The Green Room Theatre at E.J. Lajeunesse has a specific kind of energy in the summer. It is the smell of industrial cooling units fighting the July humidity and the frantic energy of a cast about to tear into a piece of musical theatre history. Cardinal Musical Productions is currently occupying this space, preparing to mount Stephen King’s *Carrie*. It is a show that famously crashed and burned on Broadway in 1988 only to be resurrected as a cult darling with a score that actually has something to say.
The production opens July 5 and runs until July 14. This is a heavy lift for any local company. You have the weight of the 1976 Brian De Palma film and the visceral imagery of Sissy Spacek drenched in pig’s blood hanging over the audience’s expectations. But director Joseph Cardinal is not interested in a carbon copy of the cinema classic. He is chasing something more grounded in the wreckage of human relationships.
Sydney White takes the lead as Carrie White, the Windsor actress stepping into a role that requires a terrifying amount of vocal range and emotional stamina. The cast is a collection of recognizable faces from the local circuit, but the focus remains squarely on the girl in the middle of the storm. The narrative is familiar: an awkward teen with telekinetic powers living under the thumb of a religious zealot mother. When the prom turns into a public execution of her dignity, she brings the whole house down.
I sat down with Joseph and Sydney to talk about the mechanics of this horror-musical hybrid. I wanted to know if we were getting camp or genuine terror. Joseph was quick to draw a line between the screen and the stage.
"The musical is much different than the movie; it deals with the interactions of real people and the effects they have on each other’s lives. It has heart. There are moments of joy and sadness. The real horror for me is seeing how willing people are to discard people that are different for their own benefit," Joseph says.
This shift in focus is what saved the property from being a permanent punchline. By moving away from jump-scares and toward the "real horror" of social exclusion, the show gains a level of maturity that the source material sometimes lacks. It is not about the fire; it is about the match that lit it.
The story of Carrie White has survived for 50 years because it taps into a universal vein of teenage misery. We talked about why this dark, often depressing story continues to fill seats. Joseph sees a bit of the protagonist in everyone who has ever sat in a high school cafeteria.
"Well, aside from having telekinetic powers, we all know a Carrie or have a part of her in us. Fitting in is not always the easiest thing to do in the world, and in the setting the story is told to us, it is very easy to understand. The story deals with one’s sense of belonging, and we can all relate to that. The struggle is real," Joseph says.
Sydney echoes this sentiment. For an actress, finding the humanity in a character who eventually commits mass murder is the primary challenge. You have to make the audience want her to win, even when "winning" means total destruction.
Aside from having telekinetic powers, we all know a Carrie or have a part of her in us. Fitting in is not always the easiest thing to do in the world... The story deals with one’s sense of belonging and we can all relate to that. The struggle is real.
"I think that the part of Carrie’s story that resonates with me the most is her being an outcast and being so ostracized. I think that everyone has at one time or another felt like an outcast, has felt extremely different from everyone around them, and that’s what makes this story so great. Its ability to reach such a large audience and connect with so many people is what makes this story special and a cultural phenomenon. I think that its ability to resonate with so many people is what makes it so special," Sydney says.
The conversation naturally turned to bullying. In the age of social media, the relentless hounding Carrie faces feels more relevant than ever. Shows like *Heathers* and *Dear Evan Hansen* have explored this, but *Carrie* was the blueprint. Joseph’s take on the "lesson" of the show is blunt and lacks the fluff of a standard press release.
"Yes, please stop doing it. We all need to be accountable for our own actions, and we have no right whatsoever to judge or hurt someone because they are different. We need to love and accept as opposed to constantly hating," Joseph says.
But the musical does something clever with its structure. It does not just paint the bullies as two-dimensional monsters. It shows the machinery of the high school experience and how it grinds everyone down, even the popular kids. Sydney points to the opening of the show as the moment this dynamic is established.
"From the beginning of the show with the opening number 'In', the show hyper-focuses on the pressures of being a teenager for literally every character. Even Chris, Carrie’s biggest bully, sings about worrying about her SATs. It’s an interesting dynamic starting the show explaining every character’s story except the title character’s, so when you finally get to her first actual scene, her stark difference from the other teenagers is obvious. It sets up the division between Carrie and the rest of her classmates from the start. I think that this division really makes people feel for Carrie from the very beginning and sets up the story dynamic very quickly," Sydney says.
There is a massive amount of pressure when you tackle iconic scenes. The locker room incident and the prom are burned into the collective consciousness of pop culture. Sydney is no stranger to "cult" roles, having recently come off a run in *Heathers*.
"Oh, totally. I recently was in Cardinal Music’s production of Heathers, and the pressure of playing Heather Chandler was very similar to how I feel playing Carrie now. With Heathers becoming very popular around the time that I played the character, I was extremely nervous playing such an iconic cult character. This time around I am even more nervous! Carrie is such an iconic character with such an iconic story that practically everyone knows, so I want to do her justice, especially in the iconic scenes," Sydney says.
And then there is the question of the blood. In the theatre world, "wet" shows are a logistical nightmare. You have microphones, expensive costumes and the safety of the stage floor to consider. Many fans expect a splash zone, but Joseph is taking a more disciplined, artistic approach to the carnage.
"No it won’t, there will be no blood zone and very little blood will be used. I believe in the safety of the actors and I don’t need blood to tell the story. The heart of the story is not in the gore and if that’s what people want, just watch the movie," Joseph says.
It is a risky move. Some purists want the spectacle. But by stripping away the literal mess, the production forces the audience to look at the emotional wreckage. It is a choice that prioritizes the "theatre" in musical theatre.
Casting this show was not just about finding people who looked the part. The score for *Carrie* is notoriously difficult, requiring soaring rock vocals and tight, dissonant harmonies that can fall apart if one person misses a cue. Joseph was looking for vocal precision over everything else.
"Well first and foremost when casting this musical the ability to sing was very important. Unlike most musicals where you would have an entire section singing certain harmony parts, each person on the stage is responsible for their own individual part. I was also looking for young people because of the school setting. I also had to find someone with a great voice to play Margaret, who is Carrie’s Mom, who was capable of acting the part. I feel I was able to cast the show the way I envisioned it and I am very proud of this cast," Joseph says.
The relationship between Carrie and Margaret is the spine of the show. If that chemistry fails, the prom scene loses its weight. It is a domestic tragedy that happens to end in a supernatural disaster.
Sydney’s path to the role was born out of a genuine obsession with the source material. She is a self-proclaimed fan of the King novel, which is arguably one of the most effective epistolary novels in the horror genre.
"I have always loved the story of Carrie! I am not a huge fan of the horror genre in and of itself, but something about Carrie really spoke to me. I’ve read the book and seen every movie, so when I heard about the musical I was apprehensive and ecstatic. I was very excited to experience more Carrie content; however, I was very much expecting the musical to not live up to the story in other mediums. I was wrong. I became obsessed with this show, and when Joe mentioned possibly doing this show, I couldn’t wait, and I had to audition. There’s just something about her story that connects with so many people," Sydney says.
*Carrie* runs for two weekends this July. You can catch it at The Green Room Theatre at E.J. Lajeunesse in Windsor from July 5 to 14. Tickets are $25 and can be picked up at Cardinal Music at 2569-B Jefferson Blvd. If you want a seat, do not wait until the bucket drops. This is one of those shows that reminds you why we go to the theatre: to see someone else’s internal fire finally catch the light.
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