At a ceremony held today at London's Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Chris Adams was awarded the Society for Theatre Research Theatre Book Prize Out For Blood: A Cultural History of Carrie the Musical.
Published by Methuen Drama, Out For Blood follows the story of this musical slated by the critics at its première and its later rise to become what the original Carrie, Linzi Hateley, considers likely to be “the most successful flop on Broadway.”
Hateley is amongst the contributors, as well as other original cast members, creatives, crew and those who saw the fated early productions at Stratford-on-Avon and on Broadway.
Running from the show’s beginnings, through its infamous failure to its new birth, the book also includes song analysis and archival material.
The judging panel, chaired by STR Committee Member Howard Loxton, was made up of theatre critic Clive Davis, lecturer Dr Kate Dorney and PR rep Kevin Wilson.
Davis 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.”
Chris Adams, who works as a marketing manager of musicals, has also co-hosted a podcast about Carrie The Musical, of which he is a lifelong fan.
The shortlist from which Adams’s book was chosen also featured:
- A Sense of Theatre by Richard Pilbrow
- Different Aspects by Michael Ball
- Exploring Shakespeare by Bill Alexander
- Searching for Juliet by Sophie Duncan
- Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench