Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

AN R&H THEATRICALS TITLE

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  5w, 5m plus ensemble

Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on the Play Liliom by Ferenc Molnar as adapted by Benjamin F. Glazer
Original Choreography by Agnes de Mille

Billy Bigelow, a swaggering, carefree carnival barker, falls in love with and marries the sweet but naive Julie Jordan. A stunning tale of hope, redemption and the power of love.

Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Julieta Cervantes)

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5w, 5m plus ensemble
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature), Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Pre-Teen (Age 11-13), Teen (Age 14-18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 1993 Olivier Award, Best Musical Revival
    Winner! Five 1994 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical
    Winner! Three 1994 Drama Desk Awards
    Nominee: Seven 1994 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical Revival
    Winner! Two 2018 Tony Awards
    Nominee: Eleven 2018 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical
    Winner! Five 2018 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Orchestrations
    Nominee: Twelve 2018 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical Revival

Details

Summary
In a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, a swaggering, carefree carnival barker, Billy Bigelow, captivates and marries a gentle millworker, Julie Jordan. Billy loses his job just as he learns that Julie is pregnant and, desperately intent upon providing a decent life for his family, he is coerced into being an accomplice to a robbery. Caught in the act and facing the certainty of prison, he takes his own life and is sent ‘up there.’ Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day 15 years later, and he encounters the daughter he never knew. She is a lonely, friendless teenager, her father's reputation as a thief and bully having haunted her throughout her young life. Billy instills a sense of hope and dignity in both the child and her mother in a dramatic testimony to the power of love.
History

After tryouts in New Haven and Boston, Carousel opened on 19 April 1945 at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 890 performances. The original Broadway cast featured John Raitt as Billy, Jan Clayton as Julie, and Jean Darling as Carrie. Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award as Best Musical of 1945, Carousel went on to a two-year national tour, as well as countless productions throughout the world. In 1950, Carousel premiered at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where it played for 566 performances, and in 1956 the motion picture version was released, starring Gordon MacRae as Billy and Shirley Jones as Julie.

In March 1994, Carousel marked its first return to Broadway since the original run, playing for a year at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. This Carousel received a record-setting five Tony Awards (the most of any show that season), including Best Revival of a Musical. A Japanese production played extended engagements in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in 1995, and a U.S. National Tour visited over 40 cities from February of 1996 through May of 1997, and starred Broadway stars to be Patrick Wilson, Sarah Uriarte Berry and Jennifer Laura Thompson. In 2002, Carnegie Hall hosted a concert performance with Hugh Jackman, Audra McDonald, Philip Bosco, Blythe Danner, John Raitt, Norbert Leo Butz, Jason Danieley, Judy Kaye and Lauren Ward.

In April 2018, Carousel returned to Broadway starring Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, Renée Fleming, Lindsey Mendez and Alexander Gemignani.

  • Time Period 19th Century
  • Setting The New England Coast, 1873-1888.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

Carousel is a great musical — one of the greatest, actually.” – Charles Isherwood, The New York Times


“THE BEST MUSICAL OF THE 20TH CENTURY!” – Time Magazine

“The most emotionally potent of all the great Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musicals.” – Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“Beautiful, bountiful, beguiling... it is the product of taste, imagination and skill.” – New York Daily Mirror

“As close to perfection as musical theater gets...At the end of Carousel, the communal heft of this theatergoing experience will ensure that you won't be walking alone.” – Boston Globe

Carousel will be 50 next year, but as of this morning, it is the freshest, most innovative musical on Broadway. It is also the most beautiful.” – David Richards, The New York Times

“As relevant today as ever.” – Steve Cohen, Broad Street Review

Videos

  • Carousel – Through Time and History youtube thumbnail

    Carousel – Through Time and History

  • “Blow High, Blow Low” – 2018 Tony Awards youtube thumbnail

    “Blow High, Blow Low” – 2018 Tony Awards

  • Joshua Henry and Jessie Mueller Perform “If I Loved You” youtube thumbnail

    Joshua Henry and Jessie Mueller Perform “If I Loved You”

  • “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” Lyric Video youtube thumbnail

    “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” Lyric Video

Photos

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Julieta Cervantes)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Julieta Cervantes)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Julieta Cervantes)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Julieta Cervantes)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 1994 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 1994 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 1994 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel

    Image: 1994 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Joan Marcus)

Show more +

Music

Music Samples

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway, Operetta
  • Dance Requirements Difficult
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size X-Large
  • Chorus Size Large

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

    PLEASE BE ADVISED: There are multiple versions of this title. Before you proceed, please double-check to ensure that you are applying for the version you want. We will not be able to refund rental or shipping fees if you pay for the wrong version. If you’re not sure which version best suits your needs, you may purchase a perusal for each available version.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!

Authors

Richard Rodgers

Richard Rodgers

Richard Rodgers' contribution to the musical theatre of his day was extraordinary, and his influence on the musical theatre of today and tomorrow is legendary. His career spanned more than six decades, his hits ranging from the silver screens of Hollywood to the bright light ...

View full profile
Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Hammerstein II was born on July 12, 1895 in New York City. His father, William, was a theatre manager and for many years director of Hammerstein's Victoria, the most popular vaudeville theatre of its day. His uncle, Arthur Hammerstein, was a successful Broadway producer ...

View full profile
Ferenc Molnar

Ferenc Molnar

Ferenc Molnar (1878-1952), Hungarian playwright and novelist, was born in Budapest. Several of his plays were presented on the New York City stage, and all were successes, including The Guardsman, Lilliom, The Swan, The Glass Slipper and The Play's the Thing. In 1928, English ...

View full profile
Benjamin F. Glazer

Benjamin F. Glazer

Benjamin Glazer (1888 - 1956) won two Oscars for his screenplays Seventh Heaven and Arise My Love. One of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a lifetime member, Glazer was once a producer of early Bing Crosby musicals at Paramount Studios incl ...

View full profile
Agnes de Mille

Agnes de Mille

Although Agnes de Mille (1905-1993) seemed destined to perform on Broadway, since her paternal grandfather, father, and uncle, Cecil B. de Mille, were all successful writers and actors involved in the theater, she avoided the easy path to Great White Way. Instead, she struggl ...

View full profile

Now Playing

Related