Spotlight On: Caroline Lynch

 

 

Connecticut Theatre Company’s “Spotlight On…” series continues with a look into the cast of Carrie. Get to know Caroline Lynch who is portraying Sue Snell in our production!

 

 

 

Introduce yourself to our audience.

My name is Caroline Lynch, and I am so honored to be playing Sue Snell in CTC’s production of Carrie the Musical. This show is very special to me (I previously directed a production of it with my college theatre group), and it’s been incredible getting to experience this material from a new perspective!

 

How do you balance the heightened, supernatural elements of the show with the grounded, painful reality of high school bullying?

Sue exists separately from many of the supernatural elements of Carrie. Her experience with the events of the show is much more grounded in reality than the other students, because she never actually witnesses the height of Carrie’s telekinetic power. Instead, she sees Carrie as simply a fragile outcast, and a victim of an unkind culture that Sue herself was instrumental in perpetuating. Sue’s narration emphasizes the most grounded and painful aspects of this story, reminding performers and audience members alike to look beyond the fantasy and supernatural horror and remember the underlying takeaway of this show: that bullying and abuse leads, in many cases, to devastation and ruin.

 

What is your favorite musical motif or lyric in Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford’s score that helps define your character?

“You Shine”, Sue and Tommy’s duet in Act II, is a favorite moment of mine to perform, and one that I think is critical for Sue’s character development. The pair dance at their own ‘prom’, since they won’t be attending the real dance together, and it’s a sweet, yet devastating scene which marks the final time they share the stage while Tommy is still alive. After Tommy leaves the gymnasium, suddenly Sue is back in her interrogation room. But Tommy is gone, and she must repeat the refrain they sang together as a solo, now that she is all alone in the world: “no doubts, no more fears, I see you shine and the dark disappears, and I know everything is gonna be fine”. This refrain also returns in the epilogue, with Sue singing it to Carrie as she dies in her arms. In both cases, I interpret this as Sue hanging onto the best memory she has of her senior year, and the person that meant the most to her, in a futile attempt to stabilize her as her world comes crashing down.

 

How does this production make Carrie feel relevant to modern audiences?

Carrie the Musical’s relationship with time is unique – the original novel was released more than 5 decades ago, and yet many aspects of the story remain relatable to modern audiences (namely, bullying and abuse remain persistent motifs in life and media). The script adds some references to modern technology – characters have cell phones, and “Norma’s already posted [online] about” the incident in the locker room showers by the end of the class period – but otherwise there is no explicit mention of the intended era where the musical takes place. I think this timelessness allows for a lot of creativity when it comes to costuming and designing this show, and I am super excited to see how the creative team decides to construct our Chamberlain High School environment!

 

What has been the most physically or emotionally demanding part of the rehearsal process for you?

I really appreciate the decision to structure this musical as a loop; we both open and close with Sue, the prom’s lone survivor, alone in a starkly lit police interrogation room, doomed to retell this story indefinitely. Throughout the show, Sue exists between two moments in time, recounting an event to her unseen interrogators while actively experiencing it herself ‘for the first time’. Her emotional state, as a result, is very volatile, and it is challenging as an actor to reflect those frequent shifts, and to portray a girl who is constantly living and re-living the most horrifying week of her young life. While heavy at times, this role has also been immensely fulfilling to tackle, and I am so grateful to the team and my castmates for entrusting me with this responsibility!

 

What surprised you most about the script and score compared to the original Stephen King novel or the films?

The novel and 1976 film focus most heavily on characterizing Carrie and Margaret, and the rest of the student body feels more like a homogenous group rather than individuals with varying personalities and motivations. The musical, by contrast, lends a higher level of focus to each individual student; all are named, all have distinct personalities and relationships, and all experience the events of the show slightly differently, even if the tragic outcome is the same across the board. When I directed this show, I relished the opportunities that this created for character development across our entire ensemble. As an actor, I appreciate the scaffolding that this provides to create fun, unscripted interactions and foster interesting relationships between Sue and the other students, which enriches the scenes greatly (shouting out Kaitlyn, Lucy, and Grace specifically for our wonderful improv moment during the opening of Act II).

 

How does the ensemble use choreography and movement to amplify the tension and horror onstage?

The Destruction at prom is the culmination of this for sure! Sue doesn’t actually see much of it, but I can tell you that it’s going to look really awesome, and everyone’s work in that scene definitely amplifies the horror of that moment. 

 

If your character could give one piece of advice to their younger self, what would it be?

Ironically, I think Chris Hargensen says it best, right at the beginning of the show: “you care too much about what people think”. If Sue had sooner been able (or willing) to go against the grain and show Carrie compassion, or make a trustworthy adult aware of the gravity of the situation, the events of the story may have worked out differently…

 

What do you hope audiences are discussing in the car on their ride home from the theater?