Stage Door News
Stage Door News
May 5, 2015… Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, named the best musical of the 20th century by Time magazine, returns to the Festival for the first time in over twenty years in a vibrant production directed by Susan H. Schulman. Previews begin Tuesday, May 5, at the Avon Theatre.
Against the backdrop of a sun-drenched New England summer, Carousel follows the tragic romance between a troubled carnival barker who turns to crime and the trusting millworker who loves and forgives him despite his violent nature.
Alexis Gordon, most recently seen in the world première of The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble, makes her Stratford debut as Julie Jordan, while Jonathan Winsby returns to play Billy Bigelow after stealing hearts as Lancelot in 2011’s Camelot.
Carousel features what is arguably Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most luscious score, with such riches as “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “If I Loved You” and Billy’s haunting “Soliloquy,” which ends the first act. The magic of this score will be immortalized in the Festival’s second full-length cast recording (after last season’s Crazy for You), available for purchase in June.
“Perhaps no other musical theatre writing team has ever been able to match Rodgers and Hammerstein’s genius for developing both character and plot through song,” says Ms Schulman, who has a long string of hits at Stratford, including 2000’s Fiddler on the Roof, 2003’s The King and I and 2008’s The Music Man. “Some people have criticized the show because they say it condones domestic abuse, because Julie’s love is unconditional. I believe Rodgers and Hammerstein were doing just the opposite. They were shining a light on a very unsettling intimate dynamic, one that is all too often kept secret and in the dark – even to this day.”
“When I was putting together this season of discovery,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, “one of my own eureka moments was realizing that many of the works I was considering for the playbill featured relationships between men and women that are fraught, challenging, yet key to the growth of the characters. I decided it was important to bring those plays together so these relationships could be better explored and understood.
“Carousel’s emotionally wrenching depiction of a troubled marriage is part of our season’s wider examination of the personal demons and societal pressures that can distort male-female relationships. These issues are also raised by such plays as The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, The Last Wife and The Adventures of Pericles, and we explore their implications even further in many of this season’s Forum events.”
The cast features Evan Buliung as Jigger Craigin, Sean Alexander Hauk as Enoch Snow, Alana Hibbert as Nettie Fowler and Robin Evan Willis as Carrie Pipperidge.
The artistic team includes Choreographer Michael Lichtefeld, Musical Director Franklin Brasz, Set Designer Douglas Paraschuk, Costume Designer Dana Osborne, Lighting Designer Kevin Fraser, Projection Designer Brad Peterson, Sound Designer Peter McBoyle and Fight Director John Stead.
Based on Ferenc Molnar’s play Liliom, as adapted by Benjamin F. Glazer, Carousel features music by Richard Rodgers, with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, original dances by Agnes de Mille and orchestral reduction by Larry Blank, based on the original by Don Walker.
Production support is generously provided by Cec & Linda Rorabeck.
Support for the 2015 season of the Avon Theatre is generously provided by the Birmingham family.
The production is dedicated to the memory of director and choreographer Brian Macdonald.
Carousel is presented by special arrangement with R & H Theatricals.
Carousel Forum Highlights
The Stratford Festival Forum is a series of activities and events, including fascinating talks, interactive presentations, concerts, comedy shows and performances, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve further into the ideas and issues raised by the 2015 playbill and its theme of Discovery: That Eureka Moment.
Themes related to Carousel will be explored through several Forum events, including:
Why We Do What We Do
Wednesday, July 8, 10:45 a.m. to noon
Studio Theatre
Domestic violence is unfortunately as prevalent today as when Carousel broke ground presenting such a dynamic in the context of musical theatre. Filmmaker and survivor Attiya Khan, Dr. Peter Jaffe (Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women & Children) and Michele Hansen (Executive Director, Huron Women’s Shelter) uncover the complexities on both sides of violent relationships in this discussion moderated by renowned documentarian Karin Wells.
The Eternal Struggle
Thursday, July 16
Tom Patterson Theatre
Polonius decides to “loose” his daughter to discover Hamlet’s state of mind. Petruchio informs Katherine that “Will you, nil you, I will marry you.” In Pericles, Marina is captured by pirates, sold, and put up for auction by bawds. In many of Shakespeare’s plays men attempt to control women with limited if any success. The struggle, whether successful or not, seems to fascinate playwright and audience alike. Why does the struggle continue and why does it continue to fascinate?
The Art of Loving Well
Thursday, August 6
Tom Patterson Theatre
Pericles is rescued from despair through the redemptive power of his daughter’s love. In Carousel, Billy is redeemed by finally recognizing “how he loved” Julie so that he can reach out to his daughter to ease her suffering. The young men in Love’s Labour’s Lost cannot win the ladies they love until they perform their trials of service to others to prove their love. What is it that we have to undergo to learn the art of loving well?
Education for Transformation
Wednesday, September 2, 10:45 a.m. to noon
Studio Theatre
Actor Maev Beaty hosts this special session with Marina Nemat, Dr. Samantha Nutt and Dr. Natalie Zemon Davis to discuss the global impact of prioritizing the education of girls.
Sustaining support for the Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Support for the 2015 season of the Forum is provided in memory of Dr. W. Philip Hayman.
Stratford Direct, the daily return private bus service, now offers two routes: Toronto to Stratford and Detroit to Stratford. The Toronto bus costs $20 round trip, departing twice daily from May 4 to September 19. The Detroit bus costs $40 round trip, departing once daily from May 26 to September 19. Both routes are available on performance days with some exceptions.
Stratford Direct is generously sponsored by the Peter Cundill Foundation.
The 2015 season, which runs from April 21 to October 18, features Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Taming of the Shrew, She Stoops to Conquer, The Physicists, The Alchemist, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Oedipus Rex, Possible Worlds, The Last Wife and The Adventures of Pericles. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1.800.567.1600
Photo: Jonathan Winsby and Alexis Gordon. ©2014 Don Dixon.
2015-05-05
Stratford: Previews begin for Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel"