The Wake

Two pianos begin an enchanting waltz as the company joins in a whimsical, yet poetic romp around an illuminated white circle. Couples dressed in authentic 1940’s garb pair up as they blissfully circulate around this imaginary carousel. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Broadway musical, “Carousel” is now underway at West Bank’s Southern Theater.

Presented by Nautilus Music-Theater, this new production is centered around themes of love, social class, domestic abuse, and redemption. Combining idealistic American dreams with a tragic and heartbreaking chain of events, the characters paint a vivid picture of a hopefulness found somewhere between daydreams and reality. The remake remains faithful to Rodgers’ original score, giving the melodies and accompanying choreography a vintage feel.

“Carousel” tells the story of love between Billy, a hardened fairground worker, and Julie, a restrained girl from town. The tension starts when the two can’t quite confess their attraction to one another, and quickly escalates as they eventually marry and encounter domestic and financial troubles. Billy is abusive toward his wife and penniless since quitting his job at the carousel. Immediately after learning of Julie’s pregnancy, Billy agrees to help his friend, Jigger, in a robbery attempt that ends up costing his life. In the afterlife, the Starkeeper announces that Billy must return to Earth to assist his fifteen-year-old daughter in order to gain entrance into heaven’s gates.

Young Billy and Julie lie on their backs and imagine married life. Carrie and Enoch lean on each other, arm in arm, as they visualize long nights by the fire with the children sleeping upstairs. The music of the carousel organ lingers over the town at night as the years drift by. For audience members with a keen sense of humor, there is also comic relief from this melodramatic contemplation. Hammerstein included plenty of witty one-liners and goofball characters to evoke an array of responses. The townsfolk gossip, flirt, joke, and live carefree. Jigger scoffs at the notion of love and the plight of the lower-class gentleman so he submits to the life of a mangy sailor-thief. Nettie, the resident mother figure, seeks to comfort and advise everyone.

Stars Bradley Greenwald and Jennifer Baldwin Peden have each appeared in numerous productions through the years. These local favorites are brimming with experience, allowing them to shimmer onstage. Greenwald builds his character with his charming, powerful singing while Peden conveys warmth and sincerity. Together, the two create an emotional clarity that audiences can easily identify with. Jill Anna Ponasik plays Carrie, a young mill worker who marries a fisherman named Enoch, played by Joel Liestman. This couple ages alongside Billy and Julie to become a wealthy middle-class family with many children. Carrie is portrayed as free-spirited while Enoch is straight-laced and proper. This contrast in character creates chemistry to supplement their small-town aspirations of striking it rich and growing old together.

The production is highlighted by the Southern Theater’s raw atmosphere. Exposed brick and chipped-off paint coats the walls of this otherwise well furnished and intimate venue. Last year, the 100 year-old building celebrated its 25th anniversary under ownership of a non-profit organization founded by current artistic director, Jeff Bartlett. They celebrated by hosting Nautilus music-theater’s first attempt at interpreting a classic. “Man of La Mancha,” the story of Don Quixote, featured the co-stars, producers, and many of the cast members in “Carousel.”

This year, Nautilus Art Director Ben Krywosz set his sights on examining the social commentary and melodic beauty of the self-proclaimed favorite work of the team responsible for “The Sound of Music,” “The King and I,” and “Oklahoma!” “Carousel” was performed on Broadway 890 times from 1945 to 1947, adapted to film in 1956, a television series in 1967, and is being converted into another film starring Hugh Jackman, currently in production. Approaching a musical that won five Tony Awards, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and Time Magazine’s “Best Musical of the Century” is no easy task.

Rodgers and Hammerstein based “Carousel” on Ferenc Molnár’s “Liliom,” in which the protagonist is sent to hell after failing at achieving redemption. This musical carries a very different message: even an abusive, negligent husband can be forgiven of his past and current failings. While the graduating class joins in a round of Carousel’s now famous anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the ghost of Billy admires his wife and daughter from afar. Through his gaze we can recognize our own difficulties in finding love and meaningful relationships. From his story we are reminded that anyone, regardless of social class, can be redeemed.