BROADWAY; CHILLING 'CARRIE' IN VENGEFUL RETURN - AS A MUSICAL

By Mel Gussow

New York Times

Nov. 29, 1985

CARRIE in the locker room, at the high- school prom, in the graveyard, and now ''Carrie,'' the Broadway musical - audiences should prepare themselves for chills and trills, courtesy of Stephen King and the composing team of Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The last two have written a rock score. Lawrence D. Cohen, who wrote the screenplay for the movie ''Carrie,'' has reconceived the tale in theatrical terms. The Broadway producers Barry and Fran Weissler, Frederick M. Zollo and Ivan Bloch are at the starting gate. And Terry Hands, of the Royal Shakespeare Company, is about to sign on as director. If all goes according to plan, ''Carrie'' should begin rehearsals in late spring or early summer, and it should be on Broadway next fall.

''Carrie'' was Mr. King's first published novel and it will be his first Broadway show - unless he has secretly concocted a pseudonymous theatrical venture. Under his own name and that of Richard Bachman, he is, of course, one of our prime purveyors of best-selling horror novels, so many of which have been filmed, beginning with ''Carrie'' in 1976.

The story, about a teen-ager's telekinetic revenge on her schoolmates, would seem to be an unlikely subject for musicalization until one recalls a show titled ''Little Shop of Horrors.'' In contrast to that musical, however, ''Carrie'' will not be a spoof. As Mr. Zollo says, on one level it is ''a high-school play about a girl's coming of age.'' He adds, ''The last scene is unforgettable. Do you remember how Carrie's hand reaches out of the grave?''

The English scenic designer Ralph Koltai is already pondering how to frighten the audience with special effects, and Mr. Hands apparently has his eye on redesigning a Broadway theater to accommodate the spectral production. The search will soon begin, in Mr. Zollo's words, for ''a Sissy Spacek of today'' to play the title role, someone who looks 16 and can sing. Should ''Carrie,'' the musical, succeed, perhaps one can look forward to other Stephen King thrillers on Broadway - ''The Shining,'' ''Cujo'' or ''Christine,'' which would become the first show to star a car in the title role.