Full marks too, to Charles Shirvell and Gemma Wardle as the expressive and comic couple Mr Snow and Carrie Pipperidge, and to young Belgian ballet dancer Veerle Casteleyn who plays Billy and Julie's daughter Louise. And talking of dancing Wayne Sleep's choreographic hand is clearly evident in the Carousel Ballet. Of course no performance of Carousel would be complete without mention of the show's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Thanks to Gerry Marsden it's probably now better known as the favourite song of Liverpool football fans. Sophie Caton and Sylvia Griffin could now become honorary members at Anfield - though what Sam Kane (an Everton fan) would say to that would surely be worthy of Jigger at his worst! The Carousel stops rotating on Saturday - bring on the panto! Review from Birmingham Evening News December 2000 |
| June may be bustin' out all over at the Alex, but as this latest revival of Rogers and Hammerstein's 1945 hit musical nears the end of an exhausting nine-month British tour, it's not only this production that's starting to look and sound a little travel weary, but the dear old Carousel itself is showing its age. Make no mistake the familiar songs are all there, delivered with appropriate tenderness and gusto, but as a lover of musical theatre - and veteran of many past productions (amateur and professional) - I must admit to finding this particular Carousel to be short on colour and cohesion. The simple sets - minimalist would be an exaggeration - made me wonder whether parts of it had been lost or left behind over the past nine months while the "clunck-click-every-switch" of the Upper Circle spotlight operator was not only distracting but unbecoming of a professional production. |
His fellow partner in crime, ex-Brookside hairdresser Sam Kane (pictured left) didn't feature until just before the interval - and all too briefly afterwards. His great stage presence and powerful tenor voice left you wanting more than just a cameo performance as Jigger Craigin. |
That said, the Darren Day fan club - and they were certainly out in force - loved it, even if their blonde hero was cast in the unusual role of baddie Billy Bigelow, the fairground barker who falls in love with- and marries - Julie, a mill worker, and then falls on his own breadknife when an attempted robbery goes wrong. Despite clearly suffering from a bad cough, Day was at his best when singing. But I couldn't help wondering whether the need for him to be a chain-smoker really did add anything to his portayal - it certainly didn't help his troubled larynx. |
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