2018 Revival of Carousel official thread

[Call_me_jorge]

According to the show’s Instagram story rehearsals begin today! Hopefully we get some pictures in the coming weeks! Really excited for this production.

[Musical Master]

Despite such a great cast, I think it's going to be a wait and see kind of revival for me. But this is going to be the second time in a row where we have highly awaited revivals after the season that brought us the stellar Hello, Dolly!.

[Bwayfan292]

I pray that Rudin doesnt do another Social media ban and blocking any form of pictures and showclips from the show.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Bwayfan292 said: "I pray that Rudin doesnt do another Social media ban and blocking any form of pictures and showclips from the show."

Well, it's his way of marketing Broadway shows.

[Graymerchant]

Has anyone taken a trip to the box office of the Imperial? I assume it's fully restored. There's a part of me that is hoping Rudin and O'Brein do something a little different with this and maybe keep with the spirit that was previously in there...Long shot though. 

[LesWickedly]

Also wondering if the box office is selling partial view seats or box seats.

[Phantom4ever]

I know there was a video of one of the Great Comet actors sitting in the half-torn up Imperial theater, but it would be cool if they released a time-lapse video or something like that of the theater going from Great Comet back to its normal self.

[Musical Master]

Despite my mixed feelings for Jack O'Brian, I am curious as to how Justin Peck will handle the choreography. What do you guys think of him because I don't know much about his talents; also having Santo Loquasto handling the set designs is great after seeing his work on Hello, Dolly! but too bad that he's not doing the costumes.

 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

It should be interesting to see what Santo comes up with given how much Bob Crowley's sets was one of the many things that earned so much acclaim for Nicholas Hytner’s production back in 1994.

[Musical Master]

Santo has proven himself time and time again, so I think he's going to do a wonderful job; he and the rest of the design team.

[TheatreRocks]

Tingling with excitement over this revival. Yesterday I was scrolling through production photos from the '94 Lincoln Center Production and my oh my it brought tears to my eyes. So many great memories this show brought to me. 

[Musical Master]

The one thing that's inevitable when previews begin in March, is the comparisons everyone's going to make from the really amazing one from '94 to this new revival. I wonder what this production would've been if Christopher Wheeldon directed and choreographed this? He's a really amazing talent who should have more big projects especially after An American in Paris; at least he did the beautiful Encores! Brigadoon, so that's something.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

I absolutely agree, Christopher Wheeldon would've been a much more exciting choice to direct (and choreograph).

[Smaxie]

Exciting to whom? Justin Peck is a stunning talent, one of the best young ballet choreographers out there. There's a terrific documentary about one of his works for NY City Ballet, called Ballet 422, where you can watch him in action, and see the level of his work. Or watch some of his choreo on YouTube, or venture over to Lincoln Center sometime. Wheeldon is great, but he's not the only contemporary ballet choreographer out there. On top of it, this Carousel has a killer group of dancers in it, including the luxury casting of NYCB's Amar Ramasar and Britany Pollack. I'm very excited to see what Peck comes up with, and I suspect this will be a Carousel that will be defined by dance.  

And the dismissals of Jack O'Brien are just tiresome. Didn't we have the same conversation about Jerry Zaks, pre-Hello, Dolly? He hadn't had a true hit in 20 years. Look at him now with three shows on the boards at 71. It's foolish to count O'Brien out. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Smaxie said: "And the dismissals of Jack O'Brien are just tiresome. Didn't we have the same conversation about Jerry Zaks, pre-Hello, Dolly? He hadn't had a true hit in 20 years. Look at him now with three shows on the boards at 71. It's foolish to count O'Brien out."

But the difference there is that Zaks had proven to be successful with reviving musical comedies before with Anything Goes, Guys & Dolls, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. While yes, he does currently have three shows running on Broadway at once, Hello, Dolly! is the only one that was actually well-liked within the industry.

Jack O'Brien on the other hand, the most successful he's been (creatively) in recent years has been his collaborations with Nathan Lane. Some of the notable misfires he's had were the original production of Love Never Dies and the Ethan Hawke-led revival of Macbeth.

[Smaxie]

Meanwhile, over that same time period, Jack O'Brien has proven himself as adept with musical comedy (Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty) as he has been with Shakespeare (Henry IV) and Stoppard (The Invention of Love, The Coast of Utopia), showing versatility and command of both new work and a classic. If you are going to hammer away about his failures, Jeffrey, don't ignore his successes. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Yes, but The Coast of Utopia was his last major success before his inconsistent track record began.

[Call_me_jorge]

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Smaxie said: "And the dismissals of Jack O'Brien are just tiresome. Didn't we have the same conversation about Jerry Zaks, pre-Hello, Dolly? He hadn't had a true hit in 20 years. Look at him now with three shows on the boards at 71. It's foolish to count O'Brien out."

But the difference there is that Zaks had proven to be successful with reviving musical comedies before withAnything Goes,Guys & Dolls, andA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. While yes, he does currently have three shows running on Broadway at once,Hello, Dolly!is the only one that was actually well-liked within the industry.

Jack O'Brien on the other hand, the most successful he's been (creatively) in recent years has been his collaborations with Nathan Lane. Some of the notable misfires he's had were the original production ofLove Never Diesand the Ethan Hawke-led revival ofMacbeth."

You’re a broken record 

[Smaxie]

Our great directors all have had their highs and lows. It doesn't invalidate their careers or make them unworthy. Hal Prince had nine years of flops in between Evita and Phantom. Mike Nichols went from a DOA revival of The Country Girl to a career-capping Death of  Salesman. And while we're on the subject, Hytner's next Broadway musical after the LCT revival of Carousel was the failed Sweet Smell of Success (choreographed, incidentally, by Christopher Wheeldon). You just do not know what is happening in the rehearsal room, or what will happen when it all comes together on stage. 

[Someone in a Tree2]

People seem to overlook that not too long ago, Jack O'Brien was responsible for that magical production of THE  NANCE, a thrilling play that felt like the best kind of musical to me. The man knows his way around a musical stage-- let's just wait and see what he comes up with before the brickbats begin.

[LesWickedly]

Jeffery, we get it! Every thread that somehow relates to Carousel, you bring up the fact that Jack has been hit or miss. Just stop already and wait till previews begin to see.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Someone in a Tree2 said: "People seem to overlook that not too long ago,Jack O'Brien was responsible for thatmagical production of THE NANCE, a thrilling playthat felt like the best kind ofmusical to me. The man knows his way around a musical stage-- let's just wait and see what he comes up with before the brickbats begin."

Like I said, his collaborations with Nathan Lane seems to be where he's been most been successful lately.

And I know I sound like a broken record whenever I bring up Jack O'Brien's recent track record, but if you read one of the posts in the CAROUSEL or MY FAIR LADY? thread, Musical Master is on the same page as me...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1106100#5000104

[raddersons]

In the current cultural moment re: sexual assault allegations, I think the creative team needs to handle the relationship between Billy and Julie carefully. But if it's pulled off well, I think it could resonate strongly with audiences. I'm excited. 

[Musical Master]

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Someone in a Tree2 said: "People seem to overlook that not too long ago,Jack O'Brien was responsible for thatmagical production of THE NANCE, a thrilling playthat felt like the best kind ofmusical to me. The man knows his way around a musical stage-- let's just wait and see what he comes up with before the brickbats begin."

Like I said, his collaborations with Nathan Lane seems to be where he's been most been successful lately.

And I know I sound like a broken record whenever I bring up Jack O'Brien's recent track record, but if you read one of the posts in the CAROUSEL or MY FAIR LADY? thread, Musical Master is on the same page as me...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1106100#5000104"

I agree with Jeffery that Jack O'Brian is someone I don't have personal high hopes for; but with that said, he might be one of those directors that works better with stronger source material. So I don't know, maybe he will surprise us by doing a really dang good job or screw up so badly that Justin Peck will steal the show with his choreography. But the one thing I am certain of is that this new revival of Carousel is a wait and see production, whereas Bartlett Sher's upcoming My Fair Lady is all I can think about.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Don't forget that Jack took on Macbeth with Ethan Hawk a few years ago, and we all saw how that turned out.