CAROUSEL (2018) Previews — Page 10

Do you think I have a shot of getting a rush ticket at like 3pm? I can't get there any earlier.

Ok! thank you so much!

BeadleDeedle said: "I got there around 5 for the first preview and got 4th row far house left. I think you’ll be fine "

How was that seat, btw? Obstructed? I am looking at a couple of dates that have that far side only maybe like row seven or eight. I really prefer any aisle even if it's not perfect so I can stretch my knee a little. Thanks

Joshua Henry probably is the best choice for this role regardless of his skin color, but I do think there is an opportunity for his appearance to inform the character and it seems that O'Brien isn't fully taking advantage of it. He's chosen to colorblind cast the role, and approach the character in a race-less sense, but Henry's race could add some interesting social commentary.

Another friend of mine messaged me this morning and said that the show is an absolute hack job with tons of great material just missing from the show. Why are they cutting so much? If you want to cut something, cut some of the dancing. I guess the ending has been heavily changed as well as What's the use of Wondrin. Apparently some songs were cut in half with stuff given to other singers. The Rodgers and Hammerstein estate is ok with this?

Anyone know if Geraniums was put back in or if the whole second half of What's the use of Wondrin was still shortened and largely given to Renee Fleming? I hope the creatives look at this board because if they do they really need to go back to the original, FULL script and score. I don't care if it's 4 hours long, if it's good, I'll sit through it and I'm sure other people would as well. With a cast this good, we want to see Carousel UNABRIDGED.

Updated On: 3/2/18 at 10:23 AM

Sally Durant Plummer said: "I think the production would be better if the production said Henry was the best actor for the role. As I stated before, this production feels very uncomfortable with the events of act 2 - specifically the scene where he hits Louise. It just feels very unthought-out."

As opposed to all of those other productions where they say that the actor they cast is NOT the best actor for the role?? Seriously, many of your comments throughout this thread are truly bizarre. Have you even seen it yet?

Do we think Joshua Henry is still a lock for the Tony?

I’m a bit confused as to what you mean when you say the production “doesn’t ignore” the casting choice. Is there someone in the show who points out that Billy is black? Do other characters treat him differently in this staging than they probably would a white Billy?

Updated On: 3/2/18 at 01:02 PM

Colorblind casting rarely works in "reverse" because many plays centering around non-white characters feature ethnicity as a central facet of the given circumstances of the story. Ergo, "A Raisin in the Sun" would not work with any cast other than what was specifically called for by Lorraine Hansberry, whereas "Much Ado" holds up, regardless of multi-ethnic casting.

Anyway,

The only people worried about casting a Black actor in a brutish role are those that, THEMSELVES, see Black men in that way. The fact that Billy is Black should have no impact on how his humanity is portrayed and perceived, but since this is America and we are in the throes of PC panic, Mr. Henry's race must needlessly become a centerpiece of the conversation. If the aim of the production is to make some sort of commentary about Billy's "Blackness", I don't support that, unless such an approach illuminates something interesting about us as people AND about the piece itself.

I, for one, view Blacks as individual human beings, capable of any number of virtues as well as flaws. I find it fascinating that, as a character, Billy has incredible complexity, and is a GREAT role for an actor with the acting and singing chops to assail it in all it's beauty AND ugliness (must be said, that the combo of those two skills in great abundance is rare).

At the end of the day, it is not Mr. Henry's, nor anyone else's job, to make you all COMFORTABLE. It is his and everyone else's job to create a vivid and compelling production of a difficult yet classic piece of theatre that is worthy of people's time and money.

(On a side note I also find it amusing that people are assuming that Mr. Henry is the "best" actor that auditioned for the role, rather than the one producers thought would be most marketable. Surely there are other leading men in New York that could sing and act the pants off the role, who didn't even get into the room to audition. In fact, we don't even know if Henry auditioned at all--he and Rudin worked together on "Shuffle Along", presumably there was already a relationship there, perhaps some conversations took place. Who knows? I don't. You don't either.)

????? What’s with the condescending tone? I was speaking out of curiosity, lol. People keep making a bunch of assumptions about this when I think it would be interesting to hear him in an interview or some other way talk about how he’s approaching the problematic side of Billy’s character. Clearly there was something that drew him to take the part in the first place.

Also, clearly you’re not interested in having a real discussion if you’re just going to go, “WELL, JUST WATCH THE SHOW YOURSELF!” after you make a bold claim and someone asks you to elaborate instead of just blindly nodding and accepting whatever you say. Excuse me for responding.

Updated On: 3/2/18 at 01:18 PM