The critically acclaimed revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel will end its run at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre on Sunday, September 16, 2018. The Tony-winning production directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Justin Peck began previews on Wednesday, February 28, 2018, and opened on Thursday, April 12, 2018. The production won Tony Awards for Best Choreography and Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Joshua Henry and Jessie Mueller lead the cast of Carousel as Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan, respectively. Opera singer Renée Fleming made her first appearance in a Broadway musical as Nettie Fowler. Lindsay Mendez won a Best Featured Actress Tony Award for her portrayal of Carrie Pipperidge in the production, playing opposite Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow. Margaret Colin as Mrs. Mullin, John Douglas Thompson as the Starkeeper, Amar Ramasar as Jigger Craigen, and Brittany Pollack as Louise round out the leading cast.
Making up Carousel’s talented ensemble are Colin Anderson, Yesenia Ayala, Nicholas Belton, Colin Bradbury, Andrei Chagas, Derrick Davis, Leigh-Ann Esty, Laura Feig, David Michael Garry, Rosena M. Hill Jackson, Amy Justman, Cory Lingner, Skye Mattox, Matt Meigs, Kelly McCormick, Anna Noble, Adriana Pierce, Rebecca Pitcher, David Prottas, Craig Salstein, Ahmad Simmons, Corey John Snide, Erica Spyres, Ryan Steele, Sam Strasfeld, Halli Toland, Ricky Ubeda, Scarlett Walker, Jacob Keith Watson, and William Youmans.
The creative team for Carousel is composed of four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto (Scenic Design), Tony and Academy Award winner Ann Roth (Costume Design), five-time Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), Tony, Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award winner Jonathan Tunick (Orchestrations), and Andy Einhorn (Musical Supervision, Direction, & Vocal Arrangements).
Carousel first opened on Broadway in 1945, the second collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, II. With direction by Rouben Mamoulian and choreography by Agnes de Mille, the musical continued the momentum set by the quartet in 1943 with Oklahoma! With the deeper integration of score with plot, the unconventional use of dance for storytelling, and even the choice to drop the traditional overture in exchange for a musical pantomime to commence the show, Carousel broke the mold and helped Rodgers and Hammerstein establish a new template for musical theatre that forever changed the art form.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.