CAROUSEL (2018) Previews — Page 24

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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?