Character guide
Margaret White
from Carrie: The Musical
Margaret White is Carrie's fiercely religious mother in Carrie: The Musical, the 1988 show scored by Michael Gore and based on Stephen King's novel.
- Show
- Carrie: The Musical
- Broadway premiere
- 1988
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Michael Gore
Margaret White on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1976 film and later screen versions
Betty Buckley links stage and screen: she played Miss Collins, the gym teacher, in the 1976 film, then played Carrie's mother Margaret on Broadway in 1988, replacing Barbara Cook, who left after a technical accident during the Stratford run. On screen, Piper Laurie earned an Oscar nomination as Margaret.
Margaret's death differs too. In the film Carrie telekinetically sends knives flying into her; in the musical Margaret turns a knife on Carrie, and Carrie stops her mother's heart. Patricia Clarkson (2002) and Julianne Moore (2013) played later screen Margarets, and Marin Mazzie took the role Off-Broadway in 2012.
Who is Margaret White?
Margaret raises her daughter Carrie in a home dominated by strict, fervent religious belief, sheltering her from the outside world in ways that leave Carrie unprepared for ordinary teenage life. Her intensity comes from a place of genuine, if deeply misguided, conviction, which makes her both frightening and, at moments, tragically sympathetic.
The relationship between Margaret and Carrie sits at the emotional core of the musical, and Margaret's inability to let her daughter grow and connect with the outside world drives much of the story's tension leading up to its climax.
Playing Margaret on stage
Margaret is a lead role that demands a performer capable of real vocal and dramatic ferocity, able to swing between suffocating tenderness and frightening extremity within a single scene. It is often considered one of the showiest parts in the score, giving the actor room for big, theatrical moments.
Audiences and performers are drawn to Margaret because she is a complicated antagonist rather than a simple villain: her love for Carrie is real, even as her actions cause harm, and that tension gives the role unusual depth for a musical theatre part of this kind.
Margaret White: frequently asked questions
What show is Margaret White from?
Margaret White appears in Carrie: The Musical, which debuted in 1988 with music by Michael Gore.
Is Margaret White a lead or supporting role?
Margaret White is a lead role, sharing much of the musical's dramatic weight with her daughter Carrie.
Who wrote the music for Carrie: The Musical?
Michael Gore composed the music for Carrie: The Musical.
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