in other news...

I read something on Playbill.com today that just killed me.

As many of you know, I relish the opportunity to see bad, bad theater. The higher the stakes, the bigger the flop, the more hilarious I find it. Ken Mandelbaum wrote a wonderful book called, "Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops" that hits the nail on the head.

Well, the title of the book refers to perhaps the greatest musical flop of all time, an adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel of teen angst, "Carrie." It was a colossal flop, only lasted a few days, and instantly entered Broadway musical legend.

One of the myriad baffling elements of the play was the production concept, which suggested a contemporized Greek tragedy. For some inexplicable reason, the director convinced everyone to apply a classical spin to everything in the show: the set was stark with columns, the costumes suggested togas, etc.

Well, Playbill.com's Seth Rudetsky recently chatted with Broadway baby Charlotte D'Amboise, who was lucky enough to be a part of "Carrie." And here's what they had to say...

"Of course, I obsessively talked about her experience in Carrie, and she confirmed what I had heard. Here's the deal — what has always made the story of Carrie so scary is that it essentially takes place in a typical high school in Anytown USA . . . sort of like Grease. Someone said that to the director, and he agreed immediately . . . but the person telling the director didn't clarify the spelling. So, instead of the set being a typical high school and the kids wearing clothes from a mall, the costumes and sets represented . . . Greece! Seriously! All white costumes — big white columns."

My. God.