CAROUSEL (2018) Previews- Page 24

[Lindsay is a goddess]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 10:41pm

So now that previews have been going for a few weeks and people have had the chance to voice their opinions, what do you think this show’s Tony viability is?

[Schmuli]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 10:43pm

I am totally open to opposing points of view. I thought a Grammy award winner/tony award winner and an opera star who sang at Super Bowl and Presidential inaugurations, who have reached the pinnacle of their respective trades qualify them as “bankable”. (I could be wrong w their credentials but I think not). Notwithstanding your contrarian views, I’ll still stand firm on my view. As to Sondheimits request for weed, I suggest he write my brother, a federal narcotics agt based in lower Manhattan. Please provide your private contact info and I’ll pass it along.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 10:54pm

Lindsay, well this certainly isn't winning best revival, but I do think Lindsay Mendez and Joshua Henry are still strong contenders with Jessie Mueller likely to get a nomination. I expect it'll get a best orchestrations nom and a best choreography nom. O'Brien sure as hell ain't getting a nomination.

[Lindsay is a goddess]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 10:59pm

GeorgeandDot said: "Lindsay, well this certainly isn't winning best revival, but I do think Lindsay Mendez and Joshua Henry are still strong contenders with Jessie Mueller likely to get a nomination. I expect it'll get a best orchestrations nom and a best choreography nom. O'Brien sure as hell ain't getting a nomination."

Do you think it’s possible that the nomination committee would choose to nominate only two revivals?

[10086sunset]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 11:02pm

With all of the recent changes, does anyone know the current run time on this?

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 11:02pm

I don't recall what the rules are, but I think the the fewest that they can nominate are three.

[Lindsay is a goddess]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 11:12pm

GeorgeandDot said: "I don't recall what the rules are, but I think the the fewest that they can nominate are three."

Okay I wasn’t sure. I knew there were only two nominees in 2011 but I checked and saw that there were only two revivals that year.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/17/18 at 11:58pm

GeorgeandDot said: "Lindsay, well this certainly isn't winning Best Revival, but I do think Lindsay Mendez and Joshua Henry are still strong contenders with Jessie Mueller likely to get a nomination. I expect it'll get a Best Orchestrations nom and a Best Choreography nom. O'Brien sure as hell ain't getting a nomination."

I agree with most of your predictions, although I think Jessie Mueller is vulnerable for a nomination. Lead Actress in a Musical is so crowded this year (I'm sure we all wish we could say the same thing about the opposite category), and with the criticisms regarding the lack chemistry between Henry and Mueller, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets snubbed.

[Lindsay is a goddess]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 12:14am

GeorgeandDot said: "Lindsay, well this certainly isn't winning best revival, but I do think Lindsay Mendez and Joshua Henry are still strong contenders with Jessie Mueller likely to get a nomination. I expect it'll get a best orchestrations nom and a best choreography nom. O'Brien sure as hell ain't getting a nomination."

What do you think about the designers chanced if getting nominated. A friend of mine’s mom, who works in the theatre, said that although the production as a whole wasn’t great, the whole thing was lovely to look at.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 12:23am

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Miles2Go2 said: "The 1994-1995 production played less than 10 months and 337 performances. Anyone know if it recouped?"

The last revival was produced by Lincoln Center Theater, so it was a noncommercial production."

Thanks Jeffrey. So it appears likely that no revival of Carousel ever recouped (with understanding that the LCT revival was non-commercial). So Poisonivy2’s assertion that “the star of Carousel is the score” while arguably true, hasn’t been enough to ever create a commercially viable revival. So the odds were stacked against this revival from the get-go. The only things that could have possibly saved it would have been strong direction and Bette-level stars to draw in the tourist crowd. This show appears to have neither. 

Updated On: 3/18/18 at 12:23 AM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 12:53am

Isn’t this the first commercial revival? All the others were produced by Lincoln Center - the first revival was in 1965 for the Music Theatre. There were a couple of return engagements at City Center, but those seem to have been limited engagements.

The only production that seems unsuccessful was the original national tour which returned to the Magesgic and closed unexpectedly early... but that would still be the original production, right?

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 10:11am

Playbill.com just dug up this old article from 1994 when Nicholas Hytner's production was getting ready to open...
http://www.playbill.com/article/how-the-1994-revival-of-carousel-restored-the-shows-reputation

[Deaconblue2]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 11:36am

Saw this last evening, sat in the first row mezzanine. The view was excellent, probably better than orchestra seating. This show is wildly sentimental to me for many reasons and I purchased tickets months ago. As everyone says the singing is fantastic and the dancing is great. Thats where it ends. The main failure of this show is the two leads. Neither can act. Not for one second did I ever believe that Julie and Billy even liked each other. Josh's portrayal of Billy is just bizarre. Billy is a thug, but there has to be something there, some sort of appeal to make you like/care for him on some level. Its not there, and I didn't care what happened to him and from the looks of it neither did Julie. Josh plays Billy as a total rage monkey, constantly angry, totally one note. He seems to be a thug from 2010 while the rest of the cast is in 1910. 

The death scene staging is just weird. Seconds after Billy dies Carrie and Snow walk up to her and tell her how much better off she is now!?! Like I said above, Julie seems to not even care. I wanted to love this show as I loved the Hytner revival but thats impossible. Those sitting around me felt similar to what I did except for one guy who told me that no, Mueller's acting had to be great because she once received a Tony award. I'm glad I saw it but disappointed.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 11:44am

Well, Mueller and Henry are great actors and I have seen them both give many amzing acting performances, which leads me to believe that they are working with little to no acting direction. O'Brien sounds like he just told people where to enter from and passed the rest of the work to the choreographer and the music director. What a mess.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 11:48am

Everybody who’s complaining about “acting problems” needs to realize that with performers like Henry and Mueller, the real problem has to stem almost 100% from the direction.

[Greenfinch4]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 11:51am

I saw this a few nights ago and have to agree with so much of what is said. I was so disappointed as someone who loves this show and had high hopes at least for the cast to carry the material through whatever issues there were with direction, but that's an impossible feat with direction this bad. The blocking is some of the worst I've ever seen and truly baffling. Someone brought up Billy's death scene and that was really a showcase of the fact that it seems as if O'Brien just doesn't understand how people interact? Everything was just so strange.

Jessie Mueller's talent is clear but I felt nothing from her Julie and she just fell by the wayside in a show that should be partly hers. I felt none of her passion for Billy and the most lively connection I felt from her was during the Mr. Snow reprise when she was joking around with Carrie about her upcoming marriage. Seeing the clear chemistry and connection she was able to elicit with Jason Danieley in the Lincoln Center version and the chemistry I've seen her have with previous co-stars, it's clear this is just a fault of direction. 

Josh's Billy, despite his incredible voice, also was supremely underwhelming. It felt like a caricature and while I was blown away by Henry during Soliloquy, I was not blown away by Billy. There was no dimension there or complexity. That song does all the work in taking you on a journey, you just gotta give into it, but the direction there, especially the blocking, just felt so forced. 

The sets were also atrocious and just overall added to the feeling that this was a bad high school production with some great leads.  The dancing, while beautiful, was too much at times and really halted the action, except during the opening waltz and Louise's ballet. Blow High, Blow Low was frustratingly long. 

[orlikethecolorpurple]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 12:04pm

Things that have been said about lack of chemistry are so disappointing to hear. I don’t have a particular fondness for the show and have never seen it live, but was drawn to seeing Jessie and Joshua. Do you think my neutral attitude about the show would perhaps lend to a better viewing experience? I have been deciding between this and Mean Girls for the final slot during my upcoming trip and am feeling pretty meh about both at this point.

[Jjohansan]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 1:37pm

Saw the production a couple nights ago and absolutely adored it! There are definitely a few moments that need to be ironed out, most notably Billy's death scene. It all seemed to happen so quickly and the moment did not really hit emotionally until about half way through "You'll Never Walk Alone". I found Jessie to be the most forgettable of the leads. She definitely wasn't terrible, but nothing she did really stood out to me. Joshua Henry's performance, while a bit uneven, was overall wonderful and I definitely see a nomination coming his way. 

The real standout of the night for me was Lindsay Mendez. She is doing something so completely different with the character and it WORKS. It was also lovely to hear her singing soprano as that is not something we normally hear from her. I would not be surprised at all if she were to be nominated, and win.

[pynetree8]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 7:26pm

I saw the show on Friday evening (3/16). I've been a lurker on these forums for a while, but thought I'd put in my two cents. I'm a fairly regular visitor to Broadway (1x every 2 months or so?) and am a big fan of the classics. I really enjoyed my time seeing Carousel. I thought the orchestrations, vocals, and choreography were really the standouts. Early on some on the forum were lamenting the lack of a physical carousel/ horses- but those posters didn't mention how well choreographed it was such that the dancers' bodies were forming the shapes you'd expect to see on a carousel horse and poles as they were leaping. I thought it was lovely! Truly the vocals are world-class and I loved the chemistry between Mendez and Gemignani!

One thought that occurred to me as I was watching and in the time since is that content of the show itself likely hasn't aged well and some issues others have noted stem from the source material and not the production. Some have expressed incredulity at the love/lust at first sight, a feeling of abruptness in the death scene, and the obvious discrepancies between how domestic violence is handled in a 73 yr old book (109 if you count the source material!) and how such topics are handled today. I agree that Julie's character can be perceived as weak or one-dimensional compared to women we see in film/ tv/ theater today- but are other female characters in musicals from that time period much different (thinking Laurie in Oklahoma, specifically).

Some could say it's poor direction and that perhaps there could be more sexual chemistry between Julie and Billy in the bench scene-- but I'm not sure that's true to the story. I've recently watched the Lincoln Center concert version and re-watched clips of the old movie and I feel the same awkwardness about the love at first site, death scene, and domestic violence as I did when watching this production. I think elements of the story are quite dated, but keeping this in mind, I think others would enjoy this production.

In conclusion-- I wouldn't cancel a scheduled trip hoping to see the show or walk in cynical and expecting the worst. It's a classic show with a beautiful score, excellent choreography, and some world-class vocals. I would recommend seeing Carousel with an open mind (keeping in mind that some of the source material feels quite dated).

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 7:38pm

It's so disappointing to read that Jessie Mueller's acting is lacking - having seen her in all of her other shows, I have always found her to be an excellent in-the-moment actress, especially in Waitress. It's clear that this production lacks a strong director. I'm looking forward to seeing this production soon, nevertheless. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 8:56pm

Lot666 said: "Sally Durant Plummer said: "The set is beautiful, though the Carousel is not a big spectacle moment - we only see the top of the carousel come through the ceiling, the actors dance in a circle below it."

Are there nocarousel horses?"

The exquisite opening  from LCT's '94 revival was a spectacle moment!



 

 

 

[Addipia94]

Posted: 3/19/18 at 12:02pm

So, I saw Carousel last Friday. I have to admit when I purchased my tickets a month ago, I was filled with excitement, having been a huge fan of Jessie Mueller (always a thrill hearing her sing live). However, as the date approached I read more of these comments on this thread and I began to have doubts about this production. With that being said, here were some of my thoughts.

- The overture was lovely. The choreography was engaging and really helped to move the story along during this part of the show, which I feel would normally be a bore to audiences that were not already entranced by the beautiful score here.

- The production’s set felt cheap at times, but I don’t know…I didn’t really mind the set being slightly less “showy” (for lack of a better word). I always felt Carousel didn’t need an extravagant set because the score/book were captivating almost entirely on their own.

- Starcatcher was weird. Felt very out of place and intruded on scenes that would have been better without his presence.

- Billy’s costume was odd. Not a fan of the ULTRA high wasted pants. Felt, out of place for the time period.

- As for Jessie/Joshua’s chemistry, I thought it was fine. Let’s remember these characters were living in a different time period, in which expressing physical emotions definitely come gradually. So people saying they should have been more physical, I have to disagree. I felt it was right for Julie/Billy characters. Of course, I would expect Carrie/Enoch to be more so due to their personalities. Overall, Billy’s death scene, while Carrie/Enoch staging was odd, the emotion was there. The theater fell completely silent during this scene.

- Ending felt rushed as others mentioned, but I didn’t feel anything was really missing by it. Julie still doesn’t say anything to Louise and just tells her to go inside after she asks her about being hit. I felt there was more chemistry between Julie/Billy after his death than when he was alive, if that makes any sense.

 

- Joshua’s Soliloquy was a major highlight and got the largest applause. I know others were saying he slapped Louise in the face (I think), but on Friday he definitely just slapped her hand. Still the audience was shocked by this.

- Jessie has little stage time and felt like she didn’t have much to work with, but her numbers (If I Loved You and What’s The Use of Wonderin) were fantastic and always in great voice. Shame the role of Julie is so small, because she really deserves to do more here.

- Lindsay was a lovely Carrie. She hit all the comedic elements and the audience loved her! She seems to be having a great time up there.

- Renee did very well. I thought she fit the role perfectly actually. The audience was so excited by her.

 

Come to think of it, the four leads (Joshua, Jessie, Renee and Lindsay) all got an entrance applause. As some people say, these aren’t really “bankable” stars, so interesting if the audience was clapping because they knew the actors (which would prove they are more bankable than people think) or they were clapping for the characters.

Overall, I did enjoy this production more than I thought I would after hearing this boards comments. I know this was a preview performance, so I’ll definitely go back after it opens to see what changes have been made/see the actors more settled in their roles. If you like Carousel, I still think it’s worth seeing this production. While some flaws, it was still beautiful to watch.

Updated On: 3/19/18 at 12:02 PM

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 3/19/18 at 12:09pm

Lindsay is a goddess said: "GeorgeandDot said: "I don't recall what the rules are, but I think the the fewest that they can nominate are three."

Okay I wasn’t sure. I knew there were only two nominees in 2011 but I checked and saw that there were only two revivals that year."

 

The Committee has the authority to nominate as few as two productions in a given category, even if more shows are eligible.

 

[Lindsay is a goddess]

Posted: 3/19/18 at 12:25pm

carolinaguy said: "Lindsay is a goddess said: "GeorgeandDot said: "I don't recall what the rules are, but I think the the fewest that they can nominate are three."

Okay I wasn’t sure. I knew there were only two nominees in 2011 but I checked and saw that there were only two revivals that year."



The Committee has the authority to nominate as few as two productions in a given category, even if more shows are eligible.

"

Then do you think it possible that they will only nominate MFL and OOTI?

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 3/19/18 at 12:35pm

The Tonys are very commercial and Scott Rudin is very powerful, so I doubt they would take that step. But they could if it opens as a giant disaster.