1.3 Carousel!

The Gospel of Musical Theatre

We're taking a critical look at the 1945 masterpiece Carousel – maybe Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest score, but a show that definitely hasn't aged well. What can contemporary audiences do with Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow and their complicated and violent relationship? We talk about...

• Billy and Julie’s complicated relationship and the idea of the “conditional love song
• The myth of redemptive suffering – and Carousel's theatrical depiction of the afterlife
• Are we more than our worst choices?
• Is it true that “you’ll never walk alone?”
• Can a problematic show with a gorgeous score be “redeemed” for contemporary audiences?

You'll hear this music from the 1956 film version of Carousel:

• Shirley Jones & Claramae Turner singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
• Shirley Jones singing “If I Loved You”
• Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner, Robert Rounseville & Cameron Mitchell singing “This Was a Real Nice Clambake”

Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow the Gospel of Musical Theatre on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt!