Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel at Centrepointe Theatre

While keeping true to the story, this Orpheus production will be a revival that is appealing and relevant to a 2013 audience. While the story will remain the same, Orpheus, led by artistic director J.T. Morris, will approach the characters differently; emphasizing the strength and power of the women; and, shifting the focus from one man seeking redemption to a generation of individuals seeking understanding and to be understood. The show deals with mature themes including domestic violence, sexual assault and suicide. The themes are timeless and universal. This is supported by the fact that the story has been a success in nearly every decade of the past 100 years.

In a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, the swaggering, carefree carnival barker, Billy Bigelow, captivates and marries the naive 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 fifteen 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. How Billy instills in both the child and her mother a sense of hope and dignity is a dramatic testimony to the power of love. (R&H)


Ages: Not recommended for young children due to mature themes.