SFGate.com – By Justin Bergman, Associated Press Writer
The off-Broadway remake of the 1970s cult classic film and book “Carrie” stars a giant drag queen plastered with makeup and clad in a hideous assortment of floral print dresses and bulky sweaters.
She almost makes Sissy Spacek’s homely character in the film look like a prom queen by comparison.
It takes a little while to get used to Carrie being played by Keith Levy, whose drag persona Sherry Vine is a veteran of the cabaret stage from New York to Berlin. In the opening scene, for example, she moans pitifully after getting her first period in the locker room at school and the other girls start throwing tampons at her.
It feels like it’s going to be a long two hours of schlocky drag-queen antics.
But once the high-camp tone is established, the cheesy, pun-ridden book by Erik Jackson and the overwrought performances make for a fun and breezy night at the theater ? as long as you’re not holding out for Broadway-level production values.