CAROUSEL at the Lyric Opera in Chicago — Page 12

Saw the matinee today and they made an announcement that Steven had a severe cold. The audience groaned but the announcer indicated that he would go on and asked everyone for their patience. He sounded marvelous and you'd never know he was ill. The show was amazing, I cried from the ballet forward and I hope it transfers.

SPOILER ALERT

was it always written that Billy kills himself? I've only ever seen the movie and I thought he fell on his knife while running away from the police. Did they change this for the movie?

Are Lyric productions eligible for Jeff awards? If they are I wouldn't be surprised if the was nominated for like everything.

Do you happen to know why their previous R&H shows were not eligible for a jeff?

I don't know, but I suspect that perhaps they didn't formally apply. Last year's "The Sound of Music" did win our BroadwayWorld Chicago Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.

I just got back a couple hours ago. Here are my thoughts: The physical production is very attractive, I'm not sure why they chose to set it in the 40's, but that is of little consequence. The cast was a real mixed bag. Laura Osnes made a very sweet Julie Jordan and she has a wonderful voice. Jenn Gambatese was an adorable Carrie Pipperidge, and the guy playing Mr. Snow had a great voice. Charlotte D'Amboise did well, but her talent is underused in such a small role. Steven Pasquale was disappointing as Billy. There are moments when he soared, but there were moments when he was very wooden and lackluster, which caused the show to drag a bit. I hear he was not feeling well yesterday, so perhaps he was still under the weather tonight.

There were a lot of diction problems, especially with Denyse Graves. She has a very powerful voice, but her diction is worse than Patti LuPone's with a ball gag in her mouth. Some of the choreography seemed inappropriate for the setting, but the ballet sequence was truly beautiful. We sat orchestra level so the view was great and everything could be heard well, even if not always understood. I think my boyfriend was a bit bored by it, but he only really likes about half of what I drag him to. At the end of the day, if you have a chance to see it, go for it. If you miss it, is not the end of world. It was better than OK but a bit less than really good. I honestly don't think it is Broadway caliber, but I suppose producers could do a lot worse.

"How does Carousel have anything to do with Sondheim?"

CAROUSEL has a lot to do with Sondheim. Perhaps you're not aware of how Hammerstein guided Sondheim professionally and saved his life personally. Sondheim went to the first performance of CAROUSEL in New Haven and wept all over Dorothy Hammerstein's fur coat at the end of the first act. Sondheim has called CAROUSEL one of his favorite musicals, along with PORGY AND BESS. (I consider PORGY an opera, but that's neither here nor there.)

CAROUSEL also was the first serious musical to have an anti-hero and not depict a wonderfully cheery view of life. "What's the Use of Wond'rin" doesn't just foreshadow a song like "What Makes Me Love Him?" by Bock and Harnick, but I'll so so far as to say it foreshadows a song like "Sorry/Grateful."

We are aware, Fantod, that you're on the fence about that Sondheim guy, but I'm surprised that a perceptive and seemingly knowledgable person like yourself wasn't aware of all this. Hope this helps.

I don't think Twitter is the right medium for a prose writer as excellent as Frank Rich. 140 characters don't do him justice!

Updated On: 4/24/15 at 10:55 PM

If I remember correctly (I don't have my copy with me), in Finishing the Hat, Sondheim made a comparison between Billy Bigelow's "Soliloquy" and Sweeney Todd's "Epiphany" pointing out how both are big solo numbers in which the lead character vows to take extreme ends for their children occupying the penultimate song slot in the first act.

When I saw the show, I could not wait at the stage door and was unable to pick up a shirt. If anyone goes, would you mind picking me up a shirt and try to get a program signed by the principles? I am more than happy to pay for the cost of the shirt, shipping, and your time. Please PM me if you can help me out !

"CAROUSEL also was the first serious musical to have an anti-hero and not depict a wonderfully cheery view of life."

I presume you mean after that other Hammerstein masterpiece, "Show Boat."

New York based review:

http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/on-stage/2015/04/22/lyric-opera-of-chicago-revives--carousel--for-next-generation.html

Updated On: 4/25/15 at 05:34 PM

Saw the matinee - great show with some wonderful performances. It was oddly paced at times though, and Denyce Graves....She has a great voice, but her timing was a bit off throughout "June Is Bustin' Out All Over'. I felt that her treatment of the character was a bit mismatched with the period, but this could be me biased to the LC revival years ago.

But Pasquale....Wow. Really, blew the roof off the theater. His Soliloquy will become the definitive version of this song. And the bench scene unexpectedly powerful. Osnes was quite good. I have not seen her before, but after Billy's suicide the emotion was perfect for the action, and the surrounding rows in the balcony were audibly sobbing.

If you are in the Chi-town area, and you haven't seen this yet, you will regret not seeing this production.

Most interesting though, was hearing one of the house staff members (now take this with a grain of salt - she was the lovely gal selling merchandise in the Lyric lobby) lament the fact that there isn't a recording yet, but that there will be one before it reaches Broadway. She piqued our interest, and we got to talking; she said that this WILL transfer to Broadway in the "near future" with the entire Chicago cast. And that this was just decided?

Has this been confirmed anywhere else? I can't imagine the full ensemble transferring, there looked to be about 45 cast members on stage. Plus, the 37 piece orchestra....?

Will they simply slim it down for a Broadway house? Some of the sets are great - some not so much. Would they scale down the cast and the orchestra? Anyone who has seen this sort of thing happen before?

PS. I saw another mention of the slow motion fall from the roof. It happened today, and what should have been a great effect, might have fallen flat. He fell VERY slowly, slow to the point of watching Steven walk down the wall. It should have been magical, but it was just awkward.

JG

And you know this... how?