“Welcome to the prom, Carrie. They’re not going to laugh at you now! Powerfully acted and intensely well sung, this infamous rock musical about a telekinetic teen has the strange power to move you. The new and improved Carrie is gripping."
–Adam Feldman, Time Out New York
“A hit before it even opened! Marin Mazzie (as Carrie’s demented mother) brings out an unexpected emotional delicacy. At first she seems like your average strict but caring mom. But when she sings, in a pure fire-edged soprano, an intensity emerges that shades into something more sinister. And the line between fierce maternal solicitude and obsessive, homicidal madness blurs in ways that take you by surprise.”
–Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“The show has guts. Carrie’s score does what a musical score should do: it moves the show along, illuminates the characters and deepens the emotions — especially when the wild-eyed, steely-voiced Marin Mazzie, as the zealot mother, belts out 'When There’s No One,' the Act II stunner. Molly Ranson convincingly manages Carrie’s transition from dysfunctional ugly-duckling to revenge-seeking swan. Carrie has real weight and emotional conviction.”
–Richard Zoglin, Time
“Molly Ranson has a steady alarm bell of a voice and plausible death in her blazing cornered-kitten eyes from the moment we meet her.”
–Scott Brown, New York Magazine
“A downtown hit! This former joke of a musical now feels like a bonanza. The emotional core comes from the bond between Carrie and the religious fanatic of a mother who needs to keep her close. It helps that Molly Ranson and Marin Mazzie look eerily related and their fierce, distinctive voices blend occasionally in softer emotions. And Mazzie brings a sympathetic sense of panic to monster-mom expectations.”
–Linda Winer, Newsday
“Marin Mazzie dazzles! The beautiful, mournful Act II aria, ‘When There’s No One,’ nails the chills and thrills lurking in the Carrie tale.”
–Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News
“In the fascinating new musical revival of Carrie, we finally get a fair take on Margaret White. Marin Mazzie rejects the easy caricature of her as an unthinking zealot, and delivers a complex portrait of a mother who is passionate, well-intentioned, and tragically flawed. She injects the ferocious Act II ballad, “When There’s No One,” with a stirring intensity. It’s a magnetic performance.”
-Jason Zinoman, Slate
“A madly feverish musical! A sensational Marin Mazzie sings the blazes out of her combustible arias. Sweet and touching in the pivotal role of Carrie, newcomer Molly Ranson sympathetically suggests a telekinetic Molly Ringwald, especially when she blossoms in pink at the prom. Their mother-daughter encounters strike dramatic sparks that heat up the action. MCC Theater’s production, which has been fluently directed by Stafford Arima, wisely keeps this high school horror show to minimal yet effectively atmospheric circumstances.”
–Michael Sommers, NJ Newsroom
“Thankfully, Carrie has returned for her encore - and they finally did "get it right." With the sure hand of director Stafford Arima, the original creative team has revised the entire production; keeping everything that was great about the original musical and completely reworking everything else. Molly Ranson gives a spirited, heartbreaking performance as the outcast teenager. Her gorgeous voice and nuanced acting are an ideal fit for this complicated character. She is mesmerizing. “
-Bradley Steele Harding, FearNet
“The cast is terrific! Marin Mazzie is the mother from hell.”
–Jeremy Gerard, Bloomberg News
|
