Olney Theatre Center to Present CAROUSEL, 4/15-5/10

Olney Theatre Center, a Mid-Atlantic destination for extraordinary theater performance and education, celebrates the 70thAnniversary of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel with a reimagined production of the classic musical, running April 15 - May 10, 2015 on the Mainstage.

The Helen Hayes Award-nominated team behind last year's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - director Jason Loewith, choreographerTommy Rapley, and music director Christopher Youstra - reunite for the production, which features an extraordinary team of Broadway performers and Olney Theatre Center veterans, backed up by a 12-piece orchestra. Olney Theatre Center's production opens officially on April 18, 2015: 70 years to the day (minus one) that Carousel opened on Broadway.

"It's got unforgettable characters, moments of pure theatrical magic and the lushest and most resonant music Rodgers and Hammerstein ever wrote, centered on a passionate quest for redemption," says Olney Theatre Center Artistic Director Jason Loewith. "I'm trying not to feel too much pressure, but it's kind of the greatest musical of all time."

After a bank robbery gone wrong, carousel barker Billy Bigelow is given a second chance to make things right for the love-of-his-life Julie Jordan and the child he never got to meet. Carousel features some of the form's best-loved songs: "You'll Never Walk Alone," "If I Loved You," and the seven-minute powerhouse "Soliloquy". Time Magazine calls this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic tale of love and redemption the "greatest musical of the twentieth century."

The cast is led by Tally Sessions, who is making his Olney Theatre Center debut, as Billy Bigelow. Mr. Sessions was most recently seen on Broadway in Big Fish, the National Tour of Bart Sher's South Pacific, and in productions at Goodspeed Opera House and Paper Mill Playhouse. He is joined by Carey Rebecca Brown as Julie Jordan. Ms. Brown's New York appearances include Broadway's Ragtime and New York City Opera's Candide. Dorea Schmidt, recently seen in Arena Stage's smash-hit Fiddler on the Roof, takes on the role of Carrie Pipperidge, and Eugenio Vargas makes his Olney Theatre Center debut as Enoch Snow. Olney Theatre Center audience favorites Delores King Williams (Grease) and Eileen Ward (The King & I) tackle the roles of Nettie Fowler and Mrs. Mullins respectively, while Chris Genebach of last year's Awake and Sing! plays Jigger. Local phenom Maya Brettell plays Billy's daughter Louise, and J. Morgan White rounds out the principal cast as Carnival Boy.

The ensemble features Olney Theatre Center veterans MaryLee Adams, Ian Berlin, Gracie Jones, Christopher Mueller, Henry Niepoetter, Taylor Elise Rector, Leo Christopher Sheridan, Suzanne Stanley, and Russell Sunday, as well as Henry Barartz, Carlos Castillo, Joshua Dick, Simon Diesenhaus,Kevin Grieco, Griffin McCahill, and Nicholas Schaap making their Olney Theatre Center debuts.

The award-winning design team includes Scenic Designer Milagros Ponce De Leon, Lighting Designer Jen Schriever, Costume Designer Seth Gilbert, Sound Designer Tony Angelini, and Projections Designer Zachary Borovay.

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