Carousel - Rodgers and Hammerstein
by Claire J Rottenberg
"Carousel" was Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein's second musical, coming after their
extremely successful "Oklahoma." It was based on the
play "Liliom" by Hungarian playwright, Ferenc Molnar.
"Carousel" opened on Broadway in 1945 and it ran for
2 years and 890 performances. The original cast
included John Raitt as Billy. Like "Oklahoma," the
choreographer for "Carousel" was Agnes de
Mille.
"Carousel," like many works by Rodgers and
Hammerstein, dealt with realistic and controversial
topics that were rarely part of musical theater in
that era. Some of these social issues in "Carousel"
included death, murder, suicide, religion, and
spousal abuse.
The movie version of "Carousel," released in 1956,
reunited Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones in the lead
roles. Although the movie was well-received by
critics, it was not a financial success and it did
not receive any Academy Award nominations.
"Carousel" has beautiful songs, including the long
and powerful "Soliloquy," sung by Billy when he
learns that he will become a father. Other songs from
"Carousel" include the lively "June is Busting Out
All Over" and the inspirational "You'll Never Walk
Alone.