Out for Blood: A Cultural History of Carrie the Musical with Chris Adams

The Drama Book Shop presents, in association with Jay Michaels Global Communications, a conversation with Chris Adams, author of the 2024 Society of Theatre Research Book of the Year - Out for Blood: A Cultural History of Carrie the Musical.

A talkback, signing and live podcast recording.

About Out for Blood

Featuring contributions from over eighty original cast members, creatives, crew and audience members, Out For Blood pieces together the surprising, hilarious and often-moving inside story of Carrie The Musical to discover how this "horror of a Broadway musical" lived, died and was subsequently resurrected as a mainstream success story. In 1988, following the success of its production of Les Misérables and in the wake of the commercial success of mega-musicals such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Chess, the Royal Shakespeare Company agreed to co-produce a musical based on Stephen King’s Carrie, written by the team behind Fame. The result was one of Broadway’s most infamous disasters. Plagued by technical problems, on-stage chaos and a critical savaging, Carrie 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.

Patching together memories, archive material and contemporary reports, Out For Blood 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.

About the Author

Chris Adams has worked in marketing in a variety of London theatres and arts organisations for nearly 20 years. He discovered the musical version of Carrie as a horror-obsessed teenager and a long fascination ensued. During the Covid lockdowns, he produced and co- hosted a podcast about Carrie called Out for Blood with friend Holly Morgan, tracking down over 80 people involved in the show’s chaotic history to interview. His book about the musical, Out for Blood: a Cultural History of Carrie the Musical, was published by Methuen Drama in 2023 and won the annual Theatre Book Prize, awarded by the Society for Theatre Research.  Judge Clive Davis, chief theatre critic of The Times (London), said “Out for Blood is the kind of book, entertaining yet thoroughly researched, that ought to appeal to several different kinds of audiences. For one thing, it’s a detailed insider account of the gruelling business of putting on a musical. If you ever had any doubts about how much sweat and blood actors and technicians devote to their craft, you’ll learn lots here. There are insights, too, into how art and commerce can go to war with each other. Most of all though, it’s a book that appeals to our perennial guilty instinct for reading about disasters... just about every page contains an eye-opening anecdote.”

Chris is an active participant in London’s busy amateur theatre scene, directing musicals like Bat Boy, 9 to 5, Pippin, Little Shop of Horrors and Carrie. By day, he works in London’s West End as a marketing manager of musicals.

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