SEATTLE — This isn’t your grandma’s “Carousel.”
That’s the line the 5th Avenue Theatre is using to market its current production of the Rodgers &Hammerstein musical, which runs through March 1.
The production’s stage design is representative only, the choreography is contemporary and a turntable in the middle of the stage keeps the action moving.
If your grandmother is still alive, you may not even know much about this classic piece of theater.
“Carousel” opened 70 years ago on Broadway and includes some of the most beloved melodies in the American musical theater canon, including “If I Loved You” and “June is Bustin’ Out All Over.”
The 5th Avenue does it justice with performances by some of the best local musical theater actors (many with Broadway experience) and a 21-piece orchestra, which demands attention during the overture, entr’acte and finale.
This production proves, once again, that the Seattle region has one of the best and most vibrant theater scenes in the nation.
The 5th’s “Carousel” is true to Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein’s intentions that it be a heartbreaking tale of love, tragedy and redemption.
Set near the end of the 19th century in a town on the Maine coast, it is the story of a swaggering carnival barker named Billy Bigelow who captivates and marries a local mill worker named Julie Jordan.
Billy loses his job just as he learns that Julie is pregnant. Intent upon providing for his family, he desperately allows himself to be coerced into committing a robbery. Nothing goes well after that until Billy is allowed to return from the afterlife for one day. His daughter, now 15, is haunted by her father’s reputation as a thief and bully.
Directed by Bill Berry and choreographed by Donald Byrd, the cast includes the lovely Laura Griffith as the strong-willed Julie and the talented Brandon O’Neill as the hard-living Billy. The chemistry between these two is so good that the duo has been cast in ACT’s April production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Also brilliant are soprano Billie Wildrick, who grew up in Snohomish and will star in Village Theatre’s “Cabaret” later this year, as the cute and comical Carrie, the girl who marries Enoch Snow, portrayed by baritone Joshua Downs.
Anne Allgood plays Julie’s cousin Nettie, who encourages her with the anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Eric Ankrim is Billy’s scheming friend Jigger and Cynthia Jones is Mrs. Mullin, who runs the carnival.
This show is the fourth major collaboration with Spectrum Dance Theater, which includes Madelyn Kock dancing the role of Louise, Billy’s and Julie’s daughter.
The fantastic ensemble is packed with people who previously starred in musicals at the 5th and Village, among others.
If you go, bring tissues, especially if your dad was a difficult guy who died early.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
If you go
Rodgers &Hammerstein’s “Carousel” is at the 5th Avenue Theatre through March 1, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle.
Tickets: Starting at $29, are available online at www.5thavenue.org, by phone at 206-625-1900, or at the box office, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle.
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