Carousel (musical)

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Carousel is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers

(music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics). The 1945 Carousel
work was adapted from Ferenc Molnr's 1909 play Liliom,
transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story
revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with
millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He
attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after
it goes wrong, he is given a chance to make things right. A
secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her
romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow. The show includes
the well-known songs "If I Loved You", "June Is Bustin' Out All
Over" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". Richard Rodgers later wrote
that Carousel was his favorite of all his musicals.

Following the spectacular success of the first Rodgers and

Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma! (1943), the pair sought to
collaborate on another piece, knowing that any resulting work would
be compared with Oklahoma!, most likely unfavorably. They were
initially reluctant to seek the rights to Liliom; Molnr had refused
permission for the work to be adapted in the past, and the original
ending was considered too depressing for the musical theatre. After
acquiring the rights, the team created a work with lengthy sequences
of music and made the ending more hopeful.
Original Broadway poster (1945)
The musical required considerable modification during out-of-town
Music Richard Rodgers
tryouts, but once it opened on Broadway on April 19, 1945, it was
an immediate hit with both critics and audiences. Carousel initially Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II
ran for 890 performances and duplicated its success in the West End Book Oscar Hammerstein II
in 1950. Though it has never achieved as much commercial success
Basis Liliom, a play by Ferenc
as Oklahoma!, the piece has been repeatedly revived, and has been
recorded several times. A production by Nicholas Hytner enjoyed Molnr
success in 1992 in London, in 1994 in New York and on tour. In Productions 1945 Broadway
1999, Time magazine named Carousel the best musical of the 20th 1947 U.S. tour
century. 1949 Broadway
revival
1950 West End
Contents 1954, 1957 City
Center revivals
1 Background 1965 Lincoln Center
1.1 Liliom revival
1.2 Inception 1992 West End
1.3 Casting and out-of-town tryouts
2 Plot revival
2.1 Act 1 1994 Broadway
2.2 Act 2 revival
3 Principal roles and notable performers 1996 U.S. tour
4 Musical numbers 2008 West End
5 Productions revival
5.1 Early productions
5.2 Subsequent productions 2017 London revival
5.3 Film, television and concert versions Awards 1945 New York
 6 Music and recordings Drama Critics Circle
6.1 Musical treatment Award, Best Musical
6.2 Recordings 1992 Olivier Award,
7 Critical reception and legacy
Best Musical Revival
8 Awards and nominations
8.1 Original 1945 Broadway 1994 Tony Award,
8.2 1957 revival Best Revival of a
8.3 1992 London revival Musical
8.4 1994 revival
9 References
9.1 Bibliography
10 External links

Background
Liliom

Ferenc Molnr's Hungarian-language drama, Liliom, premiered in Budapest in 1909. The audience was puzzled
by the work, and it lasted only thirty-odd performances before being withdrawn, the first shadow on Molnr's
successful career as a playwright. Liliom was not presented again until after World War I. When it reappeared
on the Budapest stage, it was a tremendous hit.[1]

Except for the ending, the plots of Liliom and Carousel are very
similar.[2] Andreas Zavocky (nicknamed Liliom, the Hungarian word
for "lily", a slang term for "tough guy"),[3] a carnival barker, falls in
love with Julie Zeller, a servant girl, and they begin living together.
With both discharged from their jobs, Liliom is discontented and
contemplates leaving Julie, but decides not to do so on learning that she
is pregnant. A subplot involves Julie's friend Marie, who has fallen in
love with Wolf Biefeld, a hotel porterafter the two marry, he becomes
the owner of the hotel. Desperate to make money so that he, Julie and
their child can escape to America and a better life, Liliom conspires
with lowlife Ficsur to commit a robbery, but it goes badly, and Liliom
stabs himself. He dies, and his spirit is taken to heaven's police court.
As Ficsur suggested while the two waited to commit the crime, would-
be robbers like them do not come before God Himself. Liliom is told by "A starplease, my dearI must do
the magistrate that he may go back to Earth for one day to attempt to something good." Liliom (Joseph
Schildkraut) offers Louise (Evelyn
redeem the wrongs he has done to his family, but must first spend
Chard) the star he stole; 1921Theatre
sixteen years in a fiery purgatory.[4]
Guild production
On his return to Earth, Liliom encounters his daughter, Louise, who like
her mother is now a factory worker. Saying that he knew her father, he
tries to give her a star he stole from the heavens. When Louise refuses to take it, he strikes her. Not realizing
who he is, Julie confronts him, but finds herself unable to be angry with him. Liliom is ushered off to his fate,
presumably Hell, and Louise asks her mother if it is possible to feel a hard slap as if it was a kiss. Julie
reminiscently tells her daughter that it is very possible for that to happen.[4]

An English translation of Liliom was credited to Benjamin "Barney" Glazer, though there is a story that the
actual translator, uncredited, was Rodgers' first major partner Lorenz Hart.[5] The Theatre Guild presented it in
New York City in 1921, with Joseph Schildkraut as Liliom,[5] and the play was a success, running
300 performances.[6] A 1940 revival, with Burgess Meredith and Ingrid Bergman was seen by both
Hammerstein and Rodgers.[5] Glazer, in introducing the English translation of Liliom, wrote of the play's
appeal:
 And where in modern dramatic literature can such pearls be matchedJulie incoherently
confessing to her dead lover the love she had always been ashamed to tell; Liliom crying out to the
distant carousel the glad news that he is to be a father; the two thieves gambling for the spoils of
their prospective robbery; Marie and Wolf posing for their portrait while the broken-hearted Julie
stands looking after the vanishing Liliom, the thieves' song ringing in her ears; the two policemen
grousing about pay and pensions while Liliom lies bleeding to death; Liliom furtively proffering
his daughter the star he has stolen for her in heaven. ... The temptation to count the whole
scintillating string is difficult to resist.[7]

Inception

In the 1920s and 1930s, Rodgers and Hammerstein both became well known for creating Broadway hits with
other partners. Rodgers, with Lorenz Hart, had produced a string of over two dozen musicals, including such
popular successes as Babes in Arms (1937), The Boys from Syracuse (1938) and Pal Joey (1940).[8] Some of
Rodgers' work with Hart broke new ground in musical theatre: On Your Toes was the first use of ballet to
sustain the plot (in the "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" scene), while Pal Joey flouted Broadway tradition by
presenting a knave as its hero.[9] Hammerstein had written or co-written the words for such hits as Rose-Marie
(1924), The Desert Song (1926), The New Moon (1927) and Show Boat (1927). Though less productive in the
1930s, he wrote material for musicals and films, sharing an Academy Award for his song with Jerome Kern,
"The Last Time I Saw Paris", which was included in the 1941 film Lady Be Good.[10]

By the early 1940s, Hart had sunk into alcoholism and emotional turmoil, becoming unreliable and prompting
Rodgers to approach Hammerstein to ask if he would consider working with him.[11] Hammerstein was eager
to do so, and their first collaboration was Oklahoma! (1943).[12] Thomas Hischak states, in his The Rodgers
and Hammerstein Encyclopedia, that Oklahoma! is "the single most influential work in the American musical
theatre. In fact, the history of the Broadway musical can accurately be divided into what came before
Oklahoma! and what came after it."[13] An innovation for its time in integrating song, character, plot and dance,
Oklahoma! would serve, according to Hischak, as "the model for Broadway shows for decades",[13] and proved
a huge popular and financial success. Once it was well-launched, what to do as an encore was a daunting
challenge for the pair. Movie producer Sam Goldwyn saw Oklahoma! and advised Rodgers to shoot himself,
which according to Rodgers "was Sam's blunt but funny way of telling me that I'd never create another show as
good as Oklahoma!"[14] As they considered new projects, Hammerstein wrote, "We're such fools. No matter
what we do, everyone is bound to say, 'This is not another Oklahoma!' "[15]

Oklahoma! had been a struggle to finance and produce. Hammerstein and Rodgers met weekly in 1943 with
Theresa Helburn and Lawrence Langner of the Theatre Guild, producers of the blockbuster musical, who
together formed what they termed "the Gloat Club". At one such luncheon, Helburn and Langner proposed to
Rodgers and Hammerstein that they turn Molnr's Liliom into a musical. Both men refusedthey had no
feeling for the Budapest setting and thought that the unhappy ending was unsuitable for musical theatre.[5] In
addition, given the unstable wartime political situation, they might need to change the setting from Hungary
while in rehearsal.[16] At the next luncheon, Helburn and Langner again proposed Liliom, suggesting that they
move the setting to Louisiana and make Liliom a Creole. Rodgers and Hammerstein played with the idea over
the next few weeks, but decided that Creole dialect, filled with "zis" and "zose" would sound corny and would
make it difficult to write effective lyrics.[16]

A breakthrough came when Rodgers, who owned a house in Connecticut, proposed a New England setting.[17]
Hammerstein wrote of this suggestion in 1945,

I began to see an attractive ensemblesailors, 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 puritansa 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.[18]

Rodgers and Hammerstein were also concerned about what they termed "the tunnel" of Molnr's second acta
series of gloomy scenes leading up to Liliom's suicidefollowed by a dark ending. They also felt it would be
difficult to set Liliom's motivation for the robbery to music.[16] Molnr's opposition to having his works
adapted was also an issue; he had famously turned down Giacomo Puccini when the great composer wished to
transform Liliom into an opera, stating that he wanted the piece to be remembered as his, not Puccini's.[5] In
1937, Molnr, who had recently emigrated to the United States, had declined another offer from Kurt Weill to
adapt the play into a musical.[3]

The pair continued to work on the preliminary ideas for a Liliom adaptation while pursuing other projects in
late 1943 and early 1944writing the film musical State Fair[19] and producing I Remember Mama on
Broadway.[20] Meanwhile, the Theatre Guild took Molnr to see Oklahoma! Molnr stated that if Rodgers and
Hammerstein could adapt Liliom as beautifully as they had modified Green Grow the Lilacs into Oklahoma!, he
would be pleased to have them do it.[21] The Guild obtained the rights from Molnr in October 1943. The
playwright received one percent of the gross and $2,500 for "personal services".[22] The duo insisted, as part of
the contract, that Molnr permit them to make changes in the plot. At first, the playwright refused, but
eventually yielded. Hammerstein later stated that if this point had not been won, "we could never have made
Carousel."[23]

In seeking to establish through song Liliom's motivation for the robbery, Rodgers remembered that he and Hart
had a similar problem in Pal Joey. Rodgers and Hart had overcome the problem with a song that Joey sings to
himself, "I'm Talking to My Pal". This inspired "Soliloquy". Both partners later told a story that "Soliloquy"
was only intended to be a song about Liliom's dreams of a son, but that Rodgers, who had two daughters,
insisted that Liliom consider that Julie might have a girl. However, the notes taken at their meeting of
December 7, 1943 state: "Mr. Rodgers suggested a fine musical number for the end of the scene where Liliom
discovers he is to be a father, in which he sings first with pride of the growth of a boy, and then suddenly
realizes it might be a girl and changes completely."[24]

Hammerstein and Rodgers returned to the Liliom project in mid-

1944. Hammerstein was uneasy as he worked, fearing that no matter
what they did, Molnr would disapprove of the results.[15] Green
Grow the Lilacs had been a little-known work; Liliom was a
theatrical standard. Molnr's text also contained considerable
commentary on the Hungarian politics of 1909 and the rigidity of
that society. A dismissed carnival barker who hits his wife, attempts
a robbery and commits suicide seemed an unlikely central character
The opening carnival scene inLiliom
for a musical comedy.[3] Hammerstein decided to use the words and
inspired the pantomime that begins
story to make the audience sympathize with the lovers. He also built Carousel; 1921 Theatre Guild production
up the secondary couple, who are incidental to the plot in Liliom;
they became Enoch Snow and Carrie Pipperidge.[25] "This Was a
Real Nice Clambake" was repurposed from a song, "A Real Nice Hayride", written for Oklahoma! but not
used.[26]

Molnr's ending was unsuitable, and after a couple of false starts, Hammerstein conceived the graduation scene
that ends the musical. According to Frederick Nolan in his book on the team's works: "From that scene the song
"You'll Never Walk Alone" sprang almost naturally."[27] In spite of Hammerstein's simple lyrics for "You'll
Never Walk Alone", Rodgers had great difficulty in setting it to music.[28] Rodgers explained his rationale for
the changed ending,
 Liliom was a tragedy about a man who cannot learn to live with other people. The way Molnr
wrote it, the man ends up hitting his daughter and then having to go back to purgatory, leaving his
daughter helpless and hopeless. We couldn't accept that. The way we ended Carousel it may still be
a tragedy but it's a hopeful one because in the final scene it is clear that the child has at last learned
how to express herself and communicate with others.[29]

When the pair decided to make "This Was a Real Nice Clambake" into an ensemble number, Hammerstein
realized he had no idea what a clambake was like, and researched the matter. Based on his initial findings, he
wrote the line, "First came codfish chowder". However, further research convinced him the proper term was
"codhead chowder", a term unfamiliar to many playgoers. He decided to keep it as "codfish". When the song
proceeded to discuss the lobsters consumed at the feast, Hammerstein wrote the line "We slit 'em down the
back/And peppered 'em good". He was grieved to hear from a friend that lobsters are always slit down the
front. The lyricist sent a researcher to a seafood restaurant and heard back that lobsters are always slit down the
back. Hammerstein concluded that there is disagreement about which side of a lobster is the back. One error
not caught involved the song "June Is Bustin' Out All Over", in which sheep are depicted as seeking to mate in
late springthey actually do so in the winter. Whenever this was brought to Hammerstein's attention, he told
his informant that 1873 was a special year, in which sheep mated in the spring.[30]

Rodgers early decided to dispense with an overture, feeling that the music was hard to hear over the banging of
seats as latecomers settled themselves.[31] In his autobiography, Rodgers complained that only the brass section
can be heard during an overture because there are never enough strings in a musical's small orchestra. He
determined to force the audience to concentrate from the beginning by opening with a pantomime scene
accompanied by what became known as "The Carousel Waltz".[32] The pantomime paralleled one in the Molnr
play, which was also used to introduce the characters and situation to the audience.[33] Author Ethan Mordden
described the effectiveness of this opening:

Other characters catch our noticeMr. Bascombe, the pompous mill owner, Mrs. Mullin, the
widow who runs the carousel and, apparently, Billy; a dancing bear; an acrobat. But what draws us
in is the intensity with which Julie regards Billythe way she stands frozen, staring at him, while
everyone else at the fair is swaying to the rhythm of Billy's spiel. And as Julie and Billy ride
together on the swirling carousel, and the stage picture surges with the excitement of the crowd,
and the orchestra storms to a climax, and the curtain falls, we realize that R & H have not only
skipped the overture and the opening number but the exposition as well. They have plunged into
the story, right into the middle of it, in the most intense first scene any musical ever had.[34]

Casting and out-of-town tryouts

The casting for Carousel began when Oklahoma!'s production team, including Rodgers and Hammerstein, was
seeking a replacement for the part of Curly (the male lead in Oklahoma!). Lawrence Langner had heard,
through a relative, of a California singer named John Raitt, who might be suitable for the part. Langner went to
hear Raitt, then urged the others to bring Raitt to New York for an audition. Raitt asked to sing Largo al
factotum, Figaro's aria from The Barber of Seville, to warm up. The warmup was sufficient to convince the
producers that not only had they found a Curly, they had found a Liliom (or Billy Bigelow, as the part was
renamed).[35] Theresa Helburn made another California discovery, Jan Clayton, a singer/actress who had made
a few minor films for MGM. She was brought east and successfully auditioned for the part of Julie.[27]

The producers sought to cast unknowns. Though many had played in previous Hammerstein or Rodgers works,
only one, Jean Casto (cast as carousel owner Mrs. Mullin, and a veteran of Pal Joey), had ever played on
Broadway before.[27] It proved harder to cast the ensemble than the leads, due to the warRodgers told his
casting director, John Fearnley, that the sole qualification for a dancing boy was that he be alive.[36] Rodgers
and Hammerstein reassembled much of the creative team that had made Oklahoma! a success, including
director Rouben Mamoulian and choreographer Agnes de Mille. Miles White was the costume designer while
Jo Mielziner (who had not worked on Oklahoma!) was the scenic and lighting designer. Even though
Oklahoma! orchestrator Russell Bennett had informed Rodgers that he was unavailable to work on Carousel
due to a radio contract, Rodgers insisted he do the work in his spare time. He orchestrated "The Carousel
Waltz" and "(When I Marry) Mister Snow" before finally being replaced by Don Walker.[37] A new member of
the creative team was Trude Rittmann, who arranged the dance music. Rittmann initially felt that Rodgers
mistrusted her because she was a woman, and found him difficult to work with, but the two worked together on
Rodgers' shows until the 1970s.[33]

Rehearsals began in January 1945;[3] either Rodgers or Hammerstein was

Oscar Hammerstein II
always present.[38] Raitt was presented with the lyrics for "Soliloquy" on a five-
foot long sheet of paperthe piece ran nearly eight minutes. Staging such a
long solo number presented problems, and Raitt later stated that he felt that
they were never fully addressed.[39] At some point during rehearsals, Molnr
came to see what they had done to his play. There are a number of variations on
the story.[35][40] As Rodgers told it, while watching rehearsals with
Hammerstein, the composer spotted Molnr in the rear of the theatre and
whispered the news to his partner. Both sweated through an afternoon of
rehearsal in which nothing seemed to go right. At the end, the two walked to
the back of the theatre, expecting an angry reaction from Molnr. Instead, the
playwright said enthusiastically, "What you have done is so beautiful. And you
know what I like best? The ending!"[41] Hammerstein wrote that Molnr
became a regular attendee at rehearsals after that.[18]

Like most of the pair's works, Carousel contains a lengthy ballet, "Billy Makes a Journey",[42] in the second
act, as Billy looks down to the Earth from "Up There" and observes his daughter. In the original production the
ballet was choreographed by de Mille.[43] It began with Billy looking down from heaven at his wife in labor,
with the village women gathered for a "birthing". The ballet involved every character in the play, some of
whom spoke lines of dialogue, and contained a number of subplots. The focus was on Louise, played by Bambi
Linn, who at first almost soars in her dance, expressing the innocence of childhood. She is teased and mocked
by her schoolmates, and Louise becomes attracted to the rough carnival people, who symbolize Billy's world. A
youth from the carnival attempts to seduce Louise, as she discovers her own sexuality, but he decides she is
more girl than woman, and he leaves her. After Julie comforts her, Louise goes to a children's party, where she
is shunned. The carnival people reappear and form a ring around the children's party, with Louise lost between
the two groups. At the end, the performers form a huge carousel with their bodies.[44]

The play opened for tryouts in New Haven, Connecticut on March 22, 1945. The first act was well-received;
the second act was not.[45] Casto recalled that the second act finished about 1:30 a.m.[27] The staff immediately
sat down for a two-hour conference. Five scenes, half the ballet, and two songs were cut from the show as the
result. John Fearnley commented, "Now I see why these people have hits. I never witnessed anything so brisk
and brave in my life."[45] De Mille said of this conference, "not three minutes had been wasted pleading for
something cherished. Nor was there any idle joking. ... We cut and cut and cut and then we went to bed."[46] By
the time the company left New Haven, de Mille's ballet was down to forty minutes.[44]

A major concern with the second act was the effectiveness of the characters He and She (later called by
Rodgers "Mr. and Mrs. God"),[47] before whom Billy appeared after his death. Mr. and Mrs. God were depicted
as a New England minister and his wife, seen in their parlor.[39][48] The couple was still part of the show at the
Boston opening.[39] Rodgers said to Hammerstein, "We've got to get God out of that parlor". When
Hammerstein inquired where he should put the deity, Rodgers replied, "I don't care where you put Him. Put
Him on a ladder for all I care, only get Him out of that parlor!" Hammerstein duly put Mr. God (renamed the
Starkeeper) atop a ladder,[49] and Mrs. God was removed from the show.[39] Rodgers biographer Meryle
Secrest terms this change a mistake, leading to a more fantastic afterlife, which was later criticized by The New
Republic as "a Rotarian atmosphere congenial to audiences who seek not reality but escape from reality, not
truth but escape from truth".[39]
Hammerstein wrote that Molnr's advice, to combine two scenes into one, was key to pulling together the
second act and represented "a more radical departure from the original than any change we had made".[18] A
reprise of "If I Loved You" was added in the second act, which Rodgers felt needed more music.[50] Three
weeks of tryouts in Boston followed the brief New Haven run, and the audience there gave the musical a warm
reception.[45] An even shorter version of the ballet was presented the final two weeks in Boston, but on the
final night there, de Mille expanded it back to forty minutes, and it brought the house down, causing both
Rodgers and Hammerstein to embrace her.[44]

Plot
Act 1

Two young female millworkers in 1873 Maine visit the town's carousel after work. One of them, Julie Jordan,
attracts the attention of the barker, Billy Bigelow ("The Carousel Waltz"). When Julie lets Billy put his arm
around her during the ride, Mrs. Mullin, the widowed owner of the carousel, tells Julie never to return. Julie
and her friend, Carrie Pipperidge, argue with Mrs. Mullin. Billy arrives and, seeing that Mrs. Mullin is jealous,
mocks her; he is fired from his job. Billy, unconcerned, invites Julie to join him for a drink. As he goes to get
his belongings, Carrie presses Julie about her feelings toward him, but Julie is evasive ("You're a Queer One,
Julie Jordan"). Carrie has a beau too, fisherman Enoch Snow ("(When I Marry) Mister Snow"), to whom she is
newly engaged. Billy returns for Julie as the departing Carrie warns that staying out late means the loss of
Julie's job. Mr. Bascombe, owner of the mill, happens by along with a policeman, and offers to escort Julie to
her home, but she refuses and is fired. Left alone, she and Billy talk about what life might be like if they were
in love, but neither quite confesses to the growing attraction they feel for each other ("If I Loved You").

Over a month passes, and preparations for the summer

clambake are under way ("June Is Bustin' Out All Over").
Julie and Billy, now married, live at Julie's cousin Nettie's
spa. Julie confides in Carrie that Billy, frustrated over being
unemployed, hit her. Carrie has happier newsshe is
engaged to Enoch, who enters as she discusses him ("
(When I Marry) Mister Snow (reprise))". Billy arrives with
his ne'er-do-well whaler friend, Jigger. The former barker Enoch (Eric Mattson) arrives unexpectedly (reprise of "
is openly rude to Enoch and Julie, then leaves with Jigger, (When I Marry) Mister Snow").Iva Withers is Julie
followed by a distraught Julie. Enoch tells Carrie that he (standing), and Margot Moser is Carrie (bent over)
expects to become rich selling herring and to have a large (1947).
family, larger perhaps than Carrie is comfortable having
("When the Children Are Asleep").

Jigger and his shipmates, joined by Billy, then sing about life on the sea ("Blow High, Blow Low"). The whaler
tries to recruit Billy to help with a robbery, but Billy declines, as the victimJulie's former boss, Mr.
Bascombemight have to be killed. Mrs. Mullin enters and tries to tempt Billy back to the carousel (and to
her). He would have to abandon Julie; a married barker cannot evoke the same sexual tension as one who is
single. Billy reluctantly mulls it over as Julie arrives and the others leave. She tells him that she is pregnant, and
Billy is overwhelmed with happiness, ending all thoughts of returning to the carousel. Once alone, Billy
imagines the fun he will have with Bill Jr.until he realizes that his child might be a girl, and reflects soberly
that "you've got to be a father to a girl" ("Soliloquy"). Determined to provide financially for his future child,
whatever the means, Billy decides to be Jigger's accomplice.

The whole town leaves for the clambake. Billy, who had earlier refused to go, agrees to join in, to Julie's
delight, as he realizes that being seen at the clambake is integral to his and Jigger's alibi ("Act I Finale").

Act 2
Everyone reminisces about the huge meal and much fun
("This Was a Real Nice Clambake"). Jigger tries to seduce
Carrie; Enoch walks in at the wrong moment, and declares
that he is finished with her ("Geraniums In the Winder"), as
Jigger jeers ("There's Nothin' So Bad for a Woman"). The
girls try to comfort Carrie, but for Julie all that matters is
that "he's your feller and you love him" ("What's the Use of
Wond'rin'?"). Julie sees Billy trying to sneak away with
Jigger and, trying to stop him, feels the knife hidden in his
shirt. She begs him to give it to her, but he refuses and
leaves to commit the robbery.
"What's the Use of Wond'rin' "; Withers is Julie (1947)
As they wait, Jigger and Billy gamble with cards. They
stake their shares of the anticipated robbery spoils. Billy
loses: his participation is now pointless. Unknown to Billy and Jigger, Mr. Bascombe, the intended victim, has
already deposited the mill's money. The robbery fails: Bascombe pulls a gun on Billy while Jigger escapes.
Billy stabs himself with his knife; Julie arrives just in time for him to say his last words to her and die. Julie
strokes his hair, finally able to tell him that she loved him. Carrie and Enoch, reunited by the crisis, attempt to
console Julie; Nettie arrives and gives Julie the resolve to keep going despite her despair ("You'll Never Walk
Alone").

Billy's defiant spirit ("The Highest Judge of All") is taken Up There to see the Starkeeper, a heavenly official.
The Starkeeper tells Billy that the good he did in life was not enough to get into heaven, but so long as there is
a person alive who remembers him, he can return for a day to try to do good to redeem himself. He informs
Billy that fifteen years have passed on Earth since the former barker's suicide, and suggests that Billy can get
himself into heaven if he helps his daughter, Louise. He helps Billy look down from heaven to see her
(instrumental ballet: "Billy Makes a Journey"). Louise has grown up to be lonely and bitter. The local children
ostracize her because her father was a thief and a wife-beater. In the dance, a young ruffian, much like her
father at that age, flirts with her and abandons her as too young. The dance concludes, and Billy is anxious to
return to Earth and help his daughter. He steals a star to take with him, as the Starkeeper pretends not to notice.

Outside Julie's cottage, Carrie describes her visit to New York with the now-wealthy Enoch. Carrie's husband
and their many children enter to fetch herthe family must get ready for the high school graduation later that
day. Enoch Jr., the oldest son, remains behind to talk with Louise, as Billy and the Heavenly Friend escorting
him enter, invisible to the other characters. Louise confides in Enoch Jr. that she plans to run away from home
with an acting troupe. He says that he will stop her by marrying her, but that his father will think her an
unsuitable match. Louise is outraged: each insults the other's father, and Louise orders Enoch Jr. to go away.
Billy, able to make himself visible at will, reveals himself to the sobbing Louise, pretending to be a friend of
her father. He offers her a giftthe star he stole from heaven. She refuses it and, frustrated, he slaps her hand.
He makes himself invisible, and Louise tells Julie what happened, stating that the slap miraculously felt like a
kiss, not a blowand Julie understands her perfectly. Louise retreats to the house, as Julie notices the star that
Billy dropped; she picks it up and seems to feel Billy's presence ("If I Loved You (Reprise)").

Billy invisibly attends Louise's graduation, hoping for one last chance to help his daughter and redeem himself.
The beloved town physician, Dr. Seldon (who resembles the Starkeeper) advises the graduating class not to rely
on their parents' success or be held back by their failure (words directed at Louise). Seldon prompts everyone to
sing an old song, "You'll Never Walk Alone". Billy, still invisible, whispers to Louise, telling her to believe
Seldon's words, and when she tentatively reaches out to another girl, she learns she does not have to be an
outcast. Billy goes to Julie, telling her at last that he loved her. As his widow and daughter join in the singing,
Billy is taken to his heavenly reward.

Principal roles and notable performers

 Character Description Notable stage performers

John Raitt, Stephen Douglass, Bruce Yarnell, Michael

Billy Bigelow A barker for a carousel
Hayden, Howard Keel, Patrick Wilson, Alfie Boe

Jan Clayton, Iva Withers, Barbara Cook, Constance Towers,

Julie Jordan A millworker, in love with Billy Joanna Riding, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Jennifer Laura
Thompson, Alexandra Silber, Katherine Jenkins

Carrie A millworker and friend of Julie's, in love with

Jean Darling, Janie Dee, Audra McDonald
Pipperidge Enoch Snow

Enoch Snow A fisherman, who thinks big in his plans Eric Mattson, Eddie Korbich, Reid Shelton, Clive Rowe

Christine Johnson, Shirley Verrett, Lesley Garrett, Patricia

Nettie Fowler Julie's cousin and owner of a small seaside spa
Routledge

Jigger Craigin A no-account whaler, Billy's friend Murvyn Vye, Jerry Orbach, Fisher Stevens

Louise Bigelow Billy and Julie's daughter Bambi Linn

The Starkeeper An official in the afterlife Russell Collins, Edward Everett Horton, Nicholas Lyndhurst

denotes original Broadway cast

Musical numbers

Act I[6][51] Act II[6][51]

"The Carousel Waltz" Orchestra
"You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan" Carrie
Pipperidge and Julie Jordan
"(When I Marry) Mister Snow" Carrie
"If I Loved You" Billy Bigelow and Julie
"June Is Bustin' Out All Over" Nettie Fowler
and Chorus
"(When I Marry) Mister Snow" (reprise)
Carrie, Enoch Snow and Female Chorus
"When the Children Are Asleep" Enoch and
Carrie
"Blow High, Blow Low" Jigger Craigin, Billy
and Male Chorus
"Soliloquy" Billy
"This Was a Real Nice Clambake" Carrie,
Nettie, Julie, Enoch and Chorus
"Geraniums in the Winder" Enoch
"There's Nothin' So Bad for a Woman" Jigger
and Chorus
"What's the Use of Wond'rin'?" Julie
"You'll Never Walk Alone" Nettie
"The Highest Judge of All" Billy
Ballet: "Billy Makes a Journey" Orchestra
"If I Loved You" (reprise) Billy
Finale: "You'll Never Walk Alone" (reprise)
Company

Productions
Early productions

The original Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on April 19, 1945. The dress rehearsal the
day before had gone badly, and the pair feared the new work would not be well received.[52] One successful
last-minute change was to have de Mille choreograph the pantomime. The movement of the carnival crowd in
the pantomime had been entrusted to Mamoulian, and his version was not working.[44] Rodgers had injured his
back the previous week, and he watched the opening from a stretcher propped in a box behind the curtain.
Sedated with morphine, he could see only part of the stage. As he could not hear the audience's applause and
laughter, he assumed the show was a failure. It was not until friends congratulated him later that evening that he
realized that the curtain had been met by wild applause.[52] Bambi Linn, who played Louise, was so
enthusiastically received by the audience during her ballet that she was forced to break character, when she next
appeared, and bow. Rodgers' daughter Mary caught sight of her friend, Stephen Sondheim, both teenagers then,
across several rows; both had eyes wet with tears.[45]

The original production ran for 890 performances, closing on May 24, 1947. The original cast included John
Raitt (Billy), Jan Clayton (Julie), Jean Darling (Carrie), Eric Mattson (Enoch Snow), Christine Johnson (Nettie
Fowler), Murvyn Vye (Jigger), Bambi Linn (Louise) and Russell Collins (Starkeeper). In December 1945,
Clayton left to star in the Broadway revival of Show Boat and was replaced by Iva Withers; Raitt was replaced
by Henry Michel in January 1947; Darling was replaced by Margot Moser.[53][54]

After closing on Broadway, the show went on a national tour for two years. It played for five months in
Chicago alone, visited twenty states and two Canadian cities, covered 15,000 miles (24,000 km) and played to
nearly two million people. The touring company had a four-week run at New York City Center in January
1949.[55] Following the City Center run, the show was moved back to the Majestic Theatre in the hopes of
filling the theatre until South Pacific opened in early April. However, ticket sales were mediocre, and the show
closed almost a month early.[56]

The musical premiered in the West End, London, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on June 7, 1950. The
production was restaged by Jerome Whyte, with a cast that included Stephen Douglass (Billy), Iva Withers
(Julie) and Margot Moser (Carrie). Carousel ran in London for 566 performances, remaining there for over a
year and a half.[53]

Subsequent productions

Carousel was revived in 1954 and 1957 at City Center, presented by the New York City Center Light Opera
Company. Both times, the production featured Barbara Cook, though she played Carrie in 1954 and Julie in
1957 (playing alongside Howard Keel as Billy). The production was then taken to Belgium to be performed at
the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, with David Atkinson as Billy, Ruth Kobart as Nettie, and Clayton reprising the
role of Julie, which she had originated.[57]

In August 1965, Rodgers and the Music Theater of Lincoln Center produced Carousel for 47 performances.
John Raitt reprised the role of Billy, with Jerry Orbach as Jigger and Reid Shelton as Enoch Snow. The roles of
the Starkeeper and Dr. Seldon were played by Edward Everett Horton in his final stage appearance.[58] The
following year, New York City Center Light Opera Company brought Carousel back to City Center for 22
performances, with Bruce Yarnell as Billy and Constance Towers as Julie.[57]

Nicholas Hytner directed a new production of Carousel in 1992, at London's Royal National Theatre, with
choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan and designs by Bob Crowley. In this staging, the story begins at the
mill, where Julie and Carrie work, with the music slowed down to emphasize the drudgery. After work ends,
they move to the shipyards and then to the carnival.[57] As they proceed on a revolving stage, carnival
characters appear, and at last the carousel is assembled onstage for the girls to ride.[59][60] Louise is seduced by
the ruffian boy during her Act 2 ballet, set around the ruins of a carousel.[59] Michael Hayden played Billy not
as a large, gruff man, but as a frustrated smaller one, a time bomb waiting to explode.[57] Hayden, Joanna
Riding (Julie) and Janie Dee (Carrie) all won Olivier Awards for their performances.[61] Patricia Routledge
played Nettie.[62] Enoch and Carrie were cast as an interracial couple whose eight children, according to the
review in The New York Times, looked like "a walking United Colors of Benetton ad".[59] Clive Rowe, as
Enoch, was nominated for an Olivier Award.[63] The production's limited run from December 1992 through
March 1993 was a sellout.[64] It re-opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in September 1993, presented
by Cameron Mackintosh, where it continued until May 1994.[65]

The Hytner production moved to New York's Vivian Beaumont Theater, where it opened on March 24, 1994
and ran for 322 performances.[57][59] This won five Tony Awards, including best musical revival, as well as
awards for Hytner, MacMillan, Crowley and Audra McDonald (as Carrie).[66] The cast also included Sally
Murphy as Julie, Shirley Verrett as Nettie, Fisher Stevens as Jigger and Eddie Korbich as Enoch.[67] One
change made from the London to the New York production was to have Billy strike Louise across the face,
rather than on the hand. According to Hayden, "He does the one unpardonable thing, the thing we can't forgive.
It's a challenge for the audience to like him after that."[68] The Hytner Carousel was presented in Japan in May
1995.[69] A U.S. national tour with a scaled-down production began in February 1996 in Houston[70] and
closed in May 1997 in Providence, Rhode Island.[71] Producers sought to feature young talent on the tour,[70]
with Patrick Wilson as Billy and Sarah Uriarte Berry,[72] and later Jennifer Laura Thompson, as Julie.[73]

A revival opened at London's Savoy Theatre on December 2, 2008, after a week of previews, starring Jeremiah
James (Billy), Alexandra Silber (Julie) and Lesley Garrett (Nettie).[74] The production received warm to mixed
reviews.[75] It closed in June 2009, a month early.[76] Michael Coveney, writing in The Independent, admired
Rodgers' music but stated, "Lindsay Posner's efficient revival doesn't hold a candle to the National Theatre
1992 version".[74]

A semi-staged revival by the English National Opera opened at the London Coliseum on April 7, 2017 for a
five-week limited run until May 13. The production is directed by Lonny Price and stars Alfie Boe as Billy,
Katherine Jenkins as Julie and Nicholas Lyndhurst as the Starkeeper. The production received mixed to positive
reviews.[77]

The third Broadway revival is set to open in the spring of 2018, starring Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry, and
Rene Fleming. The production will be directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Justin Peck.[78][79]

Film, television and concert versions

A film version of the musical was made in 1956, starring Gordon

MacRae and Shirley Jones. It follows the musical's story fairly
closely, although a prologue, set in the Starkeeper's heaven, was
added. The film was released only a few months after the release of
the film version of Oklahoma!. It garnered some good reviews,[80]
and the soundtrack recording was a best seller. As the same stars
appeared in both pictures, however, the two films were often
compared, generally to the disadvantage of Carousel. Thomas
Hischak, in The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia, later
Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where the location
wondered "if the smaller number of Carousel stage revivals is the
shots for Carousel's movie version were
product of this often-lumbering [film] musical".[81]
filmed
There was also an abridged (100 minute) 1967 network television
version that starred Robert Goulet, with choreography by Edward
Villella.[81]

The New York Philharmonic presented a staged concert version of the musical from February 28 to March 2,
2013, at Avery Fisher Hall. Kelli O'Hara played Julie, with Nathan Gunn as Billy, Stephanie Blythe as Nettie,
Jessie Mueller as Carrie, Jason Danieley as Enoch, Shuler Hensley as Jigger, John Cullum as the Starkeeper,
and Kate Burton as Mrs. Mullin. Tiler Peck danced the role of Louise to choreography by Warren Carlyle. The
production was directed by John Rando. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wrote, "this is as
gorgeously sung a production of this sublime 1945 Broadway musical as you are ever likely to hear."[82] It was
broadcast as part of the PBS Live from Lincoln Center series, premiering on April 26, 2013.[83]

Music and recordings

Musical treatment

Rodgers designed Carousel to be an almost continuous stream of music, especially in Act 1. In later years,
Rodgers was asked if he had considered writing an opera. He stated that he had been sorely tempted to, but saw
Carousel in operatic terms. He remembered, "We came very close to opera in the Majestic Theatre. ... There's
much that is operatic in the music."[84]
much that is operatic in the music."[84]

Rodgers uses music in Carousel in subtle ways to differentiate characters and

tell the audience of their emotional state.[85] In "You're a Queer One, Julie
Jordan", the music for the placid Carrie is characterized by even eighth-note
rhythms, whereas the emotionally restless Julie's music is marked by dotted
eighths and sixteenths; this rhythm will characterize her throughout the show.
When Billy whistles a snatch of the song, he selects Julie's dotted notes rather
than Carrie's.[86] Reflecting the close association in the music between Julie
and the as-yet unborn Louise, when Billy sings in "Soliloquy" of his daughter,
who "gets hungry every night", he uses Julie's dotted rhythms. Such rhythms
also characterize Julie's Act 2 song, "What's the Use of Wond'rin'".[87] The
stable love between Enoch and Carrie is strengthened by her willingness to let
Enoch not only plan his entire life, but hers as well. This is reflected in "When
Richard Rodgers
the Children Are Asleep", where the two sing in close harmony, but Enoch
musically interrupts his intended's turn at the chorus with the words "Dreams
that won't be interrupted". Rodgers biographer Geoffrey Block, in his book on
the Broadway musical, points out that though Billy may strike his wife, he allows her musical themes to
become a part of him and never interrupts her music.[88] Block suggests that, as reprehensible as Billy may be
for his actions, Enoch requiring Carrie to act as "the little woman", and his having nine children with her (more
than she had found acceptable in "When the Children are Asleep") can be considered to be even more
abusive.[89]

The twelve-minute "bench scene",[90] in which Billy and Julie get to know each other and which culminates
with "If I Loved You", according to Hischak, "is considered the most completely integrated piece of music-
drama in the American musical theatre".[6] The scene is almost entirely drawn from Molnr and is one extended
musical piece; Stephen Sondheim described it as "probably the single most important moment in the revolution
of contemporary musicals".[91] "If I Loved You" has been recorded many times, by such diverse artists as Frank
Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Mario Lanza and Chad and Jeremy.[90] The D-flat major theme
that dominates the music for the second act ballet seems like a new melody to many audience members. It is,
however, a greatly expanded development of a theme heard during "Soliloquy" at the line "I guess he'll call me
'The old man' ".[92]

When the pair discussed the song that would become "Soliloquy", Rodgers improvised at the piano to give
Hammerstein an idea of how he envisioned the song. When Hammerstein presented his collaborator with the
lyrics after two weeks of work (Hammerstein always wrote the words first, then Rodgers would write the
melodies), Rodgers wrote the music for the eight-minute song in two hours.[93] "What's the Use of Wond'rin' ",
one of Julie's songs, worked well in the show but was never as popular on the radio or for recording, and
Hammerstein believed that the lack of popularity was because he had concluded the final line, "And all the rest
is talk" with a hard consonant, which does not allow the singer a vocal climax.[93]

Irving Berlin later stated that "You'll Never Walk Alone" had the same
sort of effect on him as the 23rd Psalm.[94] When singer Mel Torm
told Rodgers that "You'll Never Walk Alone" had made him cry,
Rodgers nodded impatiently. "You're supposed to."[95] The frequently
recorded song has become a universally accepted hymn.[96][97] The
cast recording of Carousel proved popular in Liverpool, like many
Broadway albums, and in 1963, the Brian Epstein-managed band,
Gerry and the Pacemakers had a number-one hit with the song. At the
time, the top ten hits were played before Liverpool F.C. home
matches; even after "You'll Never Walk Alone" dropped out of the top
ten, fans continued to sing it, and it has become closely associated Shankly Gates at Anfield, Liverpool F.C.'s
stadium

with the soccer team and the city of Liverpool.[98] A BBC program, Soul Music, ranked it alongside "Silent
with the soccer team and the city of Liverpool.[98] A BBC program, Soul Music, ranked it alongside "Silent
Night" and "Abide With Me" in terms of its emotional impact and iconic status.[96]

Recordings

The cast album of the 1945 Broadway production was issued on 78s, and the score was significantly cutas
was the 1950 London cast recording.[99] Theatre historian John Kenrick notes of the 1945 recording that a
number of songs had to be abridged to fit the 78 format, but that there is a small part of "Soliloquy" found on
no other recording, as Rodgers cut it from the score immediately after the studio recording was made.[100][101]

A number of songs were cut for the 1956 film, but two of the deleted numbers had been recorded and were
ultimately retained on the soundtrack album. The expanded CD version of the soundtrack, issued in 2001,
contains all of the singing recorded for the film, including the cut portions, and nearly all of the dance music.
The recording of the 1965 Lincoln Center revival featured Raitt reprising the role of Billy. Studio recordings of
Carousel's songs were released in 1956 (with Robert Merrill as Billy, Patrice Munsel as Julie, and Florence
Henderson as Carrie), 1962 and 1987. The 1987 version featured a mix of opera and musical stars, including
Samuel Ramey, Barbara Cook and Sarah Brightman.[99][101] Kenrick recommends the 1962 studio recording
for its outstanding cast, including Alfred Drake, Roberta Peters, Claramae Turner, Lee Venora, and Norman
Treigle.[100]

Both the London (1993) and New York (1994) cast albums of the Hytner production contain portions of
dialogue that, according to Hischak, speak to the power of Michael Hayden's portrayal of Billy.[99] Kenrick
judges the 1994 recording the best all-around performance of Carousel on disc, despite uneven singing by
Hayden, due to Sally Murphy's Julie and the strong supporting cast (calling Audra McDonald the best Carrie he
has heard).[100][101] The Stratford Festival issued a recording in 2015.[102]

Critical reception and legacy

The musical received almost unanimous rave reviews after its opening
in 1945. According to Hischak, reviews were not as exuberant as for
Oklahoma! as the critics were not taken by surprise this time. John
Chapman of the Daily News termed it "one of the finest musical plays I
have ever seen and I shall remember it always".[103] The New York
Times's reviewer, Lewis Nichols, stated that "Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein 2d, who can do no wrong, have continued doing no
wrong in adapting Liliom into a musical play. Their Carousel is on the
whole delightful."[104] Wilella Waldorf of the New York Post, however,
complained, "Carousel seemed to us a rather long evening. The
Oklahoma! formula is becoming a bit monotonous and so are Miss de
Mille's ballets. All right, go ahead and shoot!"[103][105] Dance
Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein
Magazine gave Linn plaudits for her role as Louise, stating, "Bambi
doesn't come on until twenty minutes before eleven, and for the next
forty minutes, she practically holds the audience in her hand".[44]
Howard Barnes in the New York Herald Tribune also applauded the dancing: "It has waited for Miss de Mille to
come through with peculiarly American dance patterns for a musical show to become as much a dance as a
song show."[44]

When the musical returned to New York in 1949, The New York Times reviewer Brooks Atkinson described
Carousel as "a conspicuously superior musical play ... Carousel, which was warmly appreciated when it
opened, seems like nothing less than a masterpiece now."[106] In 1954, when Carousel was revived at City
Center, Atkinson discussed the musical in his review:
 Carousel has no comment to make on anything of topical importance. The theme is timeless and
universal: the devotion of two people who love each other through thick and thin, complicated in
this case by the wayward personality of the man, who cannot fulfill the responsibilities he has
assumed. ... Billy is a bum, but Carousel recognizes the decency of his motives and admires his
independence. There are no slick solutions in Carousel.[107]

Stephen Sondheim noted the duo's ability to take the innovations of Oklahoma! and apply them to a serious
setting: "Oklahoma! is about a picnic, Carousel is about life and death."[108] Critic Eric Bentley, on the other
hand, wrote that "the last scene of Carousel is an impertinence: I refuse to be lectured to by a musical comedy
scriptwriter on the education of children, the nature of the good life, and the contribution of the American small
town to the salvation of souls."[109]

New York Times critic Frank Rich said of the 1992 London production: "What is remarkable about Mr. Hytner's
direction, aside from its unorthodox faith in the virtues of simplicity and stillness, is its ability to make a 1992
audience believe in Hammerstein's vision of redemption, which has it that a dead sinner can return to Earth to
do godly good."[110] The Hytner production in New York was hailed by many critics as a grittier Carousel,
which they deemed more appropriate for the 1990s.[111] Clive Barnes of the New York Post called it a "defining
Carouselhard-nosed, imaginative, and exciting."[111]

Critic Michael Billington has commented that "lyrically [Carousel] comes perilously close to acceptance of the
inevitability of domestic violence."[112] BroadwayWorld.com stated in 2013 that Carousel is now "considered
somewhat controversial in terms of its attitudes on domestic violence" because Julie chooses to stay with Billy
despite the abuse; actress Kelli O'Hara noted that the domestic violence that Julie "chooses to deal with is a
real, existing and very complicated thing. And exploring it is an important part of healing it."[113]

Rodgers considered Carousel his favorite of all his musicals and wrote, "it affects me deeply every time I see it
performed".[52] In 1999, Time magazine, in its "Best of the Century" list, named Carousel the Best Musical of
the 20th century, writing that Rodgers and Hammerstein "set the standards for the 20th century musical, and
this show features their most beautiful score and the most skillful and affecting example of their musical
storytelling".[114] Hammerstein's grandson, Oscar Andrew Hammerstein, in his book about his family,
suggested that the wartime situation made Carousel's ending especially poignant to its original viewers, "Every
American grieved the loss of a brother, son, father, or friend ... the audience empathized with [Billy's] all-too-
human efforts to offer advice, to seek forgiveness, to complete an unfinished life, and to bid a proper good-bye
from beyond the grave."[115] Author and composer Ethan Mordden agreed with that perspective:

If Oklahoma! developed the moral argument for sending American boys overseas, Carousel
offered consolation to those wives and mothers whose boys would only return in spirit. The
meaning lay not in the tragedy of the present, but in the hope for a future where no one walks
alone.[116]

Awards and nominations

Original 1945 Broadway 1992 London revival

New York Drama Critics' Circle Award[117] Olivier Award[61]

Best Musical, 19451946 Best Musical Revival (winner)

Best Director of a Musical Nicholas Hytner
Donaldson Award Winners[118] (winner)
 Best Play of the 194445 Season
Male Lead Performance (Musical) John Raitt
Direction (Musical) Rouben Mamoulian
Supporting Performance (Dance) Bambi Linn
Supporting Performance (Dance) Peter Birch
Book, Lyrics and Score Carousel
Choreography Agnes DeMille
Costume Design Miles White
Theatre World Award[119]
Best Debut Performance Ann Crowley
1994 revival
Note: The Tony Awards were not established until
1947, and so Carousel was not eligible to win any
Tony Award winners[66]
Tonys at its premiere.[120]
1957 revival
Tony Award nomination[66]
Best Scenic Design Oliver Smith
Best Actress in a Musical Joanna Riding
(winner)
Best Supporting Performance in a Musical
Janie Dee (winner)
Best Theatre Choreographer Kenneth
MacMillan (nominee)
Best Actor in a Musical Michael Hayden
(nominee)
Best Set Designer Bob Crowley (nominee)
Best Costume Designer Bob Crowley
(nominee)
Best Revival of a Musical
Best Featured Actress in a Musical Audra
McDonald
Best Scenic Design Bob Crowley
Best Choreography Sir Kenneth MacMillan
Best Direction of a Musical Nicholas Hytner

Drama Desk Award[121]

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical

Audra McDonald (winner)
Outstanding Choreography Sir Kenneth
MacMillan, Jane Elliott (winner)
Outstanding Director of a Musical Nicholas
Hytner (winner)
Outstanding Musical Revival (nominee)
Outstanding Actor in a Musical Michael
Hayden (nominee)
Outstanding Lighting Design Paul Pyant
(nominee)
Outstanding Set Design Bob Crowley
(nominee)

Theatre World Award[122]

Audra McDonald winner

Michael Hayden winner

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Bibliography
Block, Geoffrey. Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim. New York:
Oxford University Press US, 2004. ISBN 978-0-19-516730-6.
Block, Geoffrey (ed.) The Richard Rodgers Reader. New York: Oxford University Press US, 2006.
ISBN 978-0-19-531343-7.
Bradley, Ian. You've Got to Have a Dream: The Message of the Broadway Musical. Louisville, Ky.,
Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. 978-0-664-22854-5.
Easton, Carol. No Intermission: The Life of Agnes DeMille. Jefferson, N.C.: Da Capo Press, 2000 (1st
DaCapo Press edition). ISBN 978-0-306-80975-0.
Fordin, Hugh. Getting to Know Him: A Biography of Oscar Hammerstein II. Jefferson, N.C.: Da Capo
Press, 1995 reprint of 1986 edition. ISBN 978-0-306-80668-1.
Hammerstein, Oscar Andrew. The Hammersteins: A Musical Theatre Family. New York: Black Dog &
Leventhal Publishers, 2010. ISBN 978-1-57912-846-3.
Hischak, Thomas S. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood
Publishing Group, 2007. ISBN 978-0-313-34140-3.
Hyland, William G. Richard Rodgers. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-300-
07115-3.
Molnr, Ferenc. Liliom: A Legend in Seven Scenes and a Prologue. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1921.
Mordden, Ethan. "Rodgers & Hammerstein". New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992. ISBN 978-0-
8109-1567-1.
Nolan, Frederick. The Sound of Their Music: The Story of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Cambridge, Mass.:
Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2002. ISBN 978-1-55783-473-7.
Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages: An Autobiography. Jefferson, N.C. Da Capo Press, 2002 reprint of
1975 edition. ISBN 978-0-306-81134-0.
Secrest, Meryle. Somewhere for Me: A Biography of Richard Rodgers. Cambridge, Mass.: Applause
Theatre and Cinema Books, 2001. ISBN 978-1-55783-581-9.

External links
Carousel at the Internet Broadway Database
Carousel at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
Carousel info page on StageAgent.com Carousel plot summary & character descriptions
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