CAROUSEL (1945) Music by Richard Rodgers Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
A
t Ohio Light Opera, June is indeed bustin’ out all over … and July and August too! Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, based on Ferenc Molnár’s 1909 poignant play Liliom, remains one of the cornerstones of mid20th-century musical theater. Rodgers said it best himself: “Oscar never wrote … more moving lyrics and … my score is more satisfying than any I’ve ever written…. It affects me deeply every time I see it performed.” When out-of-work carnival barker Billy Bigelow, after marrying mill girl Julie Jordan, becomes frustrated with his jobless state, he begins to take it out on her. When he learns that she is with child and that he has no means to support the family, he sees no alternative but to join with an acquaintance in a payroll heist. When his plan backfires in a big way, he finds himself years later with one more chance. Song gems include “If I Loved You,” “When the Children Are Asleep,” “What’s the Use of Wond’rin’,” Billy’s groundbreaking “Soliloquy,” and the supremely uplifting, yet tear-inducing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Conductor: J. Lynn Thompson Director: Steven A. Daigle Cast Includes: Sarah Best, Lauren Silberstein, Tanya Roberts, Ivana Martinic, Chelsea Miller, Michelle Pedersen, Benjamin Krumreig
Show illustrations by Daniel Hobbs.