For their spring musical, King’s Fork High School drama club students are reprising Stephen King’s classic tale of a bullied schoolgirl who uses telekinetic powers to exact revenge on her tormentors.

And there will be blood. Fake blood. Half a gallon of it, according to drama teacher Jennifer Miguel.

“Carrie: The Musical” is based on King’s original 1974 novel, Miguel said.

“With the recent movie that came out, I figured it would be a great attraction,” she said. “Plus, it’s about bullying. I thought it would be a good way to present that (the anti-bullying message) in a different way.”

The show’s abundant special effects include a “blood”-drop.

“The students and I actually engineered how to do it,” Miguel said. “We are suspending the bucket from our first electrical (gantry), and we have made our own blood.”

Playing the title character, Marissa Gross — along with her prom date Tommy Ross, played by Joseph Hurdeg — will be the deluge’s unfortunate target.

The sequence has been rehearsed to the full extent once, Gross said. “It wasn’t a very good test,” she said. “We kind of missed.”

It’s the first time the drama club has really staged a rock-style musical, according to Miguel, and the students are excited.

“I honestly like rock musicals,” Hurdeg said. “I was actually very excited that it was a rock musical — that’s why I auditioned.
“I just gives me a lot more energy than other plays, like when I’m backstage and listening to the music.”

Rebecca Dixon plays Carrie’s main tormentor, Chris Hargensen. “Carrie realizes how messed up she is and how Chris is the main person that did this to her, so she gets killed first,” Dixon explained.

Besides fake gore, the show’s other special effects include things like fog and colorful lighting, according to Miguel. “It’s very different than what we are used to seeing,” she said.

Payton Guinn, who plays Miss Gardner, indicated an eagerness to take to the stage. “I feel like I’m very prepared,” she said. “I love musicals.”

Four shows are planned for the King’s Fork High auditorium: May 15 and 16 at 7 p.m., and May 17 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets are $7 at the door.