Carousel - Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

My apologies, they haven’t moved the interval. My hazy memory from the Broadway revival convinced me it came later, but after a quick revision on Wikipedia it looks like I was wrong and they’ve kept it where it was originally!

I agree 100% about the Starkeepers. That’s a brilliant change which works really well and changes the dynamic completely. It just all falls apart as a concept and a narrative after that.

Thank you to everyone who explained the two different versions of Billy's redemption attempt.


Isn't it really Julie's behaviors that Louise is repeating... being attracted to the charming but brutish guy? Or does Louise show violence herself (which I could well have missed/misinterpreted)? (Or is this another difference between this production and the original/traditional productions?)

Even though this wasn't a play I particularly enjoyed on the whole, the fact that I'm thinking and talking about it weeks later means that it accomplished some of its goals.

Saw it last night, really enjoyed the first act. Apart from the Buoy that kept getting in the sightlines.

But have to agree with the comments about the ending it really fell apart after the Starkeepers arrived and the audience reaction at the end ie I didn't see anyone stand up to applause at the end (unlike when I Paradise last week!) I think shows that its a bit flat and could be more emotional.

I haven’t been but Open Air website says 2 hours 35 minutes (including interval)

Had an email through from Open Air Theatre today with a nice £10 discount on top two prices (£65 and £45) for this, as below:

Book by 10 September using the promo code JCSAB10, the offer is valid on all performances, excluding Saturday evenings*.

I’m going tomorrow. I usually let the crowd clear and meander out. If it is running that long I may have to dash down the aisle and out!

Putting aside the production itself - has anyone commented on the way the credits and cast list are laid out in the programme. Is there a new equality directive at Regent's Park Open Air? It seems that the company listing is in alphabetical order by actor, not in order of appearance or even character. That's not so bad, but the Creative team listing is also in alphabetical order by staff member - so the Associate Set designer is listed first, followed by the associate director then the casting director etc.etc. We have to go down 12 names until we get to a designer. The choreographer is two names below that. Seriously, this might make for easy negotiation on the part of the theatre ( "everything is alphabetical") but for the theatregoer this sort of billing is a source of frustration. The theatre is not a democracy. Not all jobs are equal. There needs to be a recognition of that.

Carousel tonight. A very good first half, much tighter than when I saw this during previews. It helped that I was sat near the front with free seats around and got the ticket for a very good price (thanks to the previous poster for the hint). I do think the new orchestrations really add to the show.

All the leads were on too, unlike last time when I saw this. I do think this makes a difference to the interpretation. Great to see Sam McKay on stage again as he rather disappeared from view after his phenomenal performances on In The Heights.

I also worked out why I didn't recognise Ediz Mahmut when I was sat at the back. He has grown his hair out, which really suits him.

Unfortunately there was no second half (which some may say was a blessing, but it did mean the show didn't reach my favourite song). After the interval, the announcement was made that the rain was predicted to continue and be joined by lightning. Some would question why this wasn't announced earlier, but they were doing a roaring trade in ponchos.

Looking at the forecast, we have a week or so of rain to come, but hopefully some of the shows will go ahead. I suppose really I've been lucky in that across 15 or so visits to the Open Air Theatre in the past few years, this is the first time a show I've been to has ever been rained off.

He truly is!

Well, I really enjoyed it tonight, especially after watching the weather forecast for the last few days and fully expecting my second visit to the OAT to end up like the first.  

I don’t know to what extent they’ve changed the ending since the early part of the run but I didn’t find it at all confusing. When he smacks his daughter in the face for talking back to him it’s abundantly clear that people like this rarely change, no matter how many chances you give them to redeem themselves. The audience gasped when he did that to her. I did too. There was nowhere for him to go after that but “down” and from the looks on the star keepers faces that’s presumably what happened! 

The only thing that slightly bugged me was the inconsistency with the changes to bring it into modern day. Referring to “vittals” in the clambake song but then using very modern terminology like “slut” and “rats arse” in the dialogue felt wrong. Maybe the R&H people gave less leeway with the songs, either way they were the bits that took me out of the story. For that reason I’ll go ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I finally saw Carousel this afternoon, considered it a three-star okay show and agree with most of the previous comments. The second act dragged a bit and I found myself nodding off twice.

One query. The barker was played today by a male performer acting as a woman - is that usual ? He was fairly young with long hair and bore a passing resemblance to Noel Fielding.