User reviews

Of all the greatest Broadway musicals, only Carousel gets me every single time, this more so than ever before: It literally drenched me in tears from start to finish. Blythe stands the tallest, and her anthem at the end tore me in twain.. Even though it has been honed down to its essential skeletal structure, the lyrics still succeed in moving one to tears. More than any other semi-staged concert version of a musical, the direction here was so on the mark that the authentic acting permitted one to identify readily with the main characters. The overarching Christ story of sin, contrition, forgiveness and redemption contribute to the tale, which is really an opera. The full glorious orchestration playing this exquisite score, supplemented by a perfect cast with matching voices are sublime. The touching ballet sequence at the end was thrilling, far better than in any other version I have seen. Bravo all round.

And it's my favorite, too. I've seen the movie version of Carousel a few times, and never cared for it. That's probably why I was blown away when I saw this production (on video). There's all the difference in the world between the movie version and this filmed stage version. The story finally made sense to me, and everything about it was beautiful, even Billie Bigelow came across as a real person in this production. The stage production had great orchestration, great singing, great acting, and even great dancing. A treat for the eyes and soul.