece of musical theatre I've ever seen live still. It moved me so deeply, but also it sparked a brand new passion in me for directing and music directing. And it's now my number one career goal to mount my own production of Carrie someday.

It redefined what theatre really could be for me. And once I'd spent a few weeks recovering from all the emotions, I started my deep dive into the show and of course learned about its origin story from the 80s. But given how much it means to me, I've always felt very protective of Carrie when people only talk about it as a flop in that original production. Chris and Holly, I think you're doing an amazing job documenting the full journey of the show. And I absolutely love the podcast. So thank you for creating it.

[12:20] Sally Fuller: Hey, guys, this is Sally Fuller from the Broadway Ginger podcast. Y'all, I have absolutely loved listening to the dumpster fire drama that is Out for Blood. I had literally never heard of the original run of Carrie before Chris and Holly hit me up on Twitter and told me to listen to the...

[12:33] Taylor: Hi Chris and Holly, I am obsessed with your podcast. This has been such a wonderful escape from the chaos of today to the land of pink and red leotards and white staircases with eyesore banisters. I say things now like, close the accounts, and my friends think I'm pretty neat. Anyway, the only thing I'll add is that I moved to New York in 2010 and the Off-Broadway revival opened in 2012, and it was a big deal. Carrie was finally coming back to New York. I had to see it multiple times. The funny thing was when they started previews, you would check those silly message boards. Obviously, you wanted to know how the show was, but most importantly, you wanted to know how they were going to do the destruction, especially in that small Off-Broadway house.

So people would write, okay, I was there tonight and they flashed red lights on her. But don't worry, I overheard somebody in the lobby at the stage that they're going to dump blood on her this weekend. Okay, I was there this weekend. They didn't dump blood on her. I mean, it was pretty wild. It's not your average first performance reports, but the theater community was definitely abuzz about Carrie coming back to life. The last thing I'll say is I think BroadwayCare should do a one-night-only benefit. If the creators will allow, I think they should stage it exactly like the original. I think we should get Stephanie J. Block as Margaret. Let's get Lilius White as Miss Gardner. I mean, come on.

I would pay top dollar for that. My name is Taylor. I'm based in Louisville, Kentucky, and I run the Rare Musical Moments Instagram page. I first discovered Carrie the Musical when I was actually quite young. I was reading an article in Entertainment Weekly, and they were talking about The Exorcist as a play, and it mentioned Carrie, and I brought it up to my mom. And so at a very young age, probably too young, I watched the movie, and there was an interview with Betty Buckley, and they talked about the musical, and I was very, very shocked to hear that that was a thing. So I soon became obsessed with it. It was around 2012, so I got the Revival cast album, and then a few months later, I actually got to see Jenna Dewall in Wicked, which just blew my mind.

And years later, I actually did the Louisville premiere of the show. I played Freddie, and I was 16, and it was an experience I will never forget. And listening to this podcast has been such a great reminder of why I love the show so, so much.

[15:23] Eric Chantney: Testing, testing, one, two, three. This is Eric Chantney. I am a playwright based in New York City, but I am from Shreveport, Louisiana, and I also spent a lot of time in Dallas during my childhood. And I discovered the Stephen King novel with the show logo in a Borders bookstore in Dallas when I was 13 years old. It may have been younger. It could have been 1988, for all I know. 1989, so I might have been younger. The cover read, Now an Electrifying Musical. And I thought, how disgusting, and I shoved it back onto the shelf. Later that year, we went to New York City for the first time to see Phantom of the Opera, which was my first Broadway show. And across the street from the Majestic Theatre was the Actor's Heritage Shop.

Back in the day, when it was interesting and grungy, it's really sleek and sanitized now, but there was a time when it was sort of murky and fascinating. And in their rack of window cards, they had Carrie. And I thought, there it is again. And I left it behind. When I was 16 and toiling over being gay, surprise, I discovered Not Since Carrie by Ken Mendelbaum in the library, and everything clicked. I became obsessed with these images and that description of the show. A family I knew was going to NYC that summer. I begged them to go to Actor's Heritage and get that window card if it was still there. They did go, and it was still there. Three years had passed, maybe. I was 15 or 16 at the time.

And the Carrie window card was still sitting there in the middle of Midtown in the Broadway district. And I got it, and I still have it. I poured over magazines from 1988, stealing pages of Carrie reviews. The first stitch of music I ever heard from Carrie was Betty Buckley singing When There's No One on her Children Will Listen album. She got to, Oh my Carrie, and I fell apart driving 70 miles per hour down the highway. In the fall of my freshman year in college, I was a theater major, obviously, big shock. One of my directors gave me an audience bootleg of the final performance on audio cassette. I sat in my car in the parking lot for two hours listening to it, and then later went on to again and again torture anybody who got into my car with that recording, making them listen to it again and again and again, kind of hypnotizing them into loving it as well.

And then later as a Christmas present, the chair of the theater department gave me a VHS tape, actually a couple VHS tapes with the promo clips, the documentary from the RSC, and some other goodies. And then that spring, the other director delivered to me the souvenir program and two original Cunningham photo prints, production photos from the show. And my love for Carrie was not simply acknowledged by the people in my life. It was nurtured.

[19:06] Ian Curtin: Hello, my name's Ian Curtin, and my love affair with Carrie began, blimey. I think I was about 21 years old. I was working on a cruise ship, and my friend Michelle, her family was friends with Lindsay Haigley's family. And Michelle just happened to have a cassette tape of a bootleg of the Carrie soundtrack from the original Broadway cast. And I became obsessed with it, literally loved it. I mean, I've always loved Lindsay Haigley and was lucky enough to do a concert with her once. And I literally met her and couldn't even speak because I was like, this is Carrie. Thank you guys so much for this podcast. It is incredible. It's definitely taught me a few things I didn't know about Carrie. And it's just so brilliant to hear all the interviews and everything from all the amazing people that have been involved with Carrie over the years. So keep it up. Can't wait for the rest of the series. Thank you.

[19:55] Hunter Obrey: Hi, I'm Hunter Obrey, and I love Carrie the Musical. I even have a tattoo of the original logo on my left arm and plan to get another one on my chest that I designed based on Don't Waste the Moon. I've only been obsessed with this musical for about four years, but I'm lucky enough to have a lot of memorabilia, such as an original window card, a preview and performance playbill, a Stratford souvenir program, and trifold flyer, two tie-in books, a Broadway flyer, two revival ads, two revival playbills, and one ticket for the revival. I also can't thank everyone involved with Carrie the Musical and Out for Blood podcast enough. Everything in Carrie just means so much to me. So thank you.

[20:46] Isabel: Hello, my name is Isabel. I am 23, and I've been a Carrie addict since I was about eight or nine years old. The original movie was definitely the catalyst for my cult classic obsession. But from there on out, I did many a Halloween costume. My Sweet Sixteen was the midnight premiere of the new movie, and I was obsessed with the revival cast recording. But when my best friend came to me with the CD of the original cast closing night that was gifted to him, that was it. That's what changed everything for me. That was the crème de la juge. Having that live recording really made us feel like we were sitting there in the audience. The atmosphere and the energy was so palpable. And you have, come on, you have Betty and Lindsay and Charlotte and these women who were inspiring me as performers, but also just had a fearlessness to the approach of the material.

It was camp. It was pure camp excellence. And I was so camp. And this podcast does a deep dive into the intricacies of why looking back the show, yes, it was a flop and it had many missteps. But to me, it was a masterpiece. And I will continue to listen to that CD religiously.

[21:49] Hayden: Hi, I'm Hayden. And my love for Carrie really began when I read the books as a preteen in around 2007, 2008. It really resonated with me. And when I found out about the musical, I went to download all of the bootlegs right away and was hooked. Years later, I studied abroad in London and we actually went to go see a show at the RSC. And being where it all started, I felt this interesting spiritual connection to where everything just started and it's just one that I always come back to.

[22:33] Stéphane: Hello, my name is Stéphane. I am 18 years old. I am studying Literature and I am French. I discovered Carrie the musical when I was 13 or 14 and at the same time at the De Palma film and the book. This musical is a real treasure in the history of Broadway shows since it speaks in honor of all the youth. Making Carrie a musical has been such a risk taking. And I listen to the song from the 1988 version all the time. And one of my biggest dreams is to stage it in France, knowing that I already have lots of ideas since I was a teenager. I'm really glad the Out for Blood podcast exists because there was not very information about Carrie and I discovered so much that I can only say thank you to them.

[23:38] Drew Eldridge: Hi, my name is Drew Eldridge. I am the owner, operator, founder of the Carrie the musical subreddit and I have a Carrie the musical addiction and I am not afraid to admit that and I'm very brave for coming out with that. But I just wanted to say that I love Carrie the musical. I've been obsessed with it. I genuinely think it never got its just due. It never got its stay in the sun. And I think directors that are bringing it to life like I hope one day to get my own hands on it. But until then, it's truly taking over my life in every single aspect. I am a Carrie addict for sure, but it's not hurting anyone. And in this weird, crazy world, it's become this strange source of solace.

[24:28] Jonathan: Hey, my name is Jonathan. I use he him pronouns. I'm a theater artist from the greater Philadelphia area. I first discovered Carrie my sophomore year of college when my school was doing it as a spring musical in our big main stage and I auditioned and was cast as Mr. Stevens, which is totally odd role. But it was such a cool role. And it was such a crazy experience to be a part of. It was so fun listening to this podcast and hearing the original cast and everyone who worked on the show talk about it with really fond memories.

[25:07] Unknown speaker: Because I also have such a strong attachment to this show and the cast that I went through that process with, and as chaotic as it could be, it was also at its core really emotional and had a lot of great opportunities to sort of have everybody shine in a small tight-knit cast. I feel like I'll always look to my Carrie cast brothers and sisters as something that we went through that only we can say we went through—that we did Carrie. It feels fun to be a part of the multiverse of Carrie throughout the world, and I'm happy to have played a small part in doing that and sharing that story with the folks that came to see it. I've loved this podcast, getting to know the ins and outs of the show that I secretly really love, even though I pretended to not like it when I first heard it. So thanks for a great podcast and go Carrie!

[26:02] Anne Davis: Carrie means a great deal to me, especially because I've gotten to play her twice. She's such a great character, the story is so much more than people think, and the music is just some of my favorite. There's so much I could say about Carrie and how it's impacted my life, including that the last newspaper article in the book is dated with my actual birthday. But the most story-worthy, perhaps, is that my now husband proposed during curtain call opening night of my first production when I was, yep, totally covered in blood.

[26:34] Luke Bannon: Hello, Out for Blood! This is Luke Bannon here from Northern Ireland. I first got into Carrie the Musical in 2011 from YouTube bootlegs, and I liked it so much that I booked a trip to New York in 2012 and saw two of the first previews of the revival. I actually met most of the cast and staff, the director afterwards, and they could not have been nicer. Ever since then, I've seen the Southwark production as well as a local production here in Belfast. Carrie's changed my life in that it's made me more willing to step out of my comfort zone and to give new media or shows that don't have a great reputation a chance and make my own mind up. Love your show and thank you, it's been a blast. Bye!

[27:19] Quincy: I'm Quincy, and I am part of the cult. I've been in the fan base for about a year and a half now, but growing up around theater-loving people, I definitely knew the show for a while before then. Once I actually sat down and listened to the revival soundtrack, I had wondered why I'd never really heard of the original before. It wasn't until I found that one picture of Sally Ann Triplett wearing that bright pink turtleneck catsuit that I thought, "Oh my god, this is so much better than I had thought," and then I just fell in love with the show. It's something that I'm able to listen to over and over and over without getting bored of. I really truly just love this show.

[27:59] Track: My name's Track. I'm a fan of all things Carrie. I found out about the musical nearly 20 years ago watching the singing Carrie featurette and was intrigued by the whole thing. So when it popped up on YouTube, the Stratford show, I was delighted and was soon hooked. After years of watching the bootlegs, when I found out there was going to be a live production in London and that Lindsay Haightley and Sally Ann Triplett were going to be there one night for a Q&A, I just put the tickets there and then. I went along with my copy of Not Since Carrie for Lindsay and Sally Ann to sign. This other production blew me away. I thought the cast was perfect, I love the staging, and I went to see it three times.

The excitement I felt on the build-up to your podcast coming out and then listening to it each week, learning new things about the show, all the social media posts as well, it's just been such a joyous thing at this weird time. So thank you so much, Chris and Holly, and everybody involved.

[29:04] Luis: Hi, this is Luis from New York City. Around 2009-2010, I discovered the soundboard recording of the Broadway version of Carrie. I fell in love immediately with Betty Buckley and Lindsay Haightley's scenes, and especially the orchestration, the instrumentation, and that rock orchestral feel that I felt was very nostalgic to that time period. I was kind of obsessed with it, actually, and to know that there was a revival coming up, I got to see the 2012 version, the revival off-Broadway, and it was very much highly anticipated, and it did not disappoint. I was very, very happy with it, and I just love that there's a podcast now. I love that we get to know so many secrets and anecdotes and so many other things from the history that we didn't know. I appreciate that very much. I'm looking forward to hearing so many more episodes. I don't want it to end, so please keep it going as long as possible. Thank you.

[30:00] Andy Tai: Hi Chris and Holly. My name is Andy Tai. I'm a New York City-based actor and a huge fan of Carrie. I got into Carrie when I traded for the original soundboard recording back in middle school. Crazy. I've just been obsessed with it ever since. A friend of mine saw the original 1988 production, and the centerpiece of his apartment is the original Schubert Alley poster towering over his living room. I think it's just an amazing piece of theater history that's just sitting there. I don't know how he got it; I think he might have stolen it. But you know what I love about Carrie is that it kind of symbolizes the aspect of the theater community that isn't often celebrated. Taking risks, despite its reception, the show lives on because it kind of represents how special and how sometimes painfully fleeting the art form can be. Anyway, thank you so much for doing this podcast and for bringing back all the fun memories of discovering this little mystery of a show. Thank you so much.

[31:08] Ellen: Hi, I'm Ellen. I'm from Pennsylvania. I first got into this show when I was a freshman in high school. I'm a senior in college now, and it was the first show I discovered purely on my own. It wasn't, you know, a Rodgers and Hammerstein I saw at a local high school or, you know, a Les Mis, Phantom, or Wicked type super popular, but I just was so immediately enamored by the story and the score. I think it's such a human and relatable story despite having its origins in horror, and I just continue to adore it so much. It's been really cool getting to listen to the podcast and learn about the original production because I didn't really know too many of the details. I knew it flopped and I knew about the big staircase and "Out for Blood," but that was about it. So it's been really neat getting to learn the history behind a show I love so much.

[32:09] Rafael: Hello, I'm Rafael from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I've been obsessed with Carrie the Musical for the last 15 years when I saw Betty Buckley talking about the musical on Carrie's DVD special features. Then I went to the internet and I found the performance of the song "In," and I was totally mesmerized. I was very impressed, and unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to watch the original production or the revival, but I still hope to see Betty, Lindsay, Charlotte, or Sally on stage one day. Although when a production opened here in Brazil in 2015, I bought a ticket for every performance, so I'm this kind of obsessed with Carrie. So I'd like to say thank you, Holly and Chris, for this amazing podcast to listen to all these stories that we've come through, and now I feel much more connected to the musical. So thank you so much and goodbye.

[33:11] Tia: Hi, my name is Tia. I first discovered Carrie a couple of years ago in high school. I listened to the revival cast album and thought, "Hmm, this is an interesting show." Then I heard mention of the original flop, and I was like, "Oh, I wonder why it flopped. I'm gonna check this out." Then I found it and I thought to myself, "Wow, this is a mess. I kind of love it." And then I fell down the rabbit hole. This podcast has been really cool to listen to. I enjoyed learning the history of my favorite shows, and Out for Blood is very much a goldmine when it comes to Carrie.

[34:44] Andrew Russell: My name is Andrew Russell, and I was a senior in high school when Carrie the Musical had premiered, and I was 17 at the time, the same age as Lindsay Haightley, and I was living in Maine where Carrie is set. I remember that summer I did Summerstock in Brunswick, which is actually mentioned in the book Carrie. There's a Dairy Queen that's mentioned in Brunswick, Maine. I was fortunate enough to be working with New York theater people who had seen Carrie, so I was just drilling them about everything—the staging, the performances, the songs. What was it like? What was it like? I had no idea, getting all the information I could possibly get. I was able finally in college to get bootleg recordings.

In addition to that, a couple of years later, I went to Stratford-on-Avon and did some personal research on Carrie the Musical, and they were hysterical when I asked them about it. They were like, "Oh, he wants to know about Carrie. Tell him about Carrie. Give him info about Carrie."

[35:51] Jacob: Hey there, Out for Blood podcast. My name is Jacob, and I am a listener from Fort Worth, Texas, which also just so happens to be Betty Buckley's hometown. I've always had an affinity for the stage work that she has done throughout her career, but especially Carrie the Musical. My good friend Robbie Rizal was interviewed on the podcast, and I learned so much from Robbie about Carrie. I've always had an interest in the film. Then when the revival happened, I just started to dig deeper into the history of the show, got a copy of the closing night Broadway bootleg of the original production. I'm so glad that Carrie continues to live on through her fans, especially you guys who host this podcast, who've given everybody this outlet to be able to share their stories and their love for the show. So keep up the good work. Thank you guys so much.

[36:41] Stuart: Hello, my name is Stuart. I am a theater maker and performer who grew up being obsessed with bootlegs. I used to spend hours on AIM trading them, making up websites with my list of all my bootlegs. This show has always been so special because once I found that bootleg, I loved the sound of the music. I thought it was just exceptional. I still do. I would come home from high school and I would perform "The Destruction" in my basement over and over again because I was bullied, just like Carrie. That was a really lovely way to channel all that negativity that was thrown at me. I was so pumped to see the revival of Carrie, which took place my senior year. I went to a conservatory for music theater, and we did our showcase and were moving to New York around the time the production was happening.

I could not wait to see it, but it closed before I got here. I think it closed like a week or two early, if I remember correctly. Therefore, I did not get to see it. But again, thank you bootlegs. Thank you for making this podcast. It has been such a fun thing to listen to.

[37:07] Andre Jordan: Hello, my name is Andre Jordan. I am a big-time Carrie the Musical fan, also a performer myself. I recently made my Broadway debut in Diana the Musical, the musical about Princess Diana, on Broadway right before it all shut down, coming soon to Netflix. I'm just going to talk about Carrie the Musical and how much I love it. I discovered Carrie the Musical in high school, 2004, my junior year. I don't remember the exact moment or how I found out about it, if someone told me or if I was...

[38:11] Daniel Baskins: My name is Daniel Baskins. I first fell in love with Carrie the Musical my senior year of high school. I watched the off-Broadway bootleg, and it was everything to me. I mean, I revolved my entire personality around it. And the cast album was playing on repeat. And then my sophomore year of college, I became obsessed with the original, and with Betty Buckley's performance, and Lindsay Haitley's performance, and the entire cast. And I think that now I even love the original more than the revival, but they're both incredible. There's something that's just so relatable, and something that every single person can identify with in Carrie's story of being the outcast. And there's something that makes it so universal and so timeless.

Even though it's all these crazy outlandish things, the feelings that she feels are so similar to the feelings that all of us feel. And, you know, in a lot of ways, I pity Carrie, but I also find myself loving Carrie. Like, I want to give her the love that I know that she deserves, which is why I really identify with Tommy a lot, in that I think Tommy understands that she is a good person. She's just been mistreated her entire life. Tommy and Sue both recognize that. And they, you know, all the kids just push her and push her and push her until they finally push her over the edge, and she snaps. And it just so happens that she has these telekinetic powers, but I don't find her at fault, which I know is so crazy.

But I think that's what makes Carrie so good, is that you can argue so many different angles and so many different takes, because it is so well written. The book, the movie, and obviously the musical. I mean, that music is some of the greatest music to ever grace the Broadway stage. I don't care what the New York theater critics said. And that's why it will always be one of my absolute favorites.

[40:44] Han Schutzler: Hi, this is Han Schutzler. I first got interested in Carrie the Musical when I listened to the off-Broadway cast recording, and I got really interested in all the other versions of this wonderful story that says, why can't we just be nice and kind to people?

[41:04] George Ewer: Hello, it's George Ewer here. I just wanted to say it's been such a treat to binge on the Out for Blood podcast. As a very, very long-time fan of the book, the movie, and the show, I'm a bit of a die-hard Carrie fan. It's been really fascinating to listen to the cast reflect on what is a very infamous period in musical theater history, and to hear all of those stories from Stratford, New York, and right up until now, and hear them all talk about it. It's just been really wonderful. I was all set to direct the production of Carrie this year, but unfortunately, COVID got in the way of that. So it really has been brilliant to get my Carrie fill from listening to the series. And I think I'm going to go right back to the start and do them all over again. So brilliant job, Chris and Holly. Thank you so much for putting this together and for bringing it to us. And I can't wait to see what comes next.

[41:49] Tim Murray: Hi, my name's Tim Murray, and I first heard about Carrie the Musical when I was in college. I remember seeing a video of Natalie Weiss singing I'm Not Alone on YouTube. Then I became obsessed with the music. I got all the bootlegs. And in 2012, they did the revival. I was living in New York City, and I loved it so much that I would often put some of the album into my regular pop playlist at the wine bar where I worked. So people would be drinking wine, listening to Sia, or whatever, and then all of a sudden just hear, and God made me for Madam's Day. All of a sudden just hear, and God made me for Madam's Rib, and he was weak. And people complained all of the time. But the few customers that loved it, honey, they got free wine.

And I am deeply obsessed with Out for Blood podcast. This has been such a nice source of joy in this really crazy time. In fact, I love it so much that I have not been able to record an episode of my own podcast, Slumber Party, without mentioning a story from Out for Blood. So thank you so much.

[42:49] Daniel Caraballo: Hello, my name is Daniel Caraballo, and I live in Orlando, Florida. And I have been exposed to Carrie the musical since I was little. It was from the book Nonsense Carrie. And the fact that they made a musical of this horror novel and film just spoken to me, me being a Broadway baby, because Carrie was my story. I was that social outcast, and having experience in theater, and now that I relate to it and hold dear with this production, especially the original Broadway production, right next to Rusty and Quasimodo. Believe it or not, Carrie White is that role that I would love to play. I mean, yes, it will be me in drag, but I would do her justice and not make her campy because she does hold dear to me.

[43:55] Massieu: Hey, Kristen Holley, this is Mass—I'm Massieu from Michigan. I guess you could say Carrie as a musical kind of came into a very important life as a theater person. I mean, of course, it first started with King's book and also the movie, but I still think underneath all the musical kind of honestly kind of got King's themes more importantly. And oh, if you can tell, I'm wearing a shirt that says Think Greece. Best worst decision ever. Thanks, Wayne the Wings, for this shirt. I've also auditioned for Carrie, I think, at my college in—yeah, Oakland University in Michigan. They were the first in Michigan to do a production of it, and I hope one day to do a production of it, whether it be in a cast or directed. I mean, I would love to do Carrie, just one of these days.

[45:00] Trevor: This is Trevor from Seattle, and I don't remember how I first learned about Carrie the musical, but I do remember that when I did hear about it, I became obsessed with learning everything I could about it, even picking up Ken Mandelbaum's Not Since Carrie and reading it cover to cover, even though it wasn't completely about Carrie. Actually, it kind of started my interest in musical flops in general. But when I finally did listen to Carrie, expecting it to be a complete train wreck, I actually loved it. I actually connected with it. It was a very energetic score. It was emotional. It was brilliantly performed, and I loved it. And when it was revitalized and came to Seattle for production with Alice Ripley as Margaret White, I was lucky enough to see it, and I absolutely loved it. So I have been lucky enough to have Carrie be part of my life for a good 20 years now.

[46:06] Joe Smith: Hi, my name's Joe Smith, and in 1988, I was 14. I was in Indiana, and I had read the book, and I had loved the movie. I had learned about the musical, but I couldn't go. In 2017, a local troupe performed The Revival, and I wouldn't leave it alone. I went three times to their show before it closed, and then I went to YouTube, and I inhaled everything available about 1988. And I'm just so thankful for every hand and heart that brought that show to life. I am forever changed. I love it. I defend it, and they have all added to my life. Thank you so much for the podcast, and thank you to every single one of the original cast that are listening. Thank you.

[47:07] Connor Fitzgerald: Hello, this is Connor Fitzgerald from Long Island. Just wanted to say thank you to Chris and Holly for making such a fun and entertaining podcast. You guys have made every Wednesday worth waking up for. I just wanted to say how much I absolutely adore the community that has sprung up around Out for Blood. I've made a lot of friends on Twitter and Instagram, trading likes, watching all of the videos and seeing all the posts that we've got going on from this podcast. And to find people that love Carrie as much as I do, the ones that recognize that it's not just this campy disaster with a pig slaughter ballet in it. You know, to be growing up in high school, listening to The Bootlegs, I would get flack from my teacher saying, you should never listen to Bootlegs.

It's illegal. It's morally reprehensible. But if it weren't for the bootleg community, this show would be lost to time, and I wouldn't know this music existed, and I'd still be in a crappy headspace. So I got to say thanks to everybody that brought in those hidden tape recorders. I owe you a lot. Thank you.

[48:06] Greg Karestan: Hi, this is Greg Karestan. You know, the reason I've always loved the musical Carrie is that it's big, it's audacious, and it doesn't seem to care if you like it or not. And that's important. It's doing its own thing, and it's doing it so big and so wild that you just kind of have to accept it or turn away. There's no corralling it into something smaller and simpler and more conventional. And as a writer, that's inspiring to me. It got me to think outside the box, to take chances and not worry about if bad ideas were bad, so long as they were authentic, organic ideas. I've been working for about nine years on a musical adaptation of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, so Carrie to me is less a cautionary tale and more of an inspirational thing to work towards. You can be weird. You can be big. You can be audience alienating and still find people who are going to love your show just the way it is. God bless you, Carrie, and thank you, Out For Blood.

[49:05] Holly Morgan: Oh, I want to be friends with all of them.

[49:07] Chris Adams: You don't know these people. They're not your friends.

[49:10] Holly Morgan: Harsh. Out For Blood is a proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network. For more information about us and the podcast, please visit us online at bpn.fm slash outforblood.

[49:19] Chris Adams: If you enjoyed Out For Blood, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you download it from, and don't forget to subscribe. And come and join us at Out for Blood Podcast on Instagram and Facebook and Out For Blood Pod on Twitter. Out For Blood was hosted and produced by me, Holly Morgan. And me, Chris Adams. Sound engineering and editing by Tom Moores. Paddy Jervis is our audio consultant. Original music by Odin Orne-Hillmarson and artwork by Rebecca Pitt. Thank you to everyone who sent in messages for this very special episode. We love you all. Bye!

[49:49] Holly Morgan: Oh, that's it. What do we do now?

[49:51] Chris Adams: I've literally got nothing to do.

[49:54] Holly Morgan: Should we just sit here for a bit?

[49:55] Chris Adams: Sit here and think, see if you think of anything else.

[49:58] Holly Morgan: Can I go?

[50:00] Chris Adams: You can go.

[50:00] Holly Morgan: No.

[50:02] Chris Adams: Was Carrie the pig?

[50:10] Holly Morgan: That's it, done.

[50:11] Chris Adams: Well done, you all.