CAROUSEL
Book & lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers
Based on the play Liliom by Ferenc Molnar
Choreographed by Justin Peck
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.CarouselBroadway.com

By David NouNou

If you don’t have a real carousel on stage, how can you still call the show Carousel?

The definitive revival of Carousel was presented by Lincoln Center in 1994. So how can you improve on that production? You can’t; it is virtually impossible. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel was a treat for sight, mind and sound. It is still a treat for sound because no matter how bad the production, nothing can ever dim the brilliance of the score. It was impeccably directed by Nicholas Hytner and choreographed to perfection by Sir Harold McMillan. The sets and costumes by Bob Crowley were a feast for the sight and mind that transported us to Maine for the turn of the 20^th century and what a magnificent carousel was created right on stage before our eyes. The lighting by Paul Pyant just added to the enchantment. It was a marvel to behold.

I guess by now you have figured out how I felt about the 1994 revival. I wish I could say the same about this version. Of all the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Carousel by contrast seems the most dated and sluggish of their shows. Other than the brilliant score, there really is very little cause to revive this show unless you have a revelatory vision, which this version totally lacks.

This is a delicate piece about a lovely, gentle factory worker, Julie Jordan (Jessie Mueller) falling in love for the good-looking brutish carnival/carousel barker, Billy Bigelow (Joshua Henry).  Billy gets fired from his job because he pays too much attention to Julie. This is not an easy love. They truly do love each other, but the difficulties of life and the difficulty of Billy trying to find a job all make him abuse Julie, precipitating his ultimate demise and never getting to see his unborn daughter. He is given a second chance to plead his case to come down to Earth and do right by Julie and his daughter, Louise, who is 15 now and is having a hard time finding her place in the world.

In order for this gentle piece to work there has to be real chemistry between Julie and Billy to be able to sell this fantasy Although both Ms. Mueller and Mr. Henry are incredible talents in their own right, their chemistry here is below the charts. Mr. Henry possesses a great singing voice, but here he is a one-note charmless brute as Billy and Ms. Mueller, who is also in great voice, adds no spark or life into her Julie. Considering how much life and charm Ms. Mueller injected into Beautiful and Waitress and Mr. Henry in The Scottsboro Boys and Violet, together they totally flatline as a couple.

The joys of the show are Renee Fleming as Julie’s Aunt Nettie, whose rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” brought the house down; and Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow, Julie’s best friend Carrie Pipperidge’s fiancé, singing “When the Children Are Asleep” is an absolute joy. The two of them just fill the stage and we wish the show could have been more about them.

The creative team does little to eliminate the datedness of the show. Jack O’Brien’s listless direction makes the proceedings even more ponderous. Justin Peck, resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet, scraped all the revolutionary choreography that Agnes DeMille and Harold McMillan created for “The Carousel Waltz,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” “Louise’s Ballet” to name a few, and instead inserts his banal choreography that slows the proceedings even further. The brilliant Santo Loquasto–who won a Tony last year for Hello, Dolly!–has created some of his dullest designs. There isn’t even a carousel in this version, just a lone horse among dancers; and the lighting by Brian MacDevitt is so dim, you can hardly see the stage.

Other than the brilliant score, this version of Carousel is totally unhinged, never gets to spin and stalls.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 12, 2018
Reviewed at performance on April 8, 2018

Image: Carousel on Broadway/Facebook

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‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brandon Victor Dixon & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

SHUFFLE ALONG
OR THE MAKING OF THE MUSICAL SENSATION OF 1921 AND ALL THAT FOLLOWED
Book by George C. Wolfe
Original Book by F. E. Miller & Aubrey Lyles
Music & lyrics by Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake
Choreography by Savion Glover
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Music Box Theatre
239 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.shufflealongbroadway.com

By David NouNou

The syncopated rhythm of Shuffle Along at the Music Box Theatre will blow you away in this musical within a musical. Act I is about putting together the first all-black musical: cast, producer, director, writers and musicians on Broadway in 1921. Act II is the aftermath and what became of the creators and the people that were involved in this almost forgotten sensation of the era. Both parts are valid and essential. Act I is entertainment of dizzying heights. Act II plods with the usual heavy-handed dialogue that only George C. Wolfe can churn out. What a blissful, deliriously enjoyable and heavenly evening could have been achieved had the director George C. Wolfe toned down the lugubriously preachy writings of writer George C. Wolfe

However, the evening’s real hero is Savion Glover. His choreography is currently unparalleled on Broadway. His syncopated formation of his dancers is perfection to the utmost degree. We sit there dazzled with every number. In large part due to Mr. Glover’s vision, this heavy-handed musical soars into the stratosphere.

It is an understatement to say that putting this magnificent cast together is a major achievement. Audra McDonald (as Lottie Gee, leading lady of the show) is now an American institution. Adjectives are mere words to what her talent offers. Brian Stokes Mitchell as F. E. Miller, part of the duo who conceived the show, reuniting for the first time with Ms. McDonald since 1998’s Ragtime, is a pleasure to watch and hear, but there is not enough of a character that focuses strictly on Mr. Mitchell’s formidable voice and talent. Billy Porter as Aubrey Lyles, the other part of the duo who conceived the show, gives his character the proper comedic and acidic touches but doesn’t come close in gravitas to his Lola from Kinky Boots.

The two best male parts are that of Eubie Blake, the pianist and composer and also Lottie’s lover, played enigmatically and charmingly by the wonderful Brandon Victor Dixon; and Noble Sissle, Eubie’s fellow composer, staunchly and admirably played by Joshua Henry.

Essentially the story revolves around the four gentlemen who were separate duos: F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles and Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake pooling their talents together and bringing the first black musical to Broadway. It shows all the pitfalls and travails they endured to bring this musical to life. However, the success, fame and money that Shuffle Along acquired also brought them their demise because, all having the best intentions to re-team, ultimately brought them their separation and alienation from each other.

The ingredients for the perfect musical are all here; unfortunately, the book gets in the way. The dancers and their precision steps are incomparable. Also one cannot overlook the lighting by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer; they evoke every emotion imaginable and have partnered for many years on lots of shows, and may this brilliant partnership endure forever. Also, the arrangements and orchestrations by Daryl Waters are sensational.

Given all the talent and brilliance that emanates from the show, you can’t go wrong, I do suggest you see the show before mid-July due to Ms. McDonald taking a maternity leave, and no one would ever want to miss an Audra McDonald performance.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 11, 2016

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Joshua Henry, Brandon Victor Dixon, Billy Porter, Brian Stoke Mitchell & Richard Riaz Yoder. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brandon Victor Dixon & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brandon Victor Dixon & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brian Stokes Mitchell & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Billy Porter. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Joshua Henry & Brandon Victor Dixon. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brian Stokes Mitchell. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Brandon Victor Dixon & Joshua Henry. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘SHUFFLE ALONG’: Adrienne Warren & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

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