For the first time ever, The Renner Theatre will be entertaining audiences with a production from the horror genre, and they picked the perfect season to do it. “Carrie the Musical”, based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel Carrie, directed by Jessica Cunningham and assistant directed by Shelly Tolliver, will open tonight, October 10, at 8:00 p.m. Additional show dates are set: October 11, 17, and 18 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday matinee shows will be October 12 and 19 at 2:30 p.m.
“I’m a huge horror fan, and Halloween’s my favorite time,” said Cunningham. “I kind of wanted to bring in a new and different audience, and I thought it would fit in perfectly with the time slot for October.”
The story follows Carrie White, played by Hope Scott, a high school student who is having a really hard time fitting in. Awkward Carrie is severely bullied by her peers and tormented by her overbearing and fanatically religious mother, Margaret White, portrayed by Ashley Bondurant. All the while, she is experiencing changes that she does not understand, including developing telekinetic powers, which she turns to after a prom prank goes awry. The events leading up to and on prom night unfold as described to investigators by Carrie’s classmate Sue Snell, played by Shelby Zimmerman.
Additional talent cast for the musical include Christian Byers as Tommy Ross, Allie Norman as Chris Hargensen, Cash Hesler as Billy Nolan, Andie Schmitt as Miss Lynn Gardner, Eric Turner as Mr. Stephens, Sean Starcher as Reverend Bliss, Alaina Roberts as Norma, Madysen Grimm as Frieda, Elise Clark as Helen, Scott Koenig as George, Hayden Weck as Stokes, Ashton Skoutelas as Freddy, Michelle Robinson and Scott Robinson as Voices, and Ash Dalton, Bailey Rice, Hugh Snyder, Sara Waggle, and Autumn Wheeler as Ensemble.
Even though the cast is portraying characters that don’t get along in real life, they are friends who enjoy spending time together outside of their time at the Renner.
“They’re hanging out after, like, rehearsal will be over, and they want to stay another half hour to an hour, and they’re just hanging out, talking. They’re meeting outside of rehearsals, hanging out, and going to karaoke, going to movies, going out to eat, things like that,” explained Cunningham. “So they’ve had this, like, really close bond, which is really nice, because of the heavy-hitting topics that we are dealing with on stage.”
Lighting effects and, of course, blood are being used to help bring the story to life on the Renner stage.
“The big climax of the scene, which most people know when you know the story of Carrie, is the pig’s blood that’s dumped on her at prom, and that causes her to spiral out of control. So we are using, like, that effect, and dumping that [artificial blood] during the prom scene,” Cunningham shared.
Musical Direction for the production is provided by Nathan Kearns, and Addy Weck is the producer and stage manager. Many other crew members are involved, including Trinity Milliken (choreography), Hannah Fasilis (property manager & stagehand), Sara Newell and Sean Starcher (stagehands), Dakota McConaha (lighting designer), Waylon Mauller (lighting board operator), Bruce Revennaugh (sound and set designer), and Jessica Cunningham, Rich Tolliver, and Reid Mudgett (set designers) just to name a few.
Parental discretion is advised when thinking about bringing younger audience members or those sensitive to the play’s strong themes, which include violence, isolation, bullying, adult language, and mature situations.
“Approach it [coming to the show] with the knowledge that it is not something that you would have probably ever seen before at the Renner,” explained Cunningham. “If you’ve seen shows in the past, this is the very first time that this theater is stepping into that horror genre.”
“We also have included in the brochures a lot of information on, like, anti-bullying, and, like, suicide prevention, and hotlines, and things like that. So we do have a lot of that information available to people, you know, if they know someone, or are someone who’s experiencing that,” Cunningham said.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors (55+), and $12 for students (please keep in mind that the play does include adult content). Purchase tickets ahead of time at zanetraceplayers.ludus.com or at the box office the days of the show. The Renner Theatre is located at 148 North 7th Street in Zanesville. You can follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/www.zanetraceplayers.org or visit them online at therenner.org to stay up-to-date on future shows and upcoming auditions.
