Audra McDonald in CAROUSEL

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 6:54am

What was so amazing about Audra McDonald's performance as Carrie Pipperidge in the 1994 revival of CAROUSEL, can anyone explain? I mean I would imagine she sang the **** out of the role, and she won all the awards around her that year for Featured Actress in a Musical

But so often this role is overlooked and I'm wondering what Audra did to this part that no one else has done!!

[Almira]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 9:28am

What did McDonald do? She did what only McDonald can do and you can only appreciate if you had been there. That is the beauty and tragedy of live theatre. You had to be there.

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, you'll just have to trust we who saw the production and were blown away with the performance. She had a vitality, depth of focus, investment in the character and natural stage presence that left you feeling she had been the star of the show.

I remember talking to the concessions guy before the performance and he mentioned how this girl in the supporting role walked away the star. No easy feat given the monumental emotional potency of the production. It is easy to shine like a diamond among pieces of coal.. but she shown like a blazing lighthouse on the face of the sun.

There was no "trick" to her performance. She didn't turn Carrie into a secret lesbian or re-imagine her to subconsciously lust after Billy. McDonald is just a talented actress with a great voice who took on the comic supporting role as seriously as if she were playing the lead. She was 100% present and live on that stage. People noticed her because you simply can't hide such talent and skill.

Never having seen Mary Martin live.. and only judging from film and sound recordings, I often wonder.. what was the big deal?

Then you talk to people who saw her and they say what I say to you.. you had to be there.

Updated On: 2/15/11 at 09:28 AM

[temms]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 9:40am

What Almira said. She just brought so much joy and life and humanity to a character that very often is just a wispy little sidekick. And that voice - and remember, this was the first time we really heard it. I believe she was still billed as "Audra Ann McDonald".

And then there was the bit where she was putting the muffins back into the tray during "When The Children Are Asleep" which was absolutely hysterical. But like it was mentioned above, you really had to see it to understand what was so brilliant about it. Basically, Mr. Snow used a tray of muffins to symbolize the children they were going to have, taking the muffins out one by one, but Carrie was clearly having none of it and while he was going on romantically about all the kids, she was defiantly putting the muffins back into the tray with a completely humorless "No way in hell" look about her which was hysterical. But then Mr. Snow said something dreamy and she melted and giggled and it was wonderful.

You really had to be there. Which is maybe what I love the most about the theatre.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 10:30am

Sort-of related question: did anyone see the late, wonderful Lovette George sub for Audra?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 11:57am

I saw the original Broadway production as well as the national tour. I'm not sure if Lovette George or Sherry Boone played the role of Carrie on the road. I'll have to check my program when I get home from work.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 12:47pm

Sherry Boone did the tour. Lovette George was Audra's understudy on Broadway. I saw Boone on tour--she was fantastic.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 4:45pm

I saw Lovette George. She was fine, but nowhere near as luminous as Audra. So sorry to hear she died!

This production was magical. I adored Sally Murphy and Eddie Korbich as well.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 4:46pm

I wouldn't give Audra all the credit, some goes to the director.

In every other production of Carousel I had ever seen, Carrie was a sweet, comic bubblehead through the entire show.

In Act 2, in connection with this being a darker Carousel, Audra's Carrie became more of a shrew.

For example, in Act 2, Carrie has a line that goes "If I had more sense, I wouldn't have had 12 kids" That line always gets a laugh from the audience. When Audra delivered it, it was more cynical, more bitter.

So as I remember it, Carrie became a more harsh character in Act 2.

[wiggum2]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 8:21pm

I was never a fan of Audra either UNTIL I saw her live in Anyone Can Whistle and I totally got her! Maybe it's what Almira, you just have to experience her live

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 2/15/11 at 11:06pm

As wonderful as Audra sounds on Youtube/TV/etc, she sounds a million times better live. Her performance in 110 in the Shade was one of the best I've ever seen.

[PottstownTeacher]

Posted: 2/16/11 at 10:41am

I saw CAROUSEL shortly after the 1994 Tony Awards and I remember being beyond blown away not only by the production, but by the charming black woman with the gorgeous voice who pretty much walked away with the show. Seeing Audra (Ann) McDonald in CAROUSEL was one of those moments in the Theatre that you just KNOW you have seen something very special. You KNOW you have witnessed "The Next Big Thing". She became the standard by which all future "Carrie's" will be measured. She was feisty. She was intelligent. She was downright hilarious. To this day, I can STILL hear her line readings in my head. From the opening scene when she burst into tears when Billy asked her if she had any money. To when she threw herself on her back and threw her legs in the air on "Well Mr. Snow, here I am". To when Mr. Snow comes in and asks if she's surprised and she says, "Surprised? I'm mortified!". To the line about him being "awful pithy". Someone already mentioned the bit with the muffins. The scene in the 2nd act with Fisher Stevens was priceless! And her "I'm a Tomboy" near the end of the show with the tag of "And it rained all day" brought the house down. She was the epitome of what a featured actress can do with a role that was seen as the ditzy comic relief by so many others. She was brilliance personified. I have had the good fortune to see her in that show, as well as in MASTER CLASS, RAGTIME, MARIE CHRISTINE, 110 IN THE SHADE, and A RAISIN IN THE SUN, plus in concert (when she was pregnant) in Hershey, PA and with the Philadelphia Pops last New Year's Eve and with Barbara Cook at Paper Mill Playhouse. If Theatre has national treasures, she is one of them.

[bryan2]

Posted: 2/16/11 at 11:16am

I went to NYC to see this and was very excited to see this and was SOO dissapointed Audra was out 'sick" which was frequent and the entire production I felt was dull..and a Billy who cannot sing is useless..

[Jshan05]

Posted: 11/16/20 at 3:48pm

While I didn't get to see her live in Carousel, I saw the filmed production at the lincoln center library and have rewatched it on youtube a couple of times. She is a genius and deserved all the praise and awards she was given. Truly a wonderful performance!

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/17/20 at 1:53pm

I'd say "Listen to the cast recording" but apparently one can't anymore. Glad I held onto my CD. The prior London cast recording of that production is available on iTunes, but not the Broadway (which is superior), and I believe the CD is out of print as well.

Used to listen to this recording over and over. And McDonald was great. She wasn't "Audra McDonald" yet, so I wasn't thinking "Audra McDonald is as great as they say," just "this Carrie is terrific!"

[Owen22]

Posted: 11/17/20 at 2:27pm

It was also her debut. That made it extra special. We had never seen her before or anything quite like her before.

[binau]

Posted: 11/17/20 at 2:29pm

joevitus said: "I'd say "Listen to the cast recording" but apparently one can't anymore. Glad I held onto my CD. The prior London cast recording of that production is available on iTunes, but not the Broadway (which is superior), and I believe the CDisout of print as well.

Used to listen to this recording over and over. And McDonald was great. She wasn't "Audra McDonald" yet, so I wasn't thinking "Audra McDonald is as great as they say," just "this Carrie is terrific!""

It looks like you can buy used versions (and a couple new) from https://www.amazon.com/Carousel-1994-Broadway-Revival-Cast/dp/B000002SL0

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/17/20 at 7:20pm

Nice to know, but really why on earth isn't the thing available through streaming services?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 9:27am

To know the part and to know the actor is to know why she had success with it.

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 10:57am

Indeed.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 11:44am

Musicaldudepeter said: "What was so amazing about Audra McDonald's performance as Carrie Pipperidge in the 1994 revival of CAROUSEL, can anyone explain? I mean I would imagine she sang the **** out of the role, and she won all the awards around her that year for Featured Actress in a Musical

But so often this role is overlooked and I'm wondering what Audra did to this part that no one else has done!!
"

Why do you say the role is overlooked?  The last 2 actors to play Carrie on Broadway have won the Tony.  The character has far more singing than Julie (especially when the director doesn't cut out songs)!

[LarryD2]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 12:07pm

^ In fact, I'd say that Carrie is the kind of gift of a supporting role that's almost impossible to botch. 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 2:24pm

How did Angel Records allow this recording to go out of print? It makes zero sense.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 3:14pm

JSquared2 said: "Musicaldudepeter said: "What was so amazing about Audra McDonald's performance as Carrie Pipperidge in the 1994 revival of CAROUSEL, can anyone explain? I mean I would imagine she sang the **** out of the role, and she won all the awards around her that year for Featured Actress in a Musical

But so often this role is overlooked and I'm wondering what Audra did to this part that no one else has done!!
"

Why do you say the role is overlooked? The last 2 actors to play Carrie on Broadway have won the Tony. The character has far more singing than Julie (especially when the director doesn't cut out songs)!"

And Janie Dee had won the Olivier in the same production before it moved to Broadway 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 11/23/20 at 9:51pm

I am a big fan of Kelli O’Hara and I thought that her solo performance at Carnegie Hall, which was full of warm moments, was the pinnacle of live performances.

But when I made the solo trip into Manhattan on a cold winter day to see Audra perform with the New York Philharmonic, I immediately understood what all the fuss was about.

That hard to define presence, that intimate sharing with the audience, and that special voice put her at the top. When she put down the mike and sang “Summertime,” that extraordinary voice and that extraordinary song, it was thrilling.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 11/24/20 at 2:48pm

I did not get to see Audra in Carousel so I am happy to come upon this thread.  I just happily spent 45 minutes going down an Audra rabbit hole which I consider to be a very smart use of time.  I gather that this YouTube clip of her performing Mr. Snow was not available back in 2011 when the thread was started. Luckily it is available for us all now. Mr. Snow

Almira said "You had to be there."  I felt the exact same way during a Wednesday April 2014 matinee performance of Lady Day. What an electric performance. I bought tickets on my way out of the theater to return again the following month. I really miss playing hooky on the occasional Wednesday to slip in a matinee.