Carousel

Description
The less-is-more, drab-is-fab treatment Charlie Newell and other contemporary directors have given golden-era musicals in recent years seems like a natural for Carousel, the darkest subject matter Rodgers and Hammerstein ever musicalized successfully. Yet Newell's work can still feel like that of an apologist; to our frustration, he mutes robust numbers lest a 21st-century audience be frightened away by them. That said, the unsentimental director still makes a significant impression, never shying away from the show's oft-neglected core. Meanwhile, the revelation here is Doug Peck's thrilling new orchestration, which preserves as much as it reduces for a modest chamber orchestra.—Christopher Piatt