CAROUSEL (2018) Reviews — Page 4

Juggalo or whatever your name is, are you twelve? What's wrong with you? First off, many people have corrected your more than obnoxious assertion that Time Out gave this five stars - so, you can just apologize for starters. Always amusing how one person, sitting alone in the fourth row, can know that every single person in the theatre had a smile on their face. Seriously, pal, stop before you make a complete nitwit of yourself.

The Distinctive Baritone said: "What’s cut again? Geraniums and Stonecutters?"

Musically: most of "Give it to 'Em Good Carrie," "Geraniums in the Winder" and "Stonecutters Cut it on Stone."

Text-wise (*SPOILERS* for a nearly 80 year old musical) and this is from what I can remember from a week ago: The entire Act 1 closing scene post "Soliloquy," Mrs. Mullin coming back and seeing Billy's dead body and Julie allowing her to have her goodbye, Jigger's "seduction" of Carrie has been cut in half, the moment in "What's the Use of Wondering" when Julie discovers Billy's knife, the entire card game before the robbery when Billy gambles away his share of the money, and, infamously, the entire "It is possible, dear, for someone to hit you..."



There are also many, many more lines throughout the script that have been cut as well, but those are more annoyingly unnecessary, rather than wrong headed like some of the ones above.

newintown said: "I don't see thewords "Critic's Pick" on theonline version of Brantley's review. Has it been removed, or is it just not showing up there?"

^ Interesting... I am no longer seeing "Critic's Pick" on there either...

Nothing to remark on, really - "chemistry," in this context, is not a science. Different audience members will perceive its presence or absence differently.

It no longer lists it as a Critics Pick on NYT. I assume there's been some sort of error, but is it possible that they accidentally listed it as a Critics Pick in the first place when Brantley didn't want it to be?

newintown said: "The review hasmore than enough negative aspects to make me wonder how it qualified as a "pick.""

I thought the exact same thing, which is why I asked.

newintown said: "Nothing to remark on, really - "chemistry," in this context, isnota science. Different audience members will perceive its presence or absence differently."

I agree. The first time I saw this production roughly 3 weeks ago, I sat in rear mezz and didn't really feel the chemistry between Billy and Julie at all.

We saw this show again this past weekend but we sat in front side orchestra and definitely felt the chemistry between the two of them and certainly cried more.

Holy f*ckin f*ck, it didn't even occur to me that the Mullins scene during Billy's death was cut. I was mostly dealing with my anger about the other cuts (WHERE WAS THE LAST SCENE OF ACT I?????) and wondering why (SPOILER) if Billy stabbed himself in the throat (cool image) he could still talk that much as he lay dying.

I thought the performances were professional and well sung and the orchestra was gorgeous. The dance was more mood pieces than actual moments of storytelling (which de Mille perfected in Carousel so that really, really hurts). But the cuts to the piece damage the structure in ways that it's really no longer Carousel. When you cut Geraniums and Stonecutters, What's The Use of Wonderin' becomes a pathetic moment of a woman enabling in her own abuse rather than a specific response to a specific problem presented in the moment. When you cut Give It To 'im Good, June... becomes just another pre-Oklahoma light entertainment number. And the rewriting of the end takes all the ambiguity out of it, as well as the gentleness Billy is actually supposed to find.

The production visually and aurally is super solid. That's not the problem. The problem is they're not doing Carousel...a show that needs no fixing or cutting.

I very much missed the staging that I've seen in every other production of Carousel where Mrs. Mullins rearranges Billy's hair after he's dead, and then Julie gently puts it back the way it was. I wonder if one of the reasons this was cut was because Joshua Henry has close-cropped hair, and there is no way to rearrange it. As to the question about why the R&H Organization allowed all the cuts, I suspect that it doesn't have the same clout it did in olden days now that's it been sold to another organization and is no longer privately held. My guess is that it can choose to license a show or not, but up against a powerhouse Broadway producer like Scott Rudin, R&H is unlikely to pull rights back just because a (in my opinion, misguided) director wants to cut songs and dialogue.

That moment is essential (as is nearly every other cut made for this production). Lost is the moment of the chorus of women echoing Julie's words back to her after that moment. This show does not endorse spousal abuse. It underlines and highlights its insidiousness. Without the complexity Hammerstein explored through the book and lyrics (and, of course, set to Rodgers beautiful, haunting music), of COURSE this show becomes one dimensional and dated. But if you don't want to put the hard work in exploring the difficulties of Carousel, then don't do Carousel.