Carousel Reviews

Ron B. from Northern New Jersey

I EXPECTED ALOT AND RECEIVED MUCH MORE

In 1966, at the age of 14, I was treated to the production of Carousel at NYC's City Center, by my older brother. I was emotionally moved then and always kept that performance in my mind and heart. I attended the preview Production of Carousel yesterday with my wife ( 3/14/2018) and was totally engulfed with emotion and sobbed throughout the outstanding performance. The beautiful music, staging and lighting gave support to the Great acting, singing and dancing by All of the Cast. I was blown away by Joshua Henry's vocal performance as Billy Bigelow and totally wowed by Brittany Pollack's emotional expression with her dance performance of Louise. Without hesitation , I recommend this production - The only minor minus would be the tight seating in the Imperial Theatre. Thank You All for a Great experience.

Marsha from New York, New

AMAZING EXPERIENCE

Forever an ardent fan of the engaging score from Carousel as a child, I loved this revival. Joshua Henry had a fabulous voice and his ‘Soliliqy’ was outstanding , I feel he was miscast as a black man in this role, and didn’t feel the connection between his Billy and Jesse Mueller’s Julie as was originally written in a theme about life in a New England Fishing village. We are not looking for politically correct here the likes of which include also domestic abuse, and animal abuse (harpooning whales), as well as women’s rights. Yet the powerful sets, the engaging choreography, the haunting musical score, Renee Fleming .. these blended into a glorious show which I will hold in my heart as one of the best on Broadway! Go see it!

Jonathan Burgess from London, UK

CAROUSEL

Wow! This is one if the best productions I have ever seen. Spine tingling from beginning to end. The cast, orchestra, staging, everything was superb. This show should run and run. I was having to compare it with the Royal National Theatre production back in 1989, a wonderful production and hard to beat but the 2018 Broadway production wins hands down. Wish I could see it all again. Book your tickets now and go and enjoy one of the greatest musical ever written, performed with a freshness and spark by a five star cast.The highlight of a holiday in NEW York.

Jane from New York, New York

THRILLED ME!

The acting, dancing and singing were suerb. Heartfelt story. Worth it!

Deborah from New York, New York

CAROUSEL MESMERIZES!

Spellbinding! Saw this on Thursday evening. 3/23 after having been up since 3:30am. But would have stayed to see it again if they had performed it again immediately after our first viewing. Had my son in the theatre lobby at intermission to take my 10 year old granddaughter back to the hotel if she crashed half way through but she was so engaged she refused to leave and we all had trouble getting to sleep that night because we kept thinking about the show- the incredible sets, the story and songs and the world class talent. After a cram-packed long weekend in NYC (including seeing Frozen, Wicked and Mean Girls) we all (including the 10 year old) agreed Carousel was our hands down favorite experience! Bravo!!!

David from Sydney Australia

TOP EXPERIENCE

We saw this show from two points of view - one had never seen the show before, I had played Billy in a version of it some years ago. We were both blown away - Joshua Henry was excellent and I know I was well outclassed. My boy Bill was a showstopper in itself. Rest of the cast were great - Jigger included. Production great. The audience gave the show a standing ovation spontaneously. My partner raved all night about the show and the next day too. Yes the seats are a tad tight.

Malcolm McK. from Effort, Pennsylvania

CAROUSEL IS BEAUTIFUL AND BITTERSWEET

With weeks ahead of it before opening, this polished, lovely jewel already shines radiantly. Joshua Henry commands attention, and if in earlier performances he lacked nuance, he has it now, swaggering and sympathetic by turns. Jessie Mueller's theatre- filling soprano is sure and controlled. Scene-stealing performances, too, from Lindsay Mendez (Carrie with a lovely blend of strength and humor) and Renee Fleming (Nettie). Strong voices are balanced with lyrically sweet balletic movement and flowing choreography. The brass ring goes to Santo Loquasto for a delicate, understated, nostalgic scene design, and to Ann Roth for varied, interesting and evolving costumes from wigs to boots. Hard to believe this book and music is almost 75 years old. In the Imperial Theatre, it is fresh and tender and bittersweet, with no high-fallutin' gimmicks to distract from the original work, with as strong a second act as anyone could wish for in a traditional, emotionally moving Broadway masterpiece.

Barry from New York, New York

BEYOND WORDS

Not sure which superlative to use without sounding corny. From orchestration and choreography to acting and singing, the talent is the very best that broadway has to offer! The dancing showcases the ballet background of many of the cast members. Some of them being principal dancers with major ballet companies. Wonderfully inventive set design. And the voices, Oh the beautiful voices. I only hope they make a cast recording. I saw the show 5 days into previews and did not experience any of the negatives expressed by other reviewers. Our seats in the second row center were excellent for viewing, but legroom was a little tight in this theater.

Arlene from New York, New York

CAROUSEL

Fantabulous!!! Carousel is wonderful. Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry and Renee Fleming were all terrific but I have to say that Joshua Henry stole the show. He was an excellent Billy Bigelow and his voice just takes your breath away. A show not to be missed.

Eric M from New York, New York

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT BROADWAY HAS COOKED UP

We have tickets to Carousel at the Imperial in a couple of weeks. I am excited and a bit apprehensive, as Carousel is my favorite musical and became so thanks to the1994 production at the National Theatre in London, which I saw once at the National and then again in the West End when it moved over. I also saw Jesse Mueller in Waitress at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre several years ago. She is, of course, fabulous and I hope this production gives her a chance to soar. So ... I hope it's a really nice clambake. Break a leg!

Mary from Washington, DC

TECHNICALLY WONDERFUL BUT...

The voices, the music, the sets and the dancing were all fantastic but there was no chemistry between any of the actors. If you don't feel the love and instant attraction between Billy and Julie then the rest of the story is flat. It's the first time that I have either seen the play or movie or just listened to the soundtrack that I didn't cry and that totally surprised me.

Jef from New York, New York

CAROUSEL COME ALIVE!

I saw Carousel yesterday and was transported as soon as the curtain went up. The music is classic, the singing is excellent perhaps a little more than excellent because the talent is so deep in this show. No detail has been overlooked , I sat and enjoyed this play as I did years ago seeing it at Lincoln Center. The cast of Mueller, Henry, Fleming is superb. The ballet scene with top stars of the Ballet will be remembered. I am seeing this only a few days into previews but see a classic in the making. While Director may make a tweek here and there before opening, I will long remember this play the way I saw it. WONDERFUL Flrming, Fleming, Mendez

Jill Eathorne Bahr from Charleston SC

GOING TO BE REALLY GOOD. BUT JUST NOT YET...

Sounds great! Looks great ! Love the opening of the production, and the appearance of the carousel.. but the transitions between scenes that happen a vista.. lack any creativity.. With technology at the director's fingertips, finding answers should be easier... this is a place where images can be conjured up with a blink of any eye. I can't imagine why some of these flaws have not already been solved. But when you only rely on the set or technology.. things go wrong.. When Peck is choreographing great dance sequences they are valuable and appealing . gorgeous rhythmically but he has left little things unattended Go fix this.. more time and thought needs to happen for the of weaving the scene changes - That is the mark of a great musical theatre choreographer..

William from New York, New York

CAROUSEL

I attended the performance on the opening preview night. The casting was very good, the voices and dancing were both excellent. While the talent is there the chemistry between Julie and Billy is somewhat lacking. Hopefully this nuance will improve before the opening. Heck, it is one of the greatest musicals of all time, so it rarely misses the mark...the audience loved it and the chorus energy was fantastic..this should be a very popular ticket this summer

Leo from Manasquan NJ

I FELL ASLEEP

The singing and dancing we’re generally OK. Some of the singers sounded like opera singers. But the acting overall and the storyline were Detached and disjointed. Way too much going on, too long, and difficult to connect with any of the characters. I never felt their pain or joy..I fell asleep. I admit having a big meal before seeing the play could have contributed, but I have done that before seeing other plays and this is the only time I fell asleep. (Recently saw kinky boots and A bands visit and enjoyed both very much). It was just not a good production overall. In a successful play you have to connect with at least some of the characters. I connected with no one here. It is a nice theater and my seat was OK, absent a pillow. Can’t recommend this

James from New York, New York

NOT SURE

I saw the show and knew nothing about the story, songs or artists. I know they are all talented people but it just seemed weird. The long, long opening number with Billy mouthing words in the corner (I thought his mic wasn’t working)? And why is Billy wearing a black muscle shirt with some sort rainbow stripe through the middle? Again a weird choice that doesn’t fit with anyone else’s costume.

AJW from New York, New York

NEEDS WORK

I attended the first show and boy does it need work. It was totally off, while bigelow has a great voice he played it pure evil with no heart or vulnerability resulting in little chemistry with Julie. During Soliloquy example he laughed when he thinks of a daughter instead off son, when the moment calls for concer which would motivate the rest of the song, instead it was hollow. Also Jigger was cardboard — great dancer but lines delivered very stagey. Great voices all around for the songs but they need to work on tone and chemistry.

Maria from New York, New York

ARTISTIC VALUE CANNOT JUSTIFY POOR TASTE

While the production, dancing and singing were gorgeous, there is nothing that can justify staging this storyline today without major plot and dialogue alterations. This story is populated by female characters who unanimously suffer emotional, psychological, and physical abuse: from the obvious Julie to the less obvious Carrie - forced into children she does not want - to ensemble women subject to jokes about intoxication and sexual assault. In 2018, not dealing with these themes signals a lack of creativity from the team and an irresponsible misuse of a platform for change. This is not "telling a story that needs to be told" rather - an all male directing staff restating a sexist classic to make a pretty penny.

Tat from New York, New York

CAROUSEL

How disappointing. Cast does not mesh. Jesse Mueller is weak and withering and joshua Henry overpowering to a fault. Renee Fleming looks as if she got lost and wound up in show. Everyone seems out of place and action unbelievable and to be honest uninteresting. Even dancing seems uneven and coarse. Worst of all is Brittany Pollack who almost scares you and would be better cast in Carrie. Saving grace is Laura Mendez and Gemignani .

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