Last November 26, Carousel, under the direction of Repertory Philippines, officially began its month-long leg in the CCP Black-Box Theater. The musical takes a post-modern direction to highlight the timelessness of one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most famous productions.
Carousel is considered to be one of the best musicals in the 20th century, combining beautiful music and lyrics with a heart-touching story. Set in the 1870s, a young girl named Julie Jordan attracts the attention of a Carousel barker, Billy Bigelow. What follows next is the romantic but tragic love story of Julie and Billy as they attempt to live a proper life amid poverty.
The musical’s most famous song “If I loved you” shares the pair’s hesitation at falling in love, but the vulnerability of being involved with someone else. (I should also mention that for the 1956 film, Frank Sinatra was meant to play Billy, but turned down the role. Instead, Gordon MacRae played the iconic character, and his and Shirley Jones’ (Julie) performance is still considered one of the greatest romantic duets in history).
Repertory’s adaptation of the musical combines the same raw feeling of the original musical, but added modern touches, such as cellphones. In one of the funnier scenes between Enoch Snow and Carrie Pipperidge, Enoch takes out his mobile phone and starts singing to it – a parody of today’s obsession with constantly recording everything in our lives.
The rest of the production features the same Easter eggs, with characters dressed from the 1960s using ring lights to highlight their agony or using mobile phones to capture a fight. While initially jarring, the result is a beautiful and seamless production that still captivates and emphasizes the lesson that “No one walks alone”.
Carousel is Repertory’s first live production in years
COVID-19 took a heavy toll on the film and entertainment industry. No one was allowed to stay inside the theater, in fear of an infection. However, as we slowly move towards normalcy, Repertory decided that the time was ripe to finally schedule its production of Carousel. It was originally slated for May 2020, but finally got the green light for late 2022.
The 85th season features a star-studded cast, including Karylle Tatlonghari as Julie Jordan and Gian Magdangal as Billy Bigelow. They are joined by Mikki Bradshaw-Volante as Carrie Pipperidge and Lorenz Martinez as Enoch Snow.
The entire cast consists of only 14 members, with several of them performing several roles at different portions of the play.
The post-modern elements transform the musical to something more gut-wrenching
Aside from modern technology, the musical production featured unique dance numbers that were a mix of modern ballet and contemporary dance. In particular, most of the dance scenes involved a lot of grunting and shouting to mimic everyday life or bring heavier emotions to the scene.
As with its use of technology, Repertory blended in modern elements to an old production to show how emotions such as love, fear, and anger, are timeless.
The production also featured 2 new songs that added more depth to the already beloved musical.
The opening night was a “thank you” to all theater supporters
After opening night, guests were invited to an intimate Q&A with the cast. Here, the entire cast mentioned how thankful they were to be performing live again and under the direction of such brilliant directors.
It was a heart-touching scene to see most of the cast tear up as they mentioned how they love what they do and appreciate all the support they’ve received.
Mindy Perez-Rubio, the President of Repertory Philippines, writes, “The musical grips you from the start, and the characters, with their triple threat experience, together with the phenomenal two-piano accompaniment of Ejay Yatco and Joed Balsamo, bring together a magnificent and touching production that overwhelms and nudges your inner being and leaves you in awe that a simple, and yet beautiful written musical can move you so deeply. Go home filled with awe over the marvel of the most unusual musical you just witnessed. Carousel reimagined.”
Carousel will be playing until December 18. You can buy your ticket at TicketWorld.
