Guess what, ever since the world began
Same plot, everyone's been dumping on their fellow man
Pounding people they feel better than
I hope you're taking notes cause
You feel everyone deserves a shot
Get real
Some of us have got it, girl
And some got squat
There’s a temptation to lump “Carrie” with musicals like “Heathers” and “Mean Girls” — as another sad story about teenage peer pressure, pecking orders and the desire to fit in. Truth is, “Carrie” is one of the most complex psychological thrillers to ever see the stage.
First and foremost, “Carrie” is a story about abuse, beginning with Carrie herself, played for The Belle Theatre by Sophia Brook.
“She is a very shy and isolated girl,” said Brook of her character. “She has been severely abused by her mother and bullied at school as well.”
Turns out that Carrie isn’t the only character in this torturous story who’s been abused at home. So has her tormenter, Chris Hargensen, whose revelatory number is “The World According to Chris.”
My daddy taught me
You get nowhere being nice
So now I'm sharing his advice:
The world according to Chris is
Better to strike than get struck
Better to screw then get screwed
You'd probably think it's bizarre
But that's the way things are
Chris is played by Maliyah Mattis. She sees her character as a tragic figure. Her pathologically narcissistic parents give her material things in lieu of the love she actually craves.
Not all abused children become abusive. In fact, most find socially acceptable ways to come to terms with their childhood experiences. But several studies have found that boys who were abused or neglected are more likely to become abusive with their partners in adulthood than those who had not been abused and being abused or neglected as a child is a predictor for juvenile violence and use of mental health services for both genders.
This correlation lies at the heart of Chris’ dog-eat-dog mentality in “Carrie.” To earn her parents’ love, she idolizes them, puts them on a pedestal and tries to be just like them — controlling and heaping abuse on those poor unfortunate souls who cross her path, like Carrie.
“She’s ruthless,” Mattis acknowledged. “Throughout that entire number, and even in the end when Sue tells her to grow up, she’s like, but why? Why do I have to? She cannot change her way of thinking. It just doesn’t make sense to her.”
Sue Snell, played by Emily Feichthaler, is not caught up in the cycle of abuse that’s ensnared her bestie. She has an epiphany that enables her to see that Carrie’s not some spastic weirdo toad. Rather, she’s the product of her mother’s religious fanaticism, as she expresses in “Once You See.”
She... she's Always been there.
I... I never knew
I felt as though
This girl revealed herself to me
And now I know,
That once you see
You can't unsee
“’Once you see, you can't unsee,’” Feichthaler emphasized. “To me, that means that once you look into someone's life and you try to understand, you can't forget it. Once she's tried to understand Carrie, she can't go back and be who she was before. She has to leave what she knows behind and become a different and better person.”
Even if it means losing Chris as a friend.
“Sue has this change while Chris doesn't, and it's very hard to lose a best friend, I know, but Sue did the right thing by standing up to Chris rather than going along with whatever her friend thought because it was comfortable,” Feichthaler explained. “Sometimes it's good to be uncomfortable if it means doing the right thing and standing up for someone. So, ‘Once You See’ definitely gives a deeper look into, I won't say Sue's life, but Sue's perspective.’
Audiences discover the depth of Carrie’s despair and desolation in the show’s title number, “Carrie.”
That's not my name!
Doesn't anybody ever get it right?
Carrie
Why don't they remember I am "Carrie White"?
Carrie
Is it any harder to say than "god damn toad" and "spastic'' and 'weirdo" and "dumb bitch"?
Doesn't anybody think that I can hear? I hear
'Specially when I got them screaming in my ear, I hear
Everyday they mock me and push me around, 'til I drop
If I had a wish, God, I wish they'd stop
“I love the song ‘Carrie’ because it’s the first moment that you get to see Carrie’s internal life,” said Brook.
I might take a chance
I've always wondered how
And maybe I'll dance
And try hard to laugh more than I do now
And the world will open its eyes
And for once the whole world will recognize Carrie
“She’s getting to speak not only about the way that these words have impacted her, but also about the inner hope that she still holds within her.”
And that finally brings us to the crux of “Carrie”: the consequences that flow from losing all hope.
“She gains hope throughout the story, which is all crushed in one devastating moment,” Brook observed. “And what makes this even more heartbreaking is that all she wanted was to be seen and loved.”
Carrie responds with vengeance.
The instinct for revenge is ancient. It is deeply satisfying. It activates the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine and creating a fleeting sense of control, including, vicariously, for members of the audience.
While the audience may be horrified by the outcome, they are nevertheless satisfied that Chris and her cronies got what they had coming.
But what then of Sue?
Does “Carrie” stand for the proposition that “no good deed goes unpunished?”
Feichthaler doesn’t think so.
“If someone were to say, no, nothing comes from doing the right thing, I would say that is not correct because doing the right thing is making someone else feel included, like Sue was trying to do, or making someone feel seen,” she asserted. “In this day and age, it's very hard to be seen for who you are rather than who you're trying to be. And I think it's very important that everyone is able to be seen for who they are.”
The Belle Theatre’s production of “Carrie the Musical” is worth seeing.
Not just because of our inherent fascination with telekinesis or the story’s famous blood bath ending.
Not just because it is well acted and it’s characterized by outstanding vocal performances.
But because beyond the messages it delivers about bullying and isolation, the pressure imposed on adolescents to conform to the expectations of their peers and the fear of losing control, it is a powerful explication of the destructive nature of revenge.
“Carrie: The Musical” is onstage at The Belle Theatre Aug. 7-15.
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At the center of the story is Carrie White, a shy, awkward teenage girl who is mercilessly bullied at school and controlled by her fanatically religious mother at home. Carrie discovers she has telekinetic powers—the ability to move things with her mind—which become stronger as she grows increasingly distressed.
Brook uses acting lessons and techniques she learned this past year at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts not only to inhabit her character, but also to navigate the wide range of disparate emotions Carrie evinces over the course of the play. A strong singer, she uses her vocal range and resonance to capture the isolation and anguish of a girl trapped in a cruel high school hierarchy that seems determined to break her.
As Sue Snell, Emily Feichthaler delivers a compelling performance. She is particularly good in the “Interrogation Space” scenes where her guilt and inner conflict are palpable. As the one girl who tries to do the right thing, Sue’s well-meaning actions ultimately contribute to the tragedy. Feichthaler’s performance reveals these layers of complexity and conflict both through her acting and vocals.
As Chris, Maliyah Mattis perfectly embodies the quintessential ’70s mean girl, the bitchy bully-in-chief of Chamberlain High. Her solo, “The World According to Chris,” is a biting and energetic ode to the high school social hierarchy, brimming with a ruthless, survival-of-the-fittest attitude.
Little has changed since the 1970s – bullying and social isolation still plague young people today, perhaps even more so in the age of social media, where the school day no longer ends with the final bell.
Despite its supernatural elements, “Carrie: The Musical” delivers a deeply human message. It urges us to consider: What happens when we fail to truly see one another? Carrie’s tragic journey is a haunting reminder of the importance of empathy, the danger of blind conformity, and the courage it takes to stand up for what is right.
Psychology of revenge
As noted, “Carrie” stands for the proposition that revenge is a destructive force, not only against those to whom it is directed, but for the person seeking vengeance.
In “Carrie,” that vengeance is lethal as it is in many of the films referenced above. But it can also be more insidious and subtle, such as ignoring someone who hurt you, withdrawing help, excluding them socially, or quietly celebrating when something goes wrong for them. These acts may seem harmless, but they serve the same psychological purpose as open retaliation. They allow us to regain a sense of control and justice without direct confrontation.
Revenge can also take the form of incentivizing the aggrieved to improve themselves or succeed in ways that demonstrate their superiority over the person who harmed or slighted them. Psychologists have given this type of revenge a name: “betterment revenge.” Here, the focus is on personal growth, success, or happiness as a way of sending an unspoken message that you did not get over on me, proving the proverb that “Living well or success is the best revenge.”
As mentioned, the brain’s neurocircuitry makes revenge deeply satisfying in the moment. It presumptively restores a sense of balance, promising closure. Hence the adage, “sweet revenge.” But this chemical rush quickly fades. Decades of modern research suggest that the consequences are far less satisfying. Getting even keeps the hurt alive, fuels fixation and sets off cycles of escalation that spread far beyond the original harm.
While that may be, the acceptability, normalcy and even desirability of righteous revenge is reinforced culturally by novels, film and television shows. Think “Unforgiven,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Kill Bill,” “Cape Fear” and “Rambo.” The heroes takes justice into their own hands, deliver the punishment, and walk away lighter, stronger, and free. What we rarely see is what happens next, particularly the emotional toll of revenge.
Because of such cultural reinforcement, people who take revenge on someone who hurt, harmed or insulted them frequently feel worse afterwards but they nevertheless believe it had helped them, stating that they would have felt even worse had they not acted. This shows how deep the myth runs. We cling to the idea that revenge heals, even when the evidence tells us otherwise.
The truth is that revenge may briefly satisfy our sense of justice, but it rarely satisfies our emotional needs because the mind keeps replaying the story, searching for a resolution that punishment alone cannot provide.
While subtle revenge may seem harmless, it still keeps the focus on the person who caused the hurt. True freedom comes only when the need to get even fades altogether. Until then, even the quietest form of revenge keeps the past alive.
Chris Hargensen's idolization of her father
As noted, Chris Hargensen idolizes her parents, particularly her father. She emulates him and his philosophy of “do unto others before they can do unto you.”
There is ample support for this type of response to childhood abuse and neglect.
Studies show that many children of abusive parents try to be just like their parents on the belief that they will win their parents’ love and admiration if they can be just like them. Emulating their abuser is also a coping mechanism. It’s easier to pretend things aren’t that bad than to face the hurt directly. This kind of thinking helps them hold on to a connection with their family, even when it’s painful.
There is also social pressure to be like our parents and internalize the mental tapes they impart, no matter how twisted or distorted they may appear to others. Society tells us that we should respect our parents no matter what. This can lead people to ignore their own bad experiences and think idolizing their parents is the right thing to do. Friends and family can reinforce this idea, making it harder to recognize the truth about the abuse.
Finally, children find it difficult to let go of the idealized version of their parents because their own sense of identity and self-esteem is so connected to their parents. The fear of losing their self-identity keeps them stuck in the cycle of idolization, as happens to Chris Hargensen even when Sue tells her to grow up and stop tormenting Carrie.
The cast
Carrie White Sophia Brook
Margaret White Brittany Ringsdore
Sue Snell Emily Feichthaler
Tommy Ross Josh Malpica
Chris Hargensen Maliyah Mattis
Billy Nolan DeVaughn Parris
Miss Lynn Gardner Jessica Turner
Mr. Stephens Terry Foster
Reverend Bliss Terry Foster
Frieda Quinn Strosser
Norma Emily Berlanga
Helen Camila Guedes
George Justin Price
Stokes Dalton Foose
Freddy Kevin Morillo
Ensemble Peyton McCarthy, McKenzie Anderson, Gaege Hock
The songs
In - Kids
Carrie - Carrie
Open Your Heart - Reverend Bliss, Margaret, Carrie, and Choir
And Eve Was Weak - Margaret, Carrie
The World According to Chris - Chris, Billy, Sue, Tommy, and Kids
Evening Prayers - Carrie, Margaret
Dreamer In Disguise - Tommy
Once You See - Sue
Unsuspecting Hearts - Miss Gardner, Carrie
Do Me a Favor - Sue, Chris, Tommy, Billy, and Kids
I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance - Carrie, Margaret
*A Night We'll Never Forget - Sue, Tommy, Chris, Billy, and Kids
You Shine - Tommy, Sue
Why Not Me? - Carrie
Stay Here Instead - Margaret, Carrie
When There's No One - Margaret
Prom Arrival - Kids, Tommy, and Carrie
Unsuspecting Hearts (reprise) - Miss Gardner, Carrie
Dreamer In Disguise (reprise) - Tommy, Carrie
Prom Climax - Carrie, Chris, Billy, Tommy, and Kids
Alma Mater - Kids
The Destruction - Carrie, Kids
Carrie (reprise) - Carrie, Margaret
Epilogue - Sue, Kids
More about Sophia Brook
Sophia Brook is a 19-year-old actor, currently studying Drama at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (Class of 2029). Although she’s a veteran of more than 50 stage productions and several award-winning films, she can already see vast improvement in her acting skills because of what she learned during her freshman year at the Tisch School of the Arts.
One of the techniques she learned at Tisch during her freshman year has particularly enabled her to effectively portray an isolated young woman who is controlled at home and tormented at school.
“It’s called daydreaming,” said Brook. “What we do is we literally daydream about something that would make us personally feel a specific emotion. So let's say I wanted to feel insecure and betrayed by someone. I would think of something that would make me feel that way. Something imaginary. Then later on, once I go onstage, I can feel those emotions go through the story and then return and be like, OK, none of that was real.”
A second technique she learned at Tisch, stated Brook, is “listening and responding.”
“I really, really love that because that means I am working organically in the moment,” Brook explained. “I'm being spontaneous and working off of my impulses, and that makes it feel like that scene is happening for the very first time not only for my scene partner and I, but also for the audience because in real life, these characters don't know what the other person is going to say, what's going to happen, what they're going to do. So if we are working spontaneously and really listening to one another and responding that way, it feels like everything is new and organic.”
Of course, Brook and her castmates have to replicate this organic, in-the-moment response night after night, show after show.
“Absolutely,” Brook acknowledged. “But the blocking helps with that. So, we have to hit this mark at this place, at this point in time. But within that framework, we have flexibility and [Director] Tyler [Young] has been so wonderful in letting us make our own acting choices."
For this reason, no two shows are exactly alike. There will be variations depending on how each actor delivers their lines and the reaction that elicits from their scene partner. The script may dictate what they say, this listening-and-responding mechanism will affect how they deliver their lines.
This may seem like nuance, but it makes the overall performance authentic and fresh.
Finally, Brook has also learned to be messier.
“And with Carrie, there is so much to be messy with,” Brook noted. “Being messy means that I don't always have to be so easily digestible to an audience. In real life, as humans, we're messy. We are different. It's not always easy to understand where we're coming from or how we're feeling or what we're thinking or what we're saying, and allowing that messiness to really come out and not being afraid of it is really, really huge, especially for a character like Carrie, especially as you get towards the end with the destruction and all of that.”
Her stage credits include Anne Boleyn in “Six the Musical,” Dorothy for The Belle Theatre in “The Wizard of Oz,” Pocahontas in “Disenchanted the Musical” for The Belle Theatre, Cady Heron for Gulf Coast Symphony in “Mean Girls Jr.,” the ensemble of “Les Miserables” for Melody Lane Theatre, Rapunzel in Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” Sandy in “Grease,” Margot Frank in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and Mary in Mary Poppins. In 2023, Sophia earned the All Star Award at the Atlanta Junior Theater Festival, and she scored five superiors at the District Thespians with a Best in Room accolade.
In 2023, Sophia also starred in a short Christian film. Titled “The Remedy,” the film tells a story of redemption and hope in the context of a troubled father-daughter relationship that was inspired by the true-life relationship of director/screenwriter Kate Olivia Sandnes with her late father. Brook received a Best Actress nomination and the film was chosen as Best Short Film by the 2023 Christian Online Film Festival (the largest festival of its kind in the U.S.
Sophia made her feature film debut as Emily in “Rough Draft” (Dangerous Curves Productions), directed by Aaron Jackson. She has also appeared as Victoria in “DEAR …” (BrandonVia Productions).
In addition to her work on stage and screen, Sophia recently completed an international internship at Buraco Nigro Recording Studio in Brazil, where she collaborated on audio for film projects. In the U.S., she recorded vocals with Beyond Entertainment for the demo track of the original musical "The Czar of Hollywood," now available on all streaming platforms.
Brook has trained in acting, voice, and dance for over a decade and continues to refine her craft through intensive study and professional coaching. She has also performed the national anthem at more than 50 public events and serves as the founder and president of Loving Letters, an organization that sends uplifting handwritten letters to seniors across the country.
Her artistry and leadership have earned her numerous recognitions, including multiple Critic’s Choice Awards at the Florida Thespian State Festival, the All-Star Award at the Junior Theater Festival Atlanta, and Best Overall Production honors at Broadway Stars of the Future.
With every role, she strives to tell stories that move hearts, spark empathy, and captivate audiences.
An accomplished singer, Brook has performed at venues around Southwest Florida, including with the City of Palms Youth Choir and Gulf Coast Symphony at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.
About Emily Feichthaler
Feichthaler has performed in more than 38 community theater and high school (Oasis High) musicals. Her stage credits include Caitlyn Caussin and a French teacher for Melody Lane Theatre in "Mean Girls High School Edition," work in the ensemble of "Footloose" for Cultural Park Theatre, Heather Duke (Green Heather) in The Belle Theatre’s production of "Heathers the Musical Teen Edition" (2023); Vicki/Maggie/Judy in "A Chorus Line Teen Edition" for Melody Lane Theatre (2023), Little Eponine in "Les Miserables" for Melody Lane Theatre (2021), "Footloose" for Fort Myers Theatre (2021), Matilda in "Matilda the Musical JR." for Creative Theater Workshop, Eva in "Bring It On" for The Belle Theatre, Matilda/Erica in "Matilda JR." for Melody Lane Performing Arts Center, Apostle/Angel/Featured Dancer in “Herod’s Song” in "Jesus Christ Superstar" for French Woods Performing Arts Center, Taylor in "High School Musical" for The Belle Theatre, Evie/Audrey in "Descendants JR" for Fort Myers Theatre, Willy Wonka in "Willy Wonka JR" for The Belle Theatre, Timon in "Lion King JR" for Oasis Middle School, Mme. Carlotta in "Phantom of the Opera" for Fort Myers Theatre, Policewoman/Swing in "Clue" for Oasis High School Thespians, Young Sophie in "Mamma Mia!" for Oasis High School Thespians, Director of the Show in "Elf the Musical" for Wolf Creek Collective, Featured Ensemble in "Clue" for Wolf Creek Collective, Silly Girl 1/Enchantress/Dancer/Napkin in "Beauty and the Beast" for Florida Repertory Theatre, Jafar in "Aladdin JR" for Fort Myers Theatre, ensemble in "Descendants" for Alliance Youth Theatre, Serena Katz U/S in "Fame JR" for Fort Myers Theatre, Foxy/Skylights the Pirate in "Peter Pan JR" for Melody Lane Performing Arts Center, Who Family Member in "Seussical JR" for Oasis Middle School, Steward/Milky the Cow in "Into the Woods" for Melody Lane Performing Arts Center, Clerk/Londoner in "Mary Poppins JR" for Melody Lane Performing Arts Center, Chef Ludmilla/Farmer Jerry in "Dear Edwina JR" in Oasis Elementary School and Lynn/Lemur in "Madagascar JR" for Oasis Elementary School.
Emily's passion is performing, but she is also a talented athlete. She is an accomplished soccer, tennis and golf player. She is captain and No. 1 singles on her high school tennis team, has earned two black belts in karate, and played on the Cyclones' traveling soccer team.
She wants to be in movies, on Broadway, and in commercials. She has sung the national anthem for the Minnesota Twins, at the City of Palms Classic National Basketball Tournament, and at ECHL Florida Everblades Hockey Games.
She received a superior rating (the highest) at the Florida Vocal Awards Competition in 2021. She won the 2019 Turn It Around Voice Tour with a rare high platinum rating.
Emily also enjoys academic competitions. She won her school's Pi Memorization of digits contest with 110 digits. Emily has played piano since age 4 and is gifted academically. She loves to read and travel.
Feichthaler will be attending Georgetown University in the fall. Her parents not only graduated from Georgetown. It's where they met and fell in love.
"It will be a really big chance," she noted. "I've lived in Cape Coral my whole life and I've been in the same school, Oasis, since kindergarten. So, going off to Washington, D.C. is a little intimidating but it's the right choice for me and I'm really going to grow as a person when I get there."
She intends to major in theater and business, with an eye toward marketing.
About Maliyah Mattis
Maliyah’s stage credits include Motormouth Maybelle in “Hairspray the Musical” for Florida Rep Education (2025), multiple roles (Miss Chauvenet/Betty Chumley/Cabby) for The Belle Theatre in “Harvey,” “Saturday Night Fever” and the ensemble of “Rent” at The Belle Theatre, the Baker’s wife in the Stephen Sondheim classic “Into the Woods” at Cultural Park Theatre, Shirelle in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, the ensemble (and as swing) in “Elvis: A Musical Revolution” (which represented her Broadway Palm debut), Miss Esther Sherman in “Fame” for Cultural Park Theatre (2023), the Princess Who Kissed a Frog in “Disenchanted the Musical” for The Belle Theatre (2023), Yellow Heather (Heather McNamara) in “Heathers the Musical Teen Edition” for The Belle Theatre (2023) and “Anything Goes” for North Fort Myers High School in a role that gleaned Maliyah runner-up for Outstanding Performance in a Female-Identifying Role at the 2023 High School Musical Theatre Awards.
Production history
"Carrie" was Stephen King’s first published novel. King actually threw the first few draft pages of the story in the trash. His wife, Tabitha, retrieved them, read them, and encouraged him to finish the story, which became his debut novel. Its 1974 release resulted in the sale of more than 30 million copies and changed their lives forever.
Like the book, the film was a commercial success that received considerable artistic acclaim. Auditions for the film were held concurrently by Brian De Palma and George Lucas for both “Carrie” and “Star Wars.” Sissy Spacek wasn’t initially De Palma’s first choice for the title role. In fact, he wasn’t even going to have her provide a screen test for the role. Undaunted, Spacek showed up anyway, wearing an old sailor dress her mother had made for her when she was a child, unwashed, with her hair matted down with Vasoline. Her screen test blew everyone away. Spacek lived the role during filming. She isolated herself from the rest of the cast during production, decorated her dressing room with religious iconography, and studied an illustrated Bible to inhabit Margaret White's world from Carrie's perspective and slept in her blood-soaked prom dress during the three-day destruction sequence to maintain continuity. Spacek received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance.
The film's prom scene has had a major influence on popular culture and was ranked eighth on Bravo's 2004 program “The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.”
In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
“Carrie: The Musical” had a more checkered production history.
It premiered in 1988 and was a notorious Broadway bust, running for only five performances. Academy Award winners Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford (“Fame”) and writer Lawrence D. Cohen re-wrote the show, modified the storyline and changed many of the songs. The Belle Theatre uses the revised version, a modest Off-Broadway hit in 2012.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
