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The next production will be the wonderful Rogers and Hammerstein musical 'Carousel' The Musical Producer is Jo O'Connor and the Musical Director is James Clements.

A copy of the Credits Sheet is attached:

in brief

Music by Richard Rogers Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein 11 based on a play by Ferenc Molnar, as adapted by Benjamin F Glazer.  Original dances by Agnes de Mille

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd on behalf of R&H Theatricals of New York

Download Carousel Credits.PDF (4.8 KB)

 

Synopsis
TO the strains of the "Carousel Waltz" the curtain rises upon an amusement park in a New England town in 1873. Fishermen, sailors, mill girls and children are enjoying the sights and sounds of a carnival atmosphere. Two mill girls, Carrie Pipperidge and Julie Jordan, are having a good time until Mrs. Mullin, proprietress of the carousel, insults them. When her handsome, strapping barker, Billy Bigelow, jumps to the defence of the girls, Mrs. Mullin fires him. Billy, being a happy-go-lucky fellow, does not take this to heart; on the contrary, he invites Julie to have a beer with him. While he is off to get his belongings, Carrie asks her friend Julie whether she finds Billy attractive, but Julie is evasive ("You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan"). Carrie confides to Julie that she has a fellow of her own, the fisherman Enoch Snow, whom she plans to marry ("When I Marry Mr. Snow"). When Billy returns and is left alone with Julie they begin to talk about love, and the kind of person each would be attracted to. When Billy asks if Julie could ever marry a person like him, Julie replies that she would--if she loved him ("If I Loved You"). The romance soon takes off and Julie and Billy get married.

Later all the girls and fishermen are ecstatic singing 'June is Bust'in out all over' and have a great time at the 'Clam Bake'

Julie, however, is touched with sadness, knowing  that her husband has bad moods yet she loves him deeply, and for this reason there is no point in her wondering if he is good or bad ("What's the Use of Wond'rin'"). But Billy gets involved in a hold-up. Caught by the police, he commits suicide. Overwhelmed by her grief, Julie tries to find solace in the comforting words of her friend, Nettie ("You'll Never Walk Alone").

Billy arrives in Heaven, where he defiantly says that he does not regret his actions on Earth. For this he is doomed to spend fifteen years in Purgatory. At the end of that period the Starkeeper in Heaven allows him to return to Earth for a single day to gain redemption for his soul. Snatching a star, which he intends as a gift for his daughter, Billy comes back to Earth. He finds that she is an unhappy child. Through his understanding and tenderness, Billy is able to lift his daughter out of her sadness and to fill her with hope and courage while finding redemption for his soul.

 

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