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Raitt soars in crisp "Carousel" revival

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 05/04/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best things about the musical revivals at Lincoln Center during Richard Rodgers' tenure as president in the Sixties was his impeccable casting. Particularly with his own musicals, Rodgers insisted on personally casting all lead roles. So naturally for the 1965 revival of CAROUSEL, he brought back his peerless original Billy Bigelow, John Raitt, to reprise the performance which had by then become his signature. And the twenty-so years that had passed since the original production had only sharpened Raitt's musical and dramatic grip on the material.



In contrast as Julie was the relatively unknown Eileen Christy, a fresh young ingenue with a bell-clear voice; she perfectly embodies the naive young girl who is swept away by her infatuation for the handsome carnival barker. Susan Watson had made a splash five years earlier, playing Kim in the original Broadway cast of "Bye Bye Birdie"; her Carrie is a real livewire. Jerry Orbach serves the slimy aspects of the Jigger character to a tee.



The 1956 RCA studio cast recording with Robert Merrill and Patrice Munsel was, for all intents and purposes, the most "complete" CAROUSEL album on the market until this one was released, which restored the full Bench Scene/"If I Loved You", and the reprise of "Mister Snow", although by contrast the "Carousel Waltz" is shortened.



This is a re-packaged edition of the previous CD pressing, in a new eco-pack cardboard sleeve."