Download Rodgers and Hammerstein`s Carousel with the Minnesota Orchestra

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
The Great American Musical
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 11 am
Friday, March 20, 2015, 8 pm
Saturday, March 21, 2015, 8 pm
Sunday, March 22, 2015, 2 pm
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall
Orchestra Hall
Carousel, complete semi-staged musical
ca. 120’
Carousel is performed with one 20-minute intermission.
Billy Bigelow
Gabriel Preisser
Julie Jordan
Sarah Lawrence
Carrie Pipperidge
Enoch Snow
Nettie Fowler
Kathleen Humphrey
Jigger Craigin
Riley McNutt
Louise Bigelow
Penelope Freeh
Mr. Bascombe/Starkeeper/Dr. Seldon
Mrs. Mullin
Louise’s Friend
Kersten Rodau
Paul R. Coate
Gary Briggle
Vera Mariner
Matthew Keefe
Ensemble
Mathias Anderson | Nathan Bird | Joe Botten | Meredith Cain | Jennifer Eckes | Phil Gonzales
Emily Gunyou Halaas | Reid Harmsen | Rachael Hudson | Ty Hudson | Amanda Jenkins
Beth Leona King | David Kozisek | Lauri Kraft | Timothy Kuehl | Lars Lee
Jennifer Maren | Erik Pearson | Jill Sandager | Quinn Shadko
Robert Neu, stage director | Penelope Freeh, choreographer
Katie Hawkinson, stage manager | Samantha Fromm Haddow, costume designer
Ann Gumpper, set designer | Deborah Ervin, assistant stage manager
Stephanie Mueller, costume assistant | Cal Metts, props | Andy Fleser, rehearsal accompanist
Minnesota Orchestra concerts are broadcast live on Friday evenings on stations of Minnesota Public Radio, including KSJN 99.5 FM
in the Twin Cities.
M ARCH / APRI L 2015
M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A
27
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Profile appears on
page 25.
CAST
Gabriel Preisser, Billy Bigelow
Gabriel Preisser
has appeared with
companies and
orchestras across
the U.S. He last
performed with
the Minnesota
Orchestra in 2014,
as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, and in
2012 as Marullo in Rigoletto.
Recent, upcoming: He created the
role of Lieutenant Gordon in the
Minnesota Opera’s world premiere
of Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer-winning Silent
Night, earning acclaim then and in
subsequent performances with Opera
Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera. In
future engagements he plays Escamillo in
Carmen with Lyric Opera of the North,
Figaro in The Barber of Seville with
St. Petersburg Opera, Farmer Bean in
Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox with
San Antonio Opera and Odyssey Opera
in Boston, Sciarrone in Tosca with the
Orlando Philharmonic, and Angelotti/
Jailor in Tosca with the Colorado Symphony.
More: gabrielpreisser.com.
Artists
Sarah Lawrence, Julie Jordan
Soprano Sarah
Lawrence, who
appeared as Adele
in the Minnesota
Orchestra’s 2014
production of Die
Fledermaus, has also
performed leading
roles in productions ranging from Handel’s
Semele and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with
Lyric Opera of the North to Bernstein’s
Wonderful Town with Skylark Opera.
Recent, upcoming: Lawrence has
portrayed a broad spectrum of roles
on the stages of the Duluth Playhouse,
Opera Omaha, Madison Opera and
Light Opera Oklahoma, and with the
symphony orchestras of Madison,
Omaha, Milwaukee and Boise, among
others. Her future engagements include
singing in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
with the Duluth Superior Symphony
Orchestra and The Music Man at the
Guthrie Theater, and, with Andrew Litton
and the Colorado Symphony, taking
another turn as Adele in Die Fledermaus.
More: sarahelawrence.com.
Kersten Rodau, Carrie Pipperidge
Kersten Rodau
returns to
Orchestra Hall
following her
appearances in
“Springtime in
Paris,” Bernstein’s
Mass and Grieg’s
Peer Gynt. Most recently she appeared in
the Ordway’s production of A Christmas
Story, the Musical.
Locally: Rodau has performed with
area companies including the Guthrie
Theater, Park Square Theater, Chanhassen
Dinner Theatres, Jungle Theater, Skylark
Opera and Bloomington Civic Theatre, in
productions such as Pirates of Penzance,
Sweeney Todd, Ragtime, Les Misérables, The
Sound of Music, Urinetown, Funny Girl and
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. She was
also in Nautilus Music Theater’s Ordinary
Days, which was recognized at the 2014
Ivey Awards for overall excellence. Paul R. Coate, Enoch Snow
Paul R. Coate has
appeared in two
previous Minnesota
Orchestra
productions: as
Dr. Blind in a
Sommerfest 2014
performance of Die
Fledermaus and in 2011 as Monostatos
in The Magic Flute. He recently played in
Children’s Theatre Company productions
of Shrek the Musical and Dr. Seuss’ How
the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Local, regional: Coate has performed
with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra,
Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Opera
Omaha and Skylark Opera, in works
ranging from Wonderful Town and
The Fantasticks to My Fair Lady and
The Tender Land. He has performed a
wide range of roles with Park Square
Theatre, History Theatre, Theatre Latté
Da, Nebraska Shakespeare, Nebraska
Repertory Theatre and other companies.
More: paulrcoate.com.
one-minute note
Rodgers and Hammerstein: Carousel
Carousel, the second musical from the beloved theatrical tandem of Rodgers and Hammerstein, follows the story of
carnival barker Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan, a young millworker, as they meet at a carnival, wed and navigate
the joys and sorrows of their new life together. Characters in their orbit include Julie’s friend Carrie Pipperidge and
Carrie’s love interest Enoch Snow, Julie’s kind cousin Nettie, the ne’er-do-well Jigger Craigin, a mysterious “Starkeeper”
and Louise, a young character critical to the closing scenes. The opening “Carousel Waltz” is among the memorable
passages, as are the poignant ballad “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the immortal romantic duet “If I Loved You” and the
show-stopping dance number “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over.” The denouement, both bittersweet and surprising, closes a
remarkable piece of American theater that Time magazine named “best musical of the 20th century.”
28
MINN E S O T A O R CH EST RA
SHOWC A SE
Artists
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
Kathleen Humphrey, Nettie
Fowler
Penelope Freeh, choregrapher,
Louise
Singer and
actress Kathleen
Humphrey last
performed with
the Minnesota
Orchestra in the
Mozart Requiem,
conducted by Osmo
Vänskä; she also sang at Orchestra Hall
in Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony under
the baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski in
Elegy, the tribute concert presented by
the Twin Cities arts community after the
September 11 attacks.
Minnesota: A highlight of Humphrey’s
many Minnesota Opera roles was singing
in the world premiere of Doubt, creating
the roles of Sister Veronica and Mrs.
Shields. She has also appeared with
Theatre Latté Da, Skylark Opera, Guthrie
Theater, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres,
Children’s Theatre Company, Theatre de
la Jeune Lune and Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra.
Penelope Freeh is
an award-winning
dancer and
choreographer who
has choreographed
many Minnesota
Orchestra
productions over
the past 15 years, including La Création
du Monde, Carmen, The Firebird, La
Traviata and The Rite of Spring. She
has twice received both a McKnight
Artist Fellowship for Choreographers
and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist
Initiative Grant, as well as a SAGE
award for Outstanding Performer and a
McKnight Artist Fellowship for Dancers.
Of interest: For 17 years Freeh danced
for James Sewell Ballet, where she also
held the post of artistic associate for five
years. With Jocelyn Hagen she co-created
a chamber dance opera, Test Pilot, that
premiered on the O’Shaughnessy Women
of Substance series.
Riley McNutt, Jigger Craigin
Gary Briggle, Mr. Bascombe/
Starkeeper/Dr. Seldon
Matthew Keefe, Louise’s Friend
Gary Briggle, a
versatile singer,
actor, director and
educator, debuted
with the Minnesota
Orchestra in March
2014, narrating
comments of
Edward Elgar during a performance of
the Enigma Variations.
Currently: He recently appeared in
productions of The Threepenny Opera
at Frank Theater; Winesburg, Ohio at
Nautilus Music-Theater; Candide at
Skylark Opera; Broadway Songbook and
A Christmas Story at the Ordway; and
Dead Man Walking at Dayton Opera. He
will appear in the Ordway’s upcoming
productions of both Damn Yankees and
The Pirates of Penzance.
Of interest: Briggle has performed or
directed with several companies across
the country; in academia he has headed
opera and musical theater departments.
Matthew Keefe
has been active
in dance for more
than 20 years, as
a dancer, teacher,
choreographer,
administrator,
production/stage
manager, consultant, board member and
artistic director. He has been a member
of companies including James Sewell
Ballet, Louisville Ballet and BalletMet
Columbus and has been a guest artist
with major opera and dance companies
nationwide. He has also choreographed
extensively for professional and student
ensembles.
Non-profit work: He held various
leadership positions while serving six
years on the board of Dance/USA. In
another recent post, as artistic and school
director of the Rockford Dance Company,
he increased enrollment and created
innovative productions.
Riley McNutt,
now welcomed
for his Minnesota
Orchestra debut,
recently appeared
in La Cage Aux Folles
at the Bloomington
Theatre and Art
Center, where he has also been seen as
Marius in Les Misérables and as Ernst
Ludwig in Cabaret.
Previously: McNutt has performed with
the Minnesota Opera in The Magic Flute,
La Fanciulla del West and the premiere
of Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning
Silent Night. His credits also include
performances with Skylark Opera and
the Ordway Theater in productions such
as Candide, Wonderful Town and Beauty
and the Beast.
M ARCH / APRI L 2015
Vera Mariner, Mrs. Mullin
Singer, actor and
narrator Vera
Mariner has
appeared regularly
with the Minnesota
Orchestra, giving
memorable
portrayals of the
Witch in Hansel and Gretel and appearing
in Grieg’s Peer Gynt, Bernstein’s Mass and
Candide and other works. She has also
performed with major orchestras across the
U.S., including those of Boston, Cleveland
and Philadelphia.
Theater, film: Mariner, a versatile actor,
is an active member of the Twin Cities
theater community, and has appeared
in widely ranging roles with the Guthrie
Theater, Children’s Theatre Company
and many additional companies. In film,
she has done both on-camera work and
voice-overs.
Of interest: Mariner is a nationally
recognized photographer whose work
has been exhibited in galleries and has
won awards.
M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A
29
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
ENSEMBLE
Mathias Anderson has sung
locally at the Guthrie Theater
and Chanhassen Dinner
Theatres. He has also
appeared off-Broadway
with the Actors Fund and
the Public Theater, on a national tour with
the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and
on stages in Chicago, Denver and many
other cities.
Tenor Nathan Bird is a
versatile performer, voice
teacher and concert
producer in the Twin Cities.
He has sung with Cantus
and the Minnesota Opera
and performed at the Guthrie Theater. He
sings with the Apollo Male Chorus and
teaches at the St. Paul Conservatory for
Performing Artists.
Joe Botten, who recently
performed in Frank Theatre’s
Threepenny Opera, has also
appeared locally with the
Guthrie Theater, Theatre
in the Round, Chanhassen
Dinner Theatres, Theater Latté Da and other
companies, in productions ranging from A
Christmas Carol to Jerry Springer: The Opera.
Meredith Cain has performed
at Chautauqua in New York
and festivals in Michigan
and Virginia, numerous
regional venues, and locally
with Skylark Opera, Mixed
Precipitation and Bedlam Theatre. She was
nominated as Outstanding Female Performer
at the 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival.
Jennifer Eckes, a Minnesota
Opera Chorus member, has
performed with Skylark
Opera, Mill City Summer
Opera, Bloomington
Civic Theatre and other
companies, in roles including Fantine in
Les Misérables and title roles in Gypsy and
Evita. She co-wrote and performs in Pop Up
Musical at the Plymouth Playhouse.
30
M INN ES O T A O R CH ESTRA
Artists
Phil Gonzales, a writer,
director and performer,
recently appeared in the
title role of Sondheim’s
Sweeney Todd with
Chameleon Theatre Circle.
He has directed and co-written shows for
the Minnesota Fringe Festival, including
2010’s ROBO-Homa! He will next appear
onstage in Gemma Irish’s The White Hot.
Amanda Jenkins has
appeared with the
Minnesota Orchestra in
Bernstein’s Mass and as
Papagena in Mozart’s
Magic Flute. She has also
performed with the Minnesota Opera,
Skylark Opera, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light
Opera Company and Theatre Latté Da, in works
ranging from La Bohème to On the Town.
Emily Gunyou Halaas
has performed with the
Guthrie Theater, Theatre
Latté Da and many other
companies, including in
a co-production of The
Deception by Theatre de la Jeune Lune and
La Jolla Playhouse. She received the 2009
Emerging Artist IVEY Award and a 2013
IVEY for ensemble work in Clybourne Park.
Beth Leona King has
performed locally with
companies including
Skylark Opera,
Bloomington Civic
Theatre and Lyric Arts, in
productions such as Candide, Sunday in the
Park with George and Hello Dolly! She holds
master’s degrees in vocal performance and
in acting from the University of Nebraska–
Lincoln.
Reid Harmsen has performed
with the Children’s Theatre
Company, Guthrie Theater,
Theater Latté Da and
numerous other companies,
in productions including
Hamlet, Cinderella and Gypsy. This
summer he performs at the Ordway in The
Broadway Songbook of Rock & Roll, Damn
Yankees and Pirates of Penzance.
Rachael Hudson, now
making her Minnesota
Orchestra debut, last
appeared in The Laramie
Project with Lyric Arts.
She has enjoyed playing
Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Jenny in
The Shape of Things and Annie in Evil Dead:
The Musical, and, in her free time, directs
theater at Northfield Middle School.
Ty Hudson, a regular on
Twin Cities stages, has
performed with Theatre in
the Round, Bloomington
Civic Theatre, Lyric Arts
and Chameleon Theatre
Circle, in productions including Summer
and Smoke, Death of a Salesman, The Glass
Menagerie, The Laramie Project, Sweeney
Todd and Godspell.
SHOWC A SE
Tenor David Kozisek
recently moved here from
Washington, D.C., where
he appeared frequently at
the Kennedy Center with
the Washington National
Opera, Washington Chorus, Washington
Concert Opera, Cathedral Choral Society
and National Symphony Orchestra. Last
season he sang with VocalEssence and
soloed with the Minnesota Oratorio Society.
Lauri Kraft has appeared
locally with Theater Latté
Da and Skylark Opera, in
Wonderful Town, Vagabond
King, On the Town and
other productions, after
performing with numerous theaters in
the Washington, D.C., and Chicago areas,
and touring nationally in A Chorus Line,
directed by Baayork Lee.
Timothy Kuehl appears
regularly with Minneapolis
Musical Theatre and
Chameleon Theatre Circle,
in roles such as Joe Gillis in
Sunset Boulevard, Dr. Parker
in BatBoy! The Musical, Valentin in Kiss of the
Spider Woman, Rochester in Jane Eyre and Jesus
in both Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Artists
Lars Lee has performed
in The Crucible and A
Christmas Carol at Hartford
Stage, Connecticut, and
in Legally Blonde and
Brigadoon at the MacHaydn Theater in New York. He has
performed in The Fantasticks at Theater
in the Round, and he was a Burning Hill
Singer in North Dakota’s Medora Musical.
Jennifer Maren has
performed with the Guthrie
Theater, Children’s Theatre
Company, Skylark Opera
and Park Square Theatre, in
productions including The
Sunshine Boys, Candide and 33 Variations.
She studied at St. Olaf College and the
British American Drama Academy in Oxford.
Erik Pearson last appeared
with the Orchestra in 2009
as a soloist in “Bernstein
on Broadway” and with the
Street Chorus in Bernstein’s
Mass. He has played leading
roles with the Guthrie Theater, Minnesota
Opera, Children’s Theatre Company and
other companies; he spends summers with
Montana Shakespeare in the Parks.
Jill Sandager, who has
performed solos in the
Orchestra’s “Scandinavian
Christmas” and “Viva
Latino” concerts, has
appeared with Theater
Latté Da, Theatre de la Jeune Lune,
Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera, Great
American History Theatre and numerous
other companies, as well as with the Saint
Paul Chamber Orchestra.
PRODUCTION
Robert Neu, stage director
Robert Neu has directed more than 60
productions of operas, musicals and plays
in Minnesota and around the country.
Productions he has directed for the
Minnesota Orchestra include Peer Gynt,
La Traviata, Bernstein’s Mass and Strauss’
Die Fledermaus. He recently directed Don
Pasquale and The Face on the Barroom
Floor for Lyric Opera of the North; Art
and Death of a Salesman for Bloomington
Civic Theater; Hansel and Gretel for the
Colorado Symphony; and On the Town,
The Fantasticks and Candide for Skylark
Opera. He will next direct Tosca for the
Colorado Symphony and Putting It Together
for Skylark. Neu, a graduate of the Juilliard
School, also teaches master classes and
audition techniques for the University of
Minnesota’s opera department and is a
resident director at Lyric Arts Theater.
Katie Hawkinson, stage manager
Katie Hawkinson has previously worked
with Twin Cities companies including the
Ordway Center (Cinderella), Minnesota
Opera (Manon Lescaut, Arabella), History
Theatre (God Girl, Radio Man, The Incredible
Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz), Jungle
Theater (The Heiress, Urinetown), Dark &
Stormy Productions (The Hothouse, The
Receptionist), Chanhassen Dinner Theatres
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
(Our Hometown Christmas Pageant, Bye Bye
Birdie), as well as many projects with the
Playwrights’ Center, Cardinal Theatricals,
Skylark Opera and Stages Theatre, among
others. She will soon be working as
assistant stage manager for the Ordway’s
production of Damn Yankees.
Samantha Fromm Haddow, costume
designer
Samantha Fromm Haddow was the
costume designer for the Minnesota
Orchestra’s production of Die Fledermaus
during Sommerfest 2014. She has also
designed for productions with Theater
Latté Da, Lyric Arts in Anoka, Stages
Theater in Hopkins, Hawaii Theater,
Honolulu Theater for Youth, Gallery
Players in New York City and other
performing arts companies. In addition to
designing, Haddow works for the Guthrie
Theater costume shop as the dyer, milliner
and crafts artisan.
Ann Gumpper, set designer
Ann Gumpper is the resident designer with
Lyric Opera of the North (LOON), and
recently formed the LOON Scenic Shop to
facilitate the creation of scenery and props
for other performing arts companies. Her
scenic designs have been seen in recent
productions with Skylark Opera, Duluth
Playhouse and Minnesota Ballet. Gumpper
designed scenery for Minnesota Orchestra’s
production of Die Fledermaus last July.
From an early
scene of the
1956 film
Carousel:
Billy Bigelow,
played by
Gordon MacRae,
beckoning
carnival goers
to ride on the
carousel.
Quinn Shadko has performed
in many genres and
styles nationally and
locally with the Guthrie
Theater, Minneapolis Pops
Orchestra, Skylark Opera,
Bloomington Civic Theatre, Park Square
Theatre and Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light
Opera Company. She holds degrees from
Rice University and New York University.
M ARCH / APRI L 2015
M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A
31
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
Program Note
Rodgers may be the most-played composer of any
kind of music who ever lived. He wrote more than 900
songs, dozens of them known in nearly every American
household and in many more throughout the world.
“Right from the moment you hear a tune,” says conductor
John Mauceri, “he’s invited you in. And yet, once you’re
in this tune, he does these very subtle things that make
the tune unique.” There is almost always a Rodgers
show playing somewhere. Every year more than 4,000
productions of his musicals are mounted throughout the
world.
Richard Rodgers
Oscar Hammerstein II
Richard Rodgers
Born: June 28, 1902, Long Island, New York
Died: December 30, 1979, New York City
Oscar Hammerstein II
Born: July 12, 1895, New York City
Died: August 23, 1960, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Carousel
s
uppose for a moment that after a chance meeting at
your workplace, you quickly fall in love and marry.
But having an ill temper and an assortment of vices, you
aren’t exactly a model citizen, and becoming jobless adds
extra strain. When tragedy strikes, all seems lost—but is
it ever too late for redemption? This is the scenario that
spins at the center of Carousel.
Carousel was the second collaboration of Rodgers and
Hammerstein—one the most phenomenal partnerships
in the history of the arts, so strong and enduring that it
is almost impossible to think of one member without the
other, much like Gilbert and Sullivan, Lerner and Loewe
or Laurel and Hardy.
a winning team
Composer Richard Rodgers and librettist-lyricist Oscar
Hammerstein II wrote nine Broadway musicals together—
five of them hits of the highest order. Their collaboration
began in 1943 with Oklahoma! and ended 16 years later
with The Sound of Music. In between came three more
solid hits, Carousel, South Pacific and The King and I,
along with four others that weren’t quite in the same
league: Flower Drum Song, Allegro, Me and Juliet and Pipe
Dream. They also crafted a film musical, State Fair, along
with one for television, Cinderella. Together they collected
35 Tony Awards and 15 Academy Awards.
32
M INN ES O T A O R CH ESTRA
SHOWC A SE
As for Hammerstein, over the course of his life, he
collaborated on 850 songs with composers like Jerome
Kern, Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, Sigmund Romberg
and, above all, Richard Rodgers. As film and drama critic
Judith Crist wrote: “Hammerstein brought more than
skill as a lyricist. He brought an atmosphere of sincerity,
a depth of emotion and a seriousness of both moral and
dramatic values. Above all, he brought a sense of poetry
and optimism that matched the gay evanescence and
melodic lyricism of the composer.”
Rodgers and Hammerstein first combined their talents
during their college days at Columbia University in
New York, but they were well along in their respective
careers before they teamed up on Broadway. Then,
working together on a regular basis, they began to break
traditions, taboos and stereotypes. In an unusual reversal
of standard procedure, Hammerstein wrote the lyrics
first and Rodgers then set them to music. They dealt with
controversial, serious subjects like racial prejudice, mixedrace relationships, death, the afterlife, violence against
women and political oppression—but with a light touch.
And what a change they brought! No longer did it
suffice to build a string of unrelated songs, dances and
choral numbers around a silly, plotless idea: now story,
dialogue, song, dance, costumes, lighting and music were
integrated into an artistic whole, a “symphony of sight
and sound,” as Judith Crist put it. In other words, these
were musical plays, not musical comedies. The story, not
the stars or the songs, was preeminent.
one hit after another
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first major collaboration,
Oklahoma!, was a monster hit, running for 2,212
performances over more than five years. This created a
challenge: what could they possibly do as a follow-up
that would compare favorably? The solution came from
an unexpected source—Liliom, a fantasy drama by the
Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár that had premiered
in Budapest in 1909 and gradually became very popular.
It was mounted in New York City in English translation
first in 1921 and again in 1940, this time starring Burgess
Program Note
Meredith and Ingrid Bergman. Rodgers and Hammerstein
saw the play but declined to adapt it for a Broadway
musical. The Budapest setting seemed wrong; World War
II was raging; Hungary was under Axis control; and the
story had an unhappy ending. Furthermore, Molnár had
a reputation for refusing permission to adapt his works,
even to such eminent composers as Puccini and
Kurt Weill.
Then Molnár saw Oklahoma!—and declared that if
Rodgers and Hammerstein could do for Liliom what they
had done for Green Grow the Lilacs, the play adapted for
Oklahoma!, then he would grant them the rights. The
other primary barrier collapsed when Rodgers suggested
moving the locale to Maine. Hammerstein wrote of the
idea: “I began to see an attractive ensemble—sailors,
whalers, girls who worked in the mills up the river,
clambakes on near-by islands, an amusement park on the
seaboard, things people could do in crowds, people who
were strong and alive and lusty, people who had always
been depicted on the stage as thin-lipped puritans—a
libel I was anxious to refute….As for the two leading
characters, Julie with her courage and inner strength and
outward simplicity seemed more indigenous to Maine
than to Budapest. Liliom is, of course, an international
character, indigenous to nowhere.”
Carousel opened at the Majestic Theater on West 44th
Street on April 19, 1945, almost exactly two years after
Oklahoma!, which was still playing across the street at the
St. James. Carousel ran for 890 performances, more than
two years straight. It then went on the road for two years,
visiting 20 states and two Canadian cities. It traveled
15,000 miles and was seen by nearly two million people.
There have since been numerous revivals in America and
in London. In 1956 the film version appeared, starring
Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and an abridged,
made-for-television version aired in 1967.
mar 19, 20, 21, 22
musical sequences and interludes, at time played under
the dialogue, at times connecting one scene to the next
one. In addition, a new dramatic expressiveness and a
new spirituality begin to penetrate some of his musical
thinking, as in ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ while at
other times he proves capable of endowing some of his
melodies with an encompassing humanity and tenderness
not often encountered before this in his music (as in
‘When the Children Are Asleep’ or when, in ‘Soliloquy,’
Billy thinks about the possibility of having a daughter).
In short, in Carousel, Rodgers is no longer merely a writer
of wonderful melodies. He has finally become a musical
dramatist.”
Late in life, Rodgers admitted that Carousel was
the favorite of his shows. “Oscar never wrote more
meaningful or more moving lyrics,” he said, “and to me,
my score is more satisfying that any I’ve ever written. It
affects me deeply every time I see it performed.” One can
understand this sentiment perfectly when the air resounds
with the swirling, infectious strains of the “Carousel
Waltz,” the elegant love duet “If I Loved You” for Billy and
Julie, or the joyous “June is Bustin’ Out All Over.” Time
magazine named Carousel the best musical of the 20th
century. After hearing today’s performance, perhaps
you’ll agree.
Instrumentation: vocal soloists and mixed chorus with
orchestra comprising 2 flutes (both doubling piccolo),
oboe (doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, bassoon,
3 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani,
drum set, bells, cymbals, low bells, military snare
drum, tambourine, triangle, vibraphone, wood blocks,
xylophone, harp, piano and strings
Program note by Robert Markow.
‘new heights of creativity’
David Ewen wrote of Rodgers’ accomplishment in The
New Complete Book of the American Musical Theater:
“Carousel represented new heights of creativity. [Rodgers’]
musical writing acquired breadth and spaciousness—for
example, the symphonic waltz prelude played under the
opening scene, which has since become such a favorite of
‘pop’ and summer concerts, or the extended ‘Soliloquy,’
in which the usual musical comedy song…is expanded
into a seven-minute musical episode, made up of eight
different musical fragments. Now for the first time
Rodgers begins to make the orchestra a commentator
on what is occurring on the stage, to produce extended
Jan Clayton and John Raitt as Julie and Billy in the
original Broadway production of Carousel, 1945.
M ARCH / APRI L 2015
M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A
33