Ashleigh Murray star in Roverdal/Wikimedia Commons
By ELIZABETH
VALENTIN
Arts Editor
Two dark depictions of high school were mashed together this week when “Riverdale” showcased the students’ rendition of “Carrie: The Musical.” The episode showcased the musical talent of all of the cast who sang and danced on screen and on stage throughout the entire episode.
In the performance, based on Stephen King’s Novel “Carrie,” Betty plays the role of good girl Sue Snell and Archie plays her boyfriend and boy next door Tommy Ross. Veronica plays the role of bad girl Chris Hargensen and Chuck plays her boyfriend and bad boy Billy Nolan.
There is also a “Phantom of the Opera” aspect to this episode, when Cheryl is cast to play Carrie White. Kevin, who is producing the show, received a note written in cut up magazine letters from an unknown source, telling him to recast the role of Carrie and if he did not do so that he would see consequences.
When Kevin does not recast the role, thinking that the note was a prank, a sandbag almost falls onto Cheryl during a rehearsal. This is what convinces Kevin that whoever wrote this is the real deal and that the threat was very much true. Ultimately, he recasts Midge as Carrie.
While most of the “Riverdale” cast was excited for this episode, one cast member was noticeably not musically vocal throughout the episode. Jughead had the role of creating a documentary about the production process of the show, leaving him with only spoken lines.
Elite Daily reported in an interview with multiple cast members that Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead Jones, was the least excited about the musical episode.
In the past Sprouse has made his thoughts on singing vocal. In one tweet from 2013, Sprouse said “Are @dylansprouse and I the only Disney stars who didn’t pursue a singing career? #StillTimeForOurOompaBand #Sprouse.”
Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty Cooper on the show, said in the interview with Elite Daily that “Cole refused to sing or dance. He immediately was horrified. But he’s not involved in the singing or dancing parts.”
Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica Lodge on the show, said in her interview with Elite Daily “He just hates musicals… That worked out for him. I really like what they did with Jughead’s narrative in this, they fit him into this very well.”
In part because of Jughead’s lack of musical performance, this episode felt extremely natural. As someone who has watched several interviews and videos where the cast interacts with one another, this episode felt more like watching the cast be themselves, than it did watching them play their characters.
Despite the upbeat music and fun dance routines, the episode was able to maintain that eerie and dark feel through the letters that Kevin was receiving. The show also did this through Cheryl, who found her old self again. She reverts to the Cheryl who would burn down the Blossom manor and cut off her mother’s oxygen supply in previous episodes, as she channels her inner Carrie to make the statement that she is back.
This episode also features the return of a specific villain makes their presence known with a bold statement at the very end of the episode, which leaves the audience for the musical mortified.
