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Stephen King on Carrie

On November 16, 2007, Stephen King appeared on "Nightline" to promote "The Fog." During his interview, he spoke about "Carrie." Here's an excerpt from the interview. Sorry, the sound is slightly out of sync -- I tried ripping it again and encountered the same problem.

Stephen King's Novel

THIS SECTION IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Carrie was the book that catapulted an unknown writer named Stephen King into fame. A teacher who wrote short stories for magazines out of love (and a need for cash), King began writing what eventually became Carrie, but found himself dissatisfied with the result. He liked neither the Carrie nor Sue characters, and felt as if he were in uncharted territory on "Planet Female," a terrain he was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. As King said in his book, On Writing, "I couldn't see wasting two weeks, maybe even a month, creating a novella I didn't like and wouldn't be able to sell. So I threw it away."
Thankfully, his wife, Tabby fished the pages out of the trash and insisted that he finish the story. "You've got something here," she said. "I really think you do." Reluctantly, King finished the story for his wife... and the rest, as they say, is history.

While it wasn't an overnight sensation, King goes on to say that it was sort of forgotten about after it was first published, he initially saw a $2,500 advance... and was eventually sold to Signet Books for $400,000 (half of which, went to King).

Here's an excerpt of King's introduction to the audio book, where he gives a little more insight into the creation of the novel:

Two years after the book was first published, a film was made based on his novel. And the rest, as they say, is history... Although his name was misspelled "Steven" in many of the materials for the film, he became so well-known for CARRIE that he eventually became known as "the master of horror." Not bad for a novel that he originally intended to throw away!

Click here for a clip from a 2007 interview where King discusses writing the novel and it's origins.
The novel's been reprinted countless times over the years. Here's some different variations of the cover from around the world, many of which feature Sissy Spacek, since she's been synonymously linked with the character:

Video Recordings

This is not a sale/trade list, this merely meant to document the recordings that exist. Information about audio recordings and other memorabilia is available here. If you can offer additional information or know of something that's been overlooked, please let me know.

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Video Recordings

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"Do Me a Favor"

1988

Rehearsal footage of the song filmed prior to the opening of the show in Stratford. Multi-camera, complete song.

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Stratford-Upon Avon

February 13th, 1988

First performance in Stratford-Upon Avon, filmed by an in-house camera with a full, stationary view of the stage. Complete performance.

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TV Teaser

April 1988 (?)

Bizarre commercial that aired prior to the opening of the show on Broadway. Those who didn't understand the staging of the show would doubtlessly be further confused by this TV promo.

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B-Roll Footage

1988

Footage filmed for use by television stations for review of the Broadway show. Excerpts of "In," "Evening Prayers," "Carrie" and "Wotta Night" are featured. Betty Buckley appears in the "Evening Prayers" portion; an extended version of "Carrie" is circulating that combines the b-roll footage with a portion of the Broadway bootleg, which makes it a seemingly complete performance of the song. Footage of "Don't Waste the Moon" appears in reviews (below); unaltered b-roll footage of this song has yet to surface online -- that I am aware of.

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Broadway
April/May 1988

Act One from one of the Broadway performances, which includes Betty Buckley. Filmed from the audience, it features a view from the left side of the stage. The second act was not recorded, as the battery on the audience member's video camera died.

It long been rumored that there is a tape in existence of both acts of the Broadway show. Allegedly Ken Mandelbaum, who wrote "Not Since Carrie" (see the Memorabilia/Print page), holds a video copy but refuses to leak it into fandom.

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Joel Siegel's Review

April 1988

Taped from the evening news, a brutal -- but fun -- review of the Broadway premiere. Siegel was so chipper that it was hard to dislike him, even if you disagreed with his opinion. Though I must admit, pretty much everything he said about "Carrie" was right on the nose...

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Pat Collins Review

April 1988

In case the screen-cap above didn't clue you in, this is another nasty review of the Broadway staging; Collins concludes by saying it ranks amongst the worst musicals its ever been her displeasure to view. Not nearly as fun as Joel Siegel's review (above).

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"And Eve Was Weak"
June 10, 1996

Betty Buckley did a charity concert to raise money for AIDS research at Carnegie Hall and invited Linzi Hateley to join her. The duo performed "And Eve Was Weak," though I'm not certain if more songs from 'Carrie' were performed. I do, however, know that it was filmed and has wound up in the hands of collectors.

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Stagedoor Manor

1999

The complete performance of the Stagedoor Manor version of the show with Julie Kleiner as Carrie and Erin Alexis Evers as Sue. Filmed in-house with multiple cameras.

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Emerson College

Year Unknown

Complete performance of the only American amateur production that was allegedly authorized by one of the playwrights.

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Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium
2001

Complete performance of the show that was staged at a high school in Denmark.

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"And Eve Was Weak"

2006

Way Back on Broadway's staging of the song with Mandy Radick and Jesse Vishy.

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"When There's No One"
2007

In 2007, I came across a then-recent video online of Betty Buckley performing "When There's No One," introduced by an enthusiastic fan of the musical. Unfortunately, I lost my bookmarks soon after, and can't seem to locate the clip again. I know it wasn't on You Tube -- if somebody knows where to find it, please let me know.

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"I'm Not Alone"

2007

Natalie Weiss performs the song for the Penn State Broadway Jukebox.

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"And Eve Was Weak"

Another performance, presumably from 2007, with Katie Pelkey as Carrie and Jordan LeGaux as Margaret. If there was ever a doubt that someone besides Betty Buckley could pull off Margaret's songs, take a listen to LeGaux. Wow. Fantastic performance.

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"Heaven"

2008

John Moauro soulfully croons the song at Kent State University's Boo5 Theatre.

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"Don't Waste the Moon"



2008

Performance of the song at Thurston High School in Oregon.

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"Open Your Heart"



February 26, 2008

At the "Broadway Backwards 2" benefit, Betty Buckley told the story about being booed during a performance of 'Carrie,' and she was then coerced by host (and rabid 'Carrie' fan) Seth Rudetsky into singing "Open Your Heart."

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