"The tragic inevitability of “Carousel” has seldom come across as warmly or as chillingly as it does in this vividly reimagined revival. As directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Justin Peck, with thoughtful and powerful performances by Mr. Henry and Ms. Mueller, the love story at the show’s center has never seemed quite as ill-starred or, at the same time, as sexy."
This is quite a different review of Mueller and Henry's chemistry from the ones I've been reading about on this forum for months.
Juggalo12 said: "The early negative feedback on this board was shameful, to say the least. I mean, people actually commenting and judging a show they have not even seen yet. And even those who have seen it were extra harsh on it for no reason. I saw it about 3 weeks ago and thought it was magnificent from start to finish. You get an evening of your money's worth without question"
Everyone who didn't have your experience was wrong?!
EllieRose2 said: "It's very annoying reading about the MeToo movement regarding this, or any Broadway production. They were not going to change huge sections of the musical to fit into 2018. It's stupid and a ridiculous suggestion."
No, but if you're staging a revival in the current climate, the #MeToo lens is going to come up as far as how people view it.
Ben Brantley mirrors my opinion basically word for word. I do disagree with the fact that he seems to feel that there are problems with the musical itself. I just think that O'Brien has messed up with finding a modern viewpoint for this show. He seems to have not analyzed the work deep enough. Carousel is one of the most complicated musicals and O'Brien hasn't dug deep at all. The cast is doing strong work, but a revival of Carousel in 2018 should be darker. O'Brien has focused too much on the romance and not enough on the dark, disturbing themes. By ignoring them, he makes them stand out more.
Juggalo12 said: "Lindsay is a goddess said: "Moment of truth, people. Time to see if the early negative feedback was justified or not."
The early negative feedback on this board was shameful, to say the least. I mean, people actually commenting and judging a show they have not even seen yet. And even those who have seen it were extra harsh on it for no reason. I saw it about 3 weeks ago and thought it was magnificent from start to finish. You get an evening of your money's worth without question”
With all due respect, Juggalo, where do you get the nerve to say that criticism of this revival was “shameful “? *I* saw it two weeks ago and thought it was terrible. I have lived with this show since I was eight, and have performed in it as well. I adore this show. I found it shallow, poorly directed and horrifyingly cut, presenting a distortion of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s work. So maybe YOU got your money’s worth, but sure as hell didn’t. And guess what? My opinion isn’t shameful.
I tend to agree with Brantley more than disagree--but not on this one. Especially when it comes to dance. "some of the most thrilling and original dancing seen on Broadway in years?" Hardly.
Though my favorite line of his review was, " .... inhabited by angels who quaintly bring to mind arty Denishawn dancers of the early 20th century." Hysterical!!!
Based on his gushing over Justin Peck, I think we most likely have our winner for Best Choreography. But only because of a lackluster year in the dance department.
ND_2000 said: "These reviews definitely show how this production is an acquired taste. Not a unanimous say by any means. I find it pretty fascinating seeing how so many people have different opinions on the singing. Saying that Mendez and Mueller are straining is so odd. They have always been in excellent voice when I’ve seen them perform over time. Infact, inmy opinion the biggest reasonto see this show is for the vocal performances.Maybe it was an off night..?"
Every singer sounded superb three weeks ago when I saw it. Best singing I've heard in a long time. I didn't have to acquire any taste for what people refer to as acquired taste. I loved it from the first moment. It's just a pure presentation of the musical in its original glory. Were some of the posters on here expecting some sort of modernized pretentious revival? I really did feel that I was transported back to 1945, perhaps watching the show for the first time. I had a smile on my face the whole time through. And so did the rest of the audience.
Hey, Nasty—can YOU count? FOUR stars, not five. A word of advice: if you’re gonna snark like a bratty kid, double check before you make a fool of yourself.
GeorgeandDot said: "Juggalo12 is Jack O'Brien. Mystery solved."
Yeah that's a typical response on here. They called me Jack O'Brien too when I dared to praise this revival among all the "let's race to first preview with knives out" trolls trashing it.
I'm kidding Matt Rogers. I enjoyed this revival too, but Juggalo is going way overboard and is being so rude. He's seriously coming off as a shill, which I know are on these boards.
Was watching clips of the Philharmonic production on YouTube and saw on the suggested videos that someone had posted the full 1994 Lincoln Center Production. Here is the link for those who are interested: https://youtu.be/_9bcEm289Ek What an absolutely thrilling opening sequence. Say what you want about the current production (I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I see the reasons others would not), but what a joy it is to have this score on Broadway again. It doesn’t get better than this music.
SomethingPeculiar said: "zachvandyke said: "Did anyone else notice in Brantley’s review that he lists a closing date of Sept. 2. Was that established before the show opened?"
Looks like the current block of tickets is on sale through Sept. 2."
I saw both the Sept 2018 and January 2019 dates for ticket sales. But doesn't Brantley's review say *closing* Sept 2? At the bottom of the page. So this isn't open ended so far? Interesting.
FranklinDickson2018 said: "I saw both the Sept 2018 and January 2019 dates for ticket sales. But doesn't Brantley's review say *closing* Sept 2? At the bottom of the page. So this isn't open ended so far? Interesting."
It's not really a matter of debate. Telecharge is selling tickets through January:
Matt Rogers said: "GeorgeandDot said: "Juggalo12 is Jack O'Brien. Mystery solved."
Yeah that's a typical response on here. They called me Jack O'Brien too when I dared to praise this revival among all the "let's race to first preview with knives out"trolls trashing it."
I was the one who called you Jack O'Brien and I was completely joking. I think you're frankly ridiculous, but I'm really happy you enjoyed the revival (and that's not sarcasm)!
Did any critics mention the dropped songs? I did see a few allusions to shortened dialogue. Are the cut songs still listed in the program? We're they not at first? Fascinating to read the reviews and the comments here.