- Carousel, 7/17/18 (Tues), Broadway
I hadn’t initially intended to see this production of Carousel. The show is notoriously tricky to get right, and the last Broadway production, an import from London, set an extremely high standard. The typical British approach of darkening the material, which sank Oklahoma!, Oliver and Mary Poppins among others, worked spectacularly for this already dark show in what is still one of the best revivals I’ve ever seen. Beyond that inevitable comparison, this new production was further burdened by feminist complaints in these more enlightened times, not entirely unjustified, over the lead’s penchant for smacking his wife, making me suspect that the director would hold back from some of the show’s unpleasantries. But the word was generally good, including a rave by a good friend. So, when I ended up here after all, just five minutes before curtain (other shows were sold out), I went in with reasonably high expectations.