I was in the same boat as you, esparza, about a year and a half ago and so I created a thread on this very production:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=988929#3837151 I've literally spent the last year on and off researching this production and its history.
Some highlights about the production (which I didn't get to see live, but did see the library recording as well as a bootleg):
-The Carousel Waltz was pure magic and undoubtedly ranks as one of the greatest staged pieces of musical theatre. Most productions start at the carnival in a one piece set. This production started at the mill (designed as a giant clock and a factory line of girls laboring mechanically with the music and Julie Jordan gazing at the roof), then when the carousel theme began, the bell ringed, the girls ran downstage to change out of their work clothes (a line of hats and jackets flew down), they then danced with each other in front of the mill gate (which had a giant circle on it),and twirled out, picking up their boyfriends at the boatyard. The boys did a wonderful cats cradle kind of maneuver with the planks of wood they were using to build a boat and then did a kind of jump rope with it and the girls. The turntable then turned and one by one we were seeing the attractions of the carnival come on as a slideshow as the mill girls and their boys made the rounds. First was an Uncle Sam on stilts, a bear and its tamer, tap dancing bearded ladies, a fire eater, a strong woman, a funhouse, a boxing match and then, finally the carousel. You didn't realize until the very last attraction that a crew of horses were making their way onto the turntable, finally assembled and just when Billy picks up Julie and puts her on her horse, the music swelled, a giant MULLINS CAROUSEL sign came down and the center piece of the carousel came down and opened like a giant umbrella. The turntable then turned and the ENTIRE stage was a carousel. Pure brilliance.
-"If I Loved You" was done without a bench. It was a giant green hill with a big yellow moon shining down from above and in the distance a church on a hill. There was a lot more physicality in this entire scene (right from Julie and Carrie's entrance) to the final chords of "IF I Loved You."
-Heaven was perceived as a much colder place, with everyone in Amish attire and reading bibles that lit in their faces.
-The ballet had two sections, first was the beach where Louise was with her friends. The second was when her friends decide to visit the remains of the old Mullins carousel, where the rest of the ballet took place.
-The dancing and the scenery were extraordinary. Bob Crowley made a great deal of use out of backdrops and simple set pieces. Most scenes only had one or two slid on set pieces, the rest were backdrops. The entire design had the theme of circles (the crimson circle on the curtain, the giant clock, the circle on the mill gate, the carousel, the green hill, the moon-which played a HUGE part of the production, the view of Earth and of course the turntable). Kenneth MacMillan's choreography had a great deal of energy and sexuality to it. It just burst off the stage (or in my case, the screen).
-Social structure played a HUGE part. You very aware of Julie and Billy's social standing in society (that being white trash).
-Audra McDonald shattered everyone's perception of Carrie. Before, she had always been played as an annoying, prissy bimbo bordering on mentally handicapped. Audra gave her sass and PLENTY of dry wit. Her Carrie had a great deal of spunk and vitality, which we saw stripped away 16 years later when she was married with 9 children and became a bitter ice queen.
-The casting of this production was very controversial. There was the issue of colorblind casting (many were not happy with this) and, of course, the age old debate of Michael Hayden. Fewer people disagree on Sally Murphy's Julie Jordan (her voice was stronger than Hayden's and despite everything, she completely broke your heart), but she is still a debatable piece of casting to some people. Hayden disappointed many because he lacked the operatic singing voice of John Raitt. On good days (as was the day they filmed the production for Lincoln Center), Hayden had a very pleasant sounding, if not dominating singing voice that worked well for "If I Loved You" if not on all of "Soliloquy." BUT, he brought a great deal of sexual charisma to the part as well as boy-ish quality that really emphasized Billy's frantic feeling of being lost and pressured. The dynamic between Julie and Billy post-"If I Loved You" was almost that of a mother and son, rather than battered wife and meathead husband.
-The production probably would have run longer had it actually not been produced by LCT. It had done extraordinary business its entire run, selling out almost every performance, but LCT was fearful of the oncoming January-March draught because they were nonprofit and Carousel had a high running cost. This was 16 years ago and while they were certainly VEry successful by that point, they didn't as large a pile of cash to pull out for slow weeks.
-A big reason for the production transferring to the states was Frank Rich. The London production opened at the National Theatre (with Hayden) in late 1992 to raves the likes of which we rarely see. Rich saw it and raved about it even more than the London papers. Nearly every review he wrote that following year mentioned Carousel and how Broadway productions weren't measuring up. There were some rights issues getting the production transferred to the West End, where it opened about 6 months after it closed at the National (to a much smaller theatre, losing cast members and scaling down set pieces). Finally, the buzz was just so great that Broadway almost demanded to have it. It was one of the highest anticipated productions that season, with every available theatre vying for it. Hytner and Cameron Mackintosh who helped financed it) decided on the Beaumont and working with LCT.
You wouldn't believe it now, because it's surprisingly not talked about a lot, but it was a bit of a controversial production. Most of it had to do with the casting and some of it had to do with the approach. A lot of purists felt that Hytner had put on his own concept of darkness to the piece, but many others thought that Hytner had actually brought out the darkness that always was a part of Carousel. For better and worse, it was a revival that really changed how the theatre perceives older musicals. It was what started the "let's find the darker side" to golden age musicals, but no "dark" revival following it has been able to match Carousel.
EDIT: Almira beat me to the link!
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
Updated On: 11/19/10 at 07:35 PM
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