Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Carousel is the subject of the latest musical theatre podcast hosted by award-winning musical director Joe Bunker.
Produced by Pint of Wine theatre, the third offering in the Piece By Piece series of free musical theatre-themed talk shows is a two part, two-hour episode featuring guests, director Jo Davies (Carousel, Opera North, Barbican, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris) and actors Keith Higham (Carousel, Opera North), Alex Young (Carousel, ENO) and Molly Lynch (Carousel, ENO).
Commenting on the third episode in the series, Bunker (Rags, Park Theatre, Wasted, Southwark Playhouse) said: “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! and Carousel are over 75 years old but they are still revived frequently today. Do we accept them uncritically as quaint relics of a more innocent time? Do we dismiss them as out-dated pieces with nothing to say today? In Piece By Piece we re-evaluate classic musicals, asking why they were innovative and successful in their day, and discuss the challenges of staging them in 2020.”
Based on Hungarian-born writer and director Ferenc Molnar’s play Liliom, Carousel marked the second collaboration between genre legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.
Premiering on Broadway in 1945, the story of the doomed romance between charismatic carousel worker Billy Bigelow and wholesome millworker Julie Jordan features some of Rodgers abd Hammerstein’s best-loved songs including the timeless ‘If I Loved You’ and the inspirational ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
The 1956 film version starred Gordon MacRae in the role which was originally due to be played by Frank Sinatra opposite Shirley Jones. MacRae and Jones had starred in the previous year’s film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first musical Oklahoma!
Launched in January this year, the first two Piece By Piece podcasts focused on Guys and Dolls and Oklahoma! and were recorded in front of a live audience. For Carousel the team had to adjust to remote recording to accommodate current social distancing rules working with recording studio Auburn Jam to master the recording.
The next remote-recorded episode will put the spotlight on West Side Story (due for release on 4 May) and will feature cast and creatives from the recent Leicester Curve and Manchester Royal Exchange productions.
Piece By Piece Carousel is available online at:
https://anchor.fm/piece-by-piece
Angela Thomas
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