Carousel Court Theatre
Some audiences are inclined to think of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s shows as contrived, simplistic Americana. But in recent years artists have challenged these assumptions by sweeping away the layers of corn and cuteness accumulated over decades of dinner-theater productions. Last year the American Theater Company presented a revival of Oklahoma! that exposed the show’s grit and vigor through unorthodox portrayals and inventive musical direction that emphasized the influence of folk and country/western music on Rodgers’s score. Now Court Theatre is following suit with Carousel, coproduced with Connecticut’s Long Wharf Theatre, where the show will go after its Chicago run. Directed by Charles Newell with associate director Hollis Resnik, with musical direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Randy Duncan, this intimate staging succeeds on the strength of textured performances, exquisitely transparent chamber-orchestra arrangements, and—most important—the seamless interplay of speech, song, and dance.
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The serene strength and lyrical soprano that Johanna McKenzie Miller brings to Julie provides a strong contrast to Belton’s Billy—perhaps too strong. The production’s notable weakness is the lack of passion between the lovers, who must connect on a physical level as well as a spiritual one. Still, Miller has wonderful moments, as when she heartbreakingly exposes the depth of her feeling for Billy in “If I Loved You” even as she denies it.
