| re: Thoughts on CAROUSEL - response, very long | |
| Posted by: RelaxnNYC 04:34 pm EDT 05/03/18 | |
| In reply to: Thoughts on CAROUSEL - lordofspeech 02:00 pm EDT 05/03/18 | |
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| Let me start by saying that Iv'e directed Carousel twice, so I have knowledge of the text that the casual viewer may not. And though I didn't hate this production, I didn't love it either - the brilliant score and book shone through despite the direction. And I'm very happy this classic work gets to be seen by a new generation of theater-goers. But.. I respectfully disagree with you. I think Billy is an abuser (if not physically - psychologically and emotionally), even if he hit her just once. That doesn't mean I don't think he isn't sorry. There are little clues sprinkled throughout, like when he yells at her during the "June" scene and Carrie asks why Julie always let's him speak to her that way. But again, I think O'Brien tried to play it safe and pulled back on these moments. It's also clear - at least how I read the text - that Billy and Mullin have a sexual relationship and that he uses it to play Julie and Mullin against each other. Again, a directorial choice that O'Brien decided to ignore. But those interactions are emotional abuse - Billy basically saying to Julie I don't have to be with you, so you better keep in your place. Again, I'm not saying Billy is "bad" per se, but he's lived with drifters and users his whole life and hasn't seen an example of a "healthy" relationship. For all he sees/knows, this type of emotional manipulation is normal. And speaking of sex, O'Brien completely takes all the sex out of the show. I mean, Julie and Billy should clearly have sexual feelings for each other. I didn't see it. And "June is Bustin'..." is about f**king! Seriously, google the lyrics. From watching this version you'd think it was about gardening. Although I thought some of the choreography was quite thrilling and athletic, the majority of it didn't do anything to move the story forward. DeMille didn't use as many lifts, jumps, and turns, but her choreography told a story and was still just as thrilling. This choreography calls attention to itself. It screams, "Look at me! Look how good my technique is!" Rather than, "Let me show you how life in this town is." O'Brien has also taken the "community" out of this production. It's the leads and a background chorus. These people have known each other since they were kids and they'll all marry someone they grew up with. No sense of that at all in the direction. My biggest gripe are the cuts. I'm all for cuts that improve the story-telling. These just muddle it up. Cuts in the second act make Carrie/Snow peripheral characters. You don't see their big fight and break-up leading into "What's the Use of Wandrin'." As written, this song has a very important and meaningful arc. Julie and the chorus (again, cutting the community aspect) use the first half of the song to soothe/comfort Carrie, and then Julie has an epiphany that the lyric also relates to her. O'Brien cutting the chorus and the Carrie interaction neuters the song and kills the epiphany moment. The song's now just a pretty "park and bark." And I hate that he cut Julie's response to Louise after the Billy ghost-slap that (and I'm para-phrasing since I don't have text in front of me), "Yes, someone can hit you real hard and not feel it at all." For me, it explains her reasons for holding the torch for Billy all these years - whether you like the sentiment or not. Again, O'Brien backed away from it. Even though it's not an argument for, or against abuse. It's merely stating this particular character's reasoning, whether you agree or not. It's a period piece. Women in the late 1800s were abused by men and they thought it was OK (Hell, there are people who think that now!). There was no #metoo then. It happened and we shouldn't pretend it didn't. Just like the use of the n-word in Show Boat. I didn't really have a problem with the set. But I did think some of the costumes (angels and some of Carrie's dresses) were just ugly and not flattering to everyone's body types. And I know they are different physically, but if you're going to wig them anyway why would you make Julie and Carrie the exact same hair color and style (sorry, I sat with a costumer and she really hated they were the same)? OK, I think that's quite enough. LOL. You'd think I hated this production. I actually didn't. I just think it was misguided. Instead of having a strong point of view - whether outrageous or traditional - it decided not to have a view at all. |
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| Previous: | re: Thoughts on CAROUSEL - bruceb 09:32 am EDT 05/04/18 |
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