CAROUSEL at Lincoln Center- Page 5

[Kelly2]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 2:24pm

Ah, I wouldn't recast Mueller. Most reviews singled her out as a, if not the, highlight of the production. I love O'Hara for Julie but I was under the impression she, Blythe, and Gunn would be unavailable for a hypothetical Broadway production. If O'Hara were available, she would be far and away my first choice. I was shocked at how little her age even registered to me onstage.

James Snyder is a really great suggestion, and I love Clark as Nettie as well! My thought re: Jackman is that if they wanted a bigger name in one of the lead parts, he certainly has the name but he could probably bring the goods to that part too.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 3:06pm

No...not recasting Meuller...recasting Enoch. Daniely was wonderful, but at this point I've seen his Mr. Snow twice, and he's quite a leading man.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 3:11pm

Oh! I completely misread that, my bad! Danieley is definitely a more handsome, leading man type than I imagined for Enoch, though he sang it wonderfully and he was a treat to see in this production. I would definitely be curious to see a different take, I see what you're saying.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 3:15pm

Went to the Friday night performance and wanted to love it so much, but just couldn't. To me, this was a gorgeous sounding production of Carousel, but not much more. The only actors who managed to scratch beneath the surface of their characters were Hensley, Cullum, and O'Hara, who with more rehearsal and a better director (Hytner or Sher) could be a definitive Julie. The rest of the cast sounded beautiful, but barely brought anything to the material that was fresh. Gunn, to me, was an extreme weakness. Beautiful voice and he is incredibly handsome, but that was all. I won't even go into what he lacked as an actor because he just can't act. It's not a matter of more rehearsal time or a better director, he simply can't act. When he sang, it sounded beautiful, but the words took on no meaning to him.

I think that Mueller has the bearings of a fantastic Carrie and, again, she sounded beautiful. But hers was a very traditional take. Nothing wrong with that, but hardly something that makes her THE highlight of the night (and I'm a huge Jessie Mueller fan and walked in expecting to be bowled over). The only two things I walked out of there and was floored by were The NY Philharmonic, who TORE into "The Carousel Waltz," and Tiler Peck's dancing. That girl brought down the house without uttering a word and received by far the loudest applause at the curtain call.

If you've read any number of my posts about Carousel, you can gather that it is my favorite musical and my love for the Hytner production is no secret. But I walked in with an open mind and the expectation to be a sobbing mess when it was over, and I just couldn't get there. It was an enjoyable evening, but I think we're getting carried away by shouting for a transfer. Let's let this be what it was: the most beautifully sung and played Carousel we're likely to hear for a long, long time. I would buy a cast recording in a second. But I find talk of a transfer kind of silly.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 3:19pm

As for a Broadway cast, I would cast younger. I know Gunn and the suggested Jackman are both in their forties--but I would go closer to the original production and have them in their mid-late 20s (early thirties at most...)

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 3:32pm

Terrific as Danieley is, he's simply wrong for the role, too all-American handsome. Enoch needs to be a bit of a sight gag. When he enters, Hammerstein's stage directions say, "He just couldn't be anyone else." which insinuates something comic about his looks. I also think the juxtaposition of Billy, who looks like a heartthrob but is trouble, and Enoch, who looks like a shlub but is dependable, is important.

[Plum]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 8:10pm

Jackman is way too old for Billy, who I think at least becomes comprehensible if he's a young idiot, but yeah, he'd bring the acting more than Gunn did.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:47pm

Having seen the brilliant Goodspeed production, I will throw in another vote for James Snyder as Billy, and also a vote for Jenn Gambatese as Carrie - both were perfect in those roles.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:50pm

Why would we recast Carrie? Mueller got raves across the board. In any fictional future production, I'm sure why would keep her on. Plus, watching Jenn Gambatese is like watching paint dry, in my personal opinion.

Love the idea of Snyder though, I've always been really impressed by him and I don't think he's ever really gotten a great part in New York to show off his skills.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 3/7/13 at 11:50pm

Double post.

Updated On: 3/7/13 at 11:50 PM

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 12:36am

Kelly, like everyone else, I am expressing my opinion. Based on your post, I am going to guess that you never saw Jenn Gambatese as Carrie, because it would be hard to conceive of anyone thinking that that performance was like watching paint dry. Perhaps you saw her in a less interesting role?

Anyhow, the reason for my preference is that I felt that Jenn found a lot more of the humor and humanity in the role than Jessie did in her portrayal in the concert version. And it cannot all be chalked up to one being a concert and the other staged, because the differences were apparent even in the songs and dialogue that were performed in both versions. Lots of scenes in which Jenn found genuine laughs were just blown past by Jessie. Perhaps with a longer rehearsal period her performance would evolve as well.

I do like Jessie Mueller and enjoyed her performances in both Drood and Carousel (and I had a ticket to see her in Clear Day but that closed before the performance that I had a ticket for, so i missed that one). I think she has a lovely voice and is a great singer. I have only seen Jenn Gambatese as Carrie and her voice was stunningly beautiful singing that score, and her acting is what for me puts her in front of other options in my dream cast. Obviously I am not in a position to hire people, so like everyone else on this thread, I am posting my dream casting ideas for Carousel. I do think Kelli O'Hara would be a perfect choice for Julie along with James and Jenn for Billy and Carrie.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 1:24am

I was confused because the question posed was who could replace those in the cast who would be ineligible to transfer. Obviously, this is a completely fictional situation so anybody could be unable to transfer if it occurred in real life, but hypothetically Mueller would be able to reprise her role. I've seen Gambatese in...let's see. Is He Dead?, Tarzan, All Shook Up, and Hairspray. You're telling me seeing her in FOUR shows isn't enough for me to be a judge of her onstage capabilities? Maybe you're right that her Carrie Pipperidge was the exception to everything I know of her as a performer and she was mind-blowing, but I would find that very hard to believe. And the role doesn't change what her vocal capabilities are and her soprano, to me, is not one of the best for other actresses in her general age range and type.

I hope you didn't feel attacked, I just think it's silly to even imagine recasting someone who was one of the best reviewed parts of the production, though I'm glad you enjoyed Jenn so much and had such a lovely experience with such a beautiful show. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 8:15am

I'm not saying any particular number of shows is or isn't enough to have an opinion about whether you like a performer. You haven't enjoyed Jenn's performances that you have seen, and I don't doubt that. But much like your example of James not having had a great role/score to fully showcase his abilities on Broadway yet, i think that it does make a difference what songs a person is singing and how they fit within that person's range, vocal quality, etc. For example, Jessie was good in Drood but didn't have a part that really showed off her voice the way that the clips of her singing in Clear Day show off her singing. Similarly, i was just guessing that you probably hadn't seen Jenn as Carrie if you found her boring before (which i fully believe that you did; i was not doubting that you have that opinion) simply because her performance in that role was so beautifully sung and delightfully acted.


And reviews don't necessarily come into play in picking a dream cast, but for what it's worth, Jenn Gambatese got great reviews in Carousel last fall. And in a hypothetical future production, anyone's dates could conflict or not, depending on when it comes together and what others are doing. And i'm sure that Jessie could develop her characterization more fully with a longer rehearsal period, so I am by no means saying that I think she would do a poor job or anything like that. Just simply that having seen them both perform as Carrie within the last 7 months, I preferred the way that Jenn performed it and would love to see a fully staged version on Broadway with her in it. If that seems silly to you, I am at peace with that. :)