Carrie, The Musical
at Corona del Mar

Reviewed on January 31, 2013

Katie Gaitan
Mater Dei Catholic
Submitted for publication to

Cappies review: 'Carrie, The Musical'

CDM's "Carrie" is out for blood

By KATIE GAITAN
For the Orange County Register

Katie Gaitan is a senior at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Santa Ana.


High school drama, cruel over-protection, merciless bullying, and the supernatural collide. One thing's for sure, Prom Night is a night to remember in Corona del Mar's spine-chilling production of "Carrie the Musical".

Adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name, "Carrie" follows the plight of Carrie White as she struggles to survive high school, all the while meeting the steep spiritual demands of her ecclesiastical mother.

Jenna Funsten is Carrie White, ostracized misfit and telekinetic. With contorted, then confident posture, Funsten artfully delivers a smooth character transformation from meek and subservient in the first Act to self-reliant and aggressive in the second.

Margaret White (Sienna Petree) is Carrie's religiously adherent mother. Petree's archaic tone and demonically expressive eyes turn Mrs. White from god-fearing mother to obsessive sebastomaniac. Hair teased and clutching a glistening blade, Petree sends shivers through the audience with her deranged actions and palpable furry.

Alyssa Evans is Chris Hargensen, grudge-bearing mean girl, and Matt Kernan is Billy Nolan, her jock accomplice. Together Evans and Nolan take revenge to a new level.

Each ensemble member contributes by bringing a unique character to the stage. Breaking the fourth wall with the in-your-face opening number, "In", the ensemble works as a fluid unit to forcefully and intimately pull the audience into the story. Standout performances include Jacob Goins as George and Alysha Kundanmal as Norma.

Elliot Masters and Maia Mohammadi as Mr. Stephens and Mrs. Gardener, respectively, add a dash of humor to the otherwise chilling story. Masters' permanent frown and snarky comments exhibit a comic antipathy to the teenage angst around him.

From the sanguine aura in the number "The Destruction" to the positively satanic glow of the White home, lighting by Kobe Yank-Jacobs turns a black box theatre into a hair-raising acting space.

From the electrifying opening number to the spine-tingling finale, CDM artfully balances horror, angst, and Prom in their delightfully frightening production of "Carrie".

Tessa Kessen
La Habra
Submitted for publication to

Cappies review: 'Carrie, The Musical'

Corona Del Mar brilliantly terrifies with "Carrie the Musical"

By TESSA KESSEN
For the Orange County Register

Tessa Kessen is a junior at La Habra High School in La Habra.

The popular crowd, blood, and telekinesis are just some of the things that Carrie White has to deal with on a daily basis. The talented performers of Corona Del Mar High School treat audiences to a night of horror, bringing Stephen King's chilling story to life, teaching audiences' that if you push someone too far they might just crack.

Carrie White is an outcast, simply invisible to absolutely everyone. At school she's tortured by the "cool kids", and at home she's suffocated by her overprotective mother. When she discovers that she has the power to fight back with telekinesis, she's not afraid to get what she wants.

The superb cast commands the stage as they establish realistic and authentic relationships, displaying the wide range of emotions that their diverse characters require.

Meek and beautiful, Jenna Funsten creates two completely different versions of Carrie White. When being bullied, Funsten charms audiences' with her frightened eyes and slight optimism in despair, contrasting to her vengeful and independent persona as she seeks revenge on her mother and classmates. Funsten excels vocally; commanding the stage as she perfectly belts "Carrie".

Kindhearted and generous as Tommy Ross, Chris Diem brings an authentic energy to the stage. His energy pairs well with the lovely and honest Sue Snell, played by the talented and charismatic Lauren Thaxter. He demonstrates a wide range of emotion as he deals with the tenderness of first love with Sue, and the shyness and destruction of Carrie.

The comedic roles enlighten the show's mood at some of the terrifying and grim moments. As class clown Freddy, Ross Sneath teases Tommy in class, making witty comments with ease, triggering laughs from the audience. As queen bee Chris Hargensen, Alyssa Evans is perfectly cruel as she displays a distinct character, adding drama and dark humor while making snide comments about Carrie.

As the religious and terrifying Margaret White, Sienna Petree excels at her difficult character as she scolds her innocent daughter and amazes in her electric solo number, "When There's No One".

Lighting Design, created by Kobe Yank-Jacobs, works cohesively with the sound effects as the horror takes over when the blood is dropped onto Carrie, a red hue submerging the stage.

With an intense amount of dedication and character, students at Corona Del Mar present King's classic with ambition and pure talent.

Loralee Sepsey
Costa Mesa
Submitted for publication to

Cappies review: 'Carrie, The Musical'

"Carrie" is a scream

By LORALEE SEPSEY
For OC Theatre Reviews

Loralee Sepsey is a junior at Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa.



Prom is supposed to be a night to remember. A lovely night with dancing, laughter... and death? Corona del Mar's musical production of Stephen King's "Carrie" proves just how bad high school bullying can be and what happens when a prom goes wrong.

Centering around the life of a telekinetic, religious girl named Carrie White, this story shows how bad high school bullying really can be.

The technical aspects of the show are on point and add color and fright to the terrifying world of Carrie White. Run by RJ Ivory and designed by Kobe Yank-Jacobs, the lighting adds horror and tension to the scenes, with dark, eerie splashes of blood red and bright, electrifying greens and blues. The triangular set pieces, designed by Jessica Birn and Shelby Gaulter, allow changes between scenes to be quick and efficient, as certain scenes are painted on each side.

The ensemble of students at Carrie's high school create distinct, memorable characters, even when they are not the focus of the scene. Although the ensemble doesn't always blend together as one group, their torment of Carrie and the way they interact as a high school class is engaging and adds color and comedic relief to the show as a whole.

Margaret White (Sienna Petree), Carrie's intensely religious, insane mother, gives an electrifying performance with strong vocals, constant voice tone, and spectacular physicality with her wide eyed, weary facial expressions and stiff, crazed body movements. Her eye makeup, which creates intense dark circles, gives her just that right touch of crazy that adds terror to her performance. The interaction between Carrie and her mother is electrifying, as their duets show the control Margaret has over Carrie perfectly, injecting terror, submission, and power into every single note they sing and line they speak.

Although there are some diction issues that make some lines hard to hear, several other characters give spectacular performances. Mr. Stephens (Elliot Masters) is incredible with comedic timing, dry humor, and creating a distinct character through his consistent hand-on-his-pot-belly body movement and dry, sarcastic tone. Mrs. Gardner (Maia Mohammadi) contrasts with the rest of the cast by giving off a very adult like persona as the one person who cares about Carrie.

This production is one to die for, one to terrify and have you on the edge of your seat the entire show.