Out for Blood

<p><b>Winner of the STR Theatre Book Prize 2024</b> <p/>Featuring contributions from over eighty original cast members creatives crew and audience members <i>Out For Blood </i>pieces together the surprising hilarious and often-moving inside story of <i>Carrie The Musical</i> to discover how this 'horror of a Broadway musical' lived died and was subsequently resurrected as a mainstream success story. <p/>In 1988 following the success of its production of <i>Les Misérables</i> and in the wake of the commercial success of mega-musicals such as <i>Cats Phantom of the Opera </i>and <i>Chess</i> the Royal Shakespeare Company agreed to co-produce a musical based on Stephen King's <i>Carrie</i> written by the team behind <i>Fame</i>. The result was one of Broadway's most infamous disasters. Plagued by technical problems on-stage chaos and a critical savaging <i>Carrie</i> would soon become the by-word for musical theatre flops. But thanks to the efforts of a vocal army of fans and the impact of bootleg trading and emerging online communities the show reinvented itself as a mainstream success story with thousands of productions worldwide. <p/>Patching together memories archive material and contemporary reports <i>Out For Blood</i> dives into the origins and development of this infamous show and examines how a promising entertainment product can swiftly gain a notorious reputation what makes or breaks a Broadway show and how even the most unlikely of musicals can find its place in the hearts of fans around the world. <p/>Based on the hit ten-part podcast <i>Out For Blood</i> will delight theatregoers flop aficionados and 'Friends of Carrie' alike.</p>