Theater News

Tony Award Winner Alice Ripley to Star in Carrie: The Musical at Seattle’s Balagan Theatre

Ripley will costar in Seattle alongside Broadway’s Kendra Kassebaum and Keaton Whittaker.

Seattle

Alice Ripley
Alice Ripley
(© Tristan Fuge)

Alice Ripley, best known for her 2009 Tony Award-winning performance as mother and wife Diana Goodman in the Broadway musical Next To Normal, plans to star in a production of Carrie: The Musical (a coproduction with Seattle Theatre Group) at Seattle’s Balagan Theatre during its 2013-14 season. She will take on the role of Carrie’s abusive mother, Maragret White, joined by fellow Broadway veterans Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked) as Lynn Gardner, and Keaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music) as Carrie. The production is scheduled to run October 11-26.

Adapted from the 1974 horror novel by Stephen King, Carrie tells the story of 17-year-old Carrie White, who is terrorized by both her high school classmates and her fanatically religious mother. After a prom-night-prank gone awry, Carrie uses her newly discovered telekinetic powers to wreak havoc on those who have done her wrong. The musical features a book by Lawrence D. Cohen (screenwriter of the classic film), music by Academy Award winner Michael Gore (Fame, Terms of Endearment), and lyrics by Academy Award winner Dean Pitchford (Fame, Footloose).

Balagan Artistic Director and Broadway performer Louis Hobson (Bonnie and Clyde) will direct the production. Performances are set to be held at the Moore Theatre.

Also slated for the 2013-14 season is a “glam-grunge rock musical” entitled Nirvanov, which melds together Anton Chekhov’s classic Ivanov with an examination of the final days of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who, like Ivanov, committed suicide during a bout of depression. Scheduled to be presented in spring 2014, the musical features book and lyrics by David Lee and music by Nandi Johannes and David Lee.

For more information about Balagan’s 2013-14 season, click here.