Carrie (musical) - Differences From The Novel

Differences From The Novel

• Billy and Chris run on stage and throw the blood on Carrie instead of dumping it from the ceiling. This was because of the difficulty in drenching Linzi Hateley in stage blood, which would clog her body microphone. Since her song "The Destruction" began almost immediately, there was no time to clear the microphone before it was needed.
• In the novel, Chris is forbidden from attending the prom because she skips detention (as punishment for teasing Carrie). In the musical, the detention is not mentioned. Chris is punished for refusing to apologize to Carrie, instead choosing to yell out her standard taunt, "Carrie White eats shit."
• The musical does not include Carrie's destruction of the whole town following the prom, which occurs in the novel. (However, in the 2012 revival, a trail of destruction from the school to Carrie's home is mentioned)
• Chris and Billy are killed during the prom massacre in the musical. In the novel Carrie causes their car to crash a few hours after the prom.
• The characters of the principal and the teacher are merged into a single character named Miss Gardner.
• The "sanctuary" that Margaret forces Carrie into is a cellar rather than a closet.
• The Alma Mater is different from the Ewen High School's song in the book.
• While the novel says that Ralph White (Margaret's husband and Carrie's father) died, the musical implies that he left Margaret when she was pregnant with Carrie, causing her intense distrust in men.
• Billy is more reluctant to pour the pig's blood on Carrie. He says, "Even for me, this trick is pretty damn sick." In the novel, he has a sadistic thrill and pushes Chris to do it. Their abusive relationship is also never mentioned.