True Mirage Theater takes on a daunting challenge with “Carrie: The Musical.” It has never shied away from material with an edge ("Ride the Cyclone") in 2024, and with "Carrie" they pull out all the stops.
Emma Van Assche as Carrie and Darcy Hernandez-Gil as her fanatical mother. (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
Based on Stephen King’s novel about a bullied teenager whose telekinetic powers erupt with deadly consequences, the musical demands a lot: a young cast that can handle a difficult score, supernatural effects, blood, destruction and the emotional darkness at the center of Carrie White’s story.
Director Daniel Gil manages to pull those elements together with confidence, making effective use of the black-box theater. That so much of the action takes place in such a confined space, with the audience only feet away, makes the story feel even more immediate and unsettling.
Emma Van Assche as Carrie and Anna Russell as Ms. Gardner. (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
At the center of the production is Emma Van Assche as Carrie White, and she is exceptional. Van Assche, a current student in the theater’s Mini Mirage training program, has the vocal ability to handle the role, but she also understands Carrie emotionally. Her Carrie is awkward and frightened, desperate to disappear one minute and wanting to be seen the next.
She never turns Carrie into simply the weird girl everyone picks on. There is a vulnerability underneath that makes her fleeting moment of happiness at the prom all the more heartbreaking because everyone in the audience knows what’s coming.
Daniel Gil and Anna Russell in True Mirage's "Carrie The Musical." (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
And then there’s Darcy Hernandez-Gil as Margaret White.
Hernandez-Gil is a powerhouse. Her voice easily handles some of the musical’s best material, but the performance goes beyond vocal strength. Margaret could easily become a crazed caricature. Instead, Hernandez-Gil finds the fear, obsession and warped love underneath a mother whose idea of protecting her daughter becomes its own form of cruelty.
The scenes between Hernandez-Gil and Van Assche are the heart of the production and among its strongest moments.
Nestor Santana is appealing as Tommy Ross, the popular student who agrees to take Carrie to the prom. Santana has an easy presence and handles the role well.
Celia Voges as Sue Snell and Nestor Santana as Tommy Ross. (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
Olivia Hudson-Fuentes as Chris Hargensen, Carrie’s chief tormentor, while a bully to the core never really gives us a reason why she's so hateful to Carrie. What's the threat? The character needs a combination of vocal force, entitlement and genuine menace to drive the revenge plot that leads to the prom-night disaster, and that doesn’t always come through.
Celia Voges is exceptional as Sue Snell, Tommy’s girlfriend, who begins as one of Carrie’s tormentors but is troubled enough by what happens to try to make amends. Voges gives Sue an appealing sincerity and makes her change of heart believable without overplaying it. Anna Russell brings warmth and authority to Miss Gardner, the gym teacher who becomes one of the few adults willing to stand up for Carrie.
Olivia Hudson-Fuentes as Chris Hargensen and Richard K. Webber as Billy Nolan in True Mirage's "Carrie: The Musical." (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
Keandra Cordero’s musical direction deserves credit for getting strong ensemble singing from a cast that includes several young performers. The use of recorded accompaniment, however, sometimes works against the production. A live band would have given the score more immediacy and energy, but there is an understanding of budget restrictions that probably played in to not having live music.
Darcy Hernandez-Gil as Margaret White. (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
Several performers were alums and current students of True Mirage’s Mini Mirage training program, Lucas Camara and Maylix Graterol appear in the ensemble. Mini Mirage alumni include Jullien Ulloa, Celia Voges, Santana, Sofia Graterol and Brenda Duran, several of whom have since moved on to college theater programs or professional work.
That connection actually makes sense for a musical populated largely by high-school students, and the young cast brings the perfect energy to the school scenes.
The choreography is relatively simple, but that is not necessarily a drawback. With a young cast and very little room to maneuver, elaborate dance numbers would have worked against the production rather than for it.
One of the pleasures of the production is seeing how much True Mirage accomplishes in such a small space. Gil stages the supernatural elements inventively rather than trying to disguise the theater’s limitations. Chairs move seemingly on their own, doors slam and other practical effects gradually reveal Carrie’s growing telekinetic power. The inevitable blood effect is handled effectively, too.
Emma Van Assche as Carrie (Photo by Emily Rodriguez)
The scenic design is clever in the way it allows multiple locations and a sizable cast to coexist in the confined playing area. Lighting has an enormous job in a show reportedly containing more than 200 cues, and it creates much of the production’s tension and atmosphere. Sound also carries a significant burden, particularly once Carrie’s powers begin manifesting themselves.
True Mirage artistic leadership says it looks for musicals that have rarely or never been professionally produced in Miami and that fit its preference for less conventional material.
“Carrie” certainly qualifies.
There are moments when “Carrie: The Musical” retains the feel of a young, developing company, but True Mirage has chosen a difficult show and largely rises to the challenge. What could easily have become a campy display instead lands as a sincere story about cruelty, isolation and the consequences of pushing someone too far. The best part is that it is anchored by a strong cast and two exceptional performers at its center, Van Assche and Hernandez-Gil.
WHAT: “Carrie: The Musical,” presented by True Mirage Theater
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. Extended through Sept. 6. 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 4 and Saturday, Sept. 5, 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 6.
WHERE: True Mirage Theater, 8780 SW 133rd St., Miami
TICKETS: $35 general admission; $25 students
INFO: 786 484 -4711 and truemiragetheater.com
