1.3 Carousel!

We're taking a critical look at the 1945 masterpiece Carousel – maybe Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest score, but a show that definitely hasn't aged well. What can contemporary audiences do with Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow and their complicated and violent relationship?

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We talk about...

Cycles of Abuse: Billy and Julie’s complicated relationship and the idea of the "conditional love song"
Redemptive Suffering: The myth of redemptive suffering – and Carousel's theatrical depiction of the afterlife
Are we more than our worst choices?
Is it true that “you’ll never walk alone?”
Redemption: Can a problematic show with a gorgeous score be “redeemed” for contemporary audiences?

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You'll hear this music from the 1956 film version of Carousel:

Shirley Jones & Claramae Turner singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Shirley Jones singing “If I Loved You”
Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner, Robert Rounseville & Cameron Mitchell singing “This Was a Real Nice Clambake”

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Check out some of our all-time favorites!

Phantom of the Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Jesus Christ Superstar!
Schmigadoon! (Season 1 / Season 2)
West Side Story!
Yentl!
Frozen!
Barbie!

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