August 8 - August 18, 2024

KYLE A. DOUGAN
Producing Artistic Director

Presents
Carousel

CAROUSEL
is presented through special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.

What a wonderful journey it has been to work on CAROUSEL with this amazing group of actors, singers, dancers and crew. This piece, voted the “Best Musical of the 20th Century” by Time Magazine, is of a certain time and era, and deals with some difficult topics, most notably domestic abuse. Many theaters don’t want to produce it anymore as a result, but we at MTW decided that in order to effect change in the world, we must sometimes have hard conversations, and this work could serve as catalyst for that. I applaud the company’s commitment to helping work towards positive change! 

The way the cast participated in discussion, education, collaboration and advocacy, all while making great art appear on the stage, was a testament to their care and love for each other and our society. As a team we decided to present the work in its original form, making only a few minor adjustments to the script. But…you may notice that the Star Keeper and Heavenly Friends, usually played by male presenting actors, are all played by women in this show! It was one way I could think of, as a director, to spark thoughts around the strength and crucial importance of women in Billy’s path towards redemption, after his horrible behavior.

The music in CAROUSEL is some of the most beloved in the standard repertoire. Songs like “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” and “If I Loved You” and so many more leave your heart full and you’ll find yourself whistling the tunes for days! 

As always, it is my privilege to collaborate with MTW, a company I believe in with all my heart. Thanks for coming and I look forward to meeting you!

Exploring the choices we make for love and the path it leads us on, CAROUSEL follows the challenging story of Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow, as the abusive Billy seeks redemption from the Beyond. This complex tale forces us to reconcile how we love, how we forgive, and how we move on.

In 2010 when Music Theater Works produced CAROUSEL it was one of the first shows I worked on at the company. I had never seen the show on stage but I loved the music. There is nothing like a moving love story that is complex and lush. I fell in love with the show and our audiences did too. It still remains one of our best-selling and most loved shows at the company. Since then society has moved forward the #Metoo movement has forced us to address the immense amount of trauma that women face daily around the world. I brought the show to our director Sasha Gerritson and she said to me “All that happens in Carousel still happens today. Not in the same way but it still happens today!” So we wanted to explore the complexity of love thru this lens.

CAROUSEL has developed a reputation as one of “problem musicals” for its depiction of domestic violence as an expression of love, the inability of the abuser to understand what he’s done, and the instinct of the victim to excuse it, and to perpetuate the cycle.

When someone asks “why do you do these dated musicals?” I usually respond “Would you say this about any of Shakespeare’s content?” It is our job to look at these shows to produce them so we can discuss them. From the beginning we knew we had to address the persistence of gender-based violence, and violence in the home, still today, more than 70 years since the show’s premier.

At Music Theater Works we sometimes put these difficult issues on our stage, including through older works from an era with different sensibilities. We’ve addressed the issues in CAROUSEL through artistic and casting choices, but also by putting these issues into context, and as part of our audience education efforts through our CommunityREACH program.

Our Talk Back features a panel about domestic violence mitigation, and several local organizations will provide literature and staff in the lobby for anyone with questions. I’d like to especially thank “Friend of the company” Dana Pearl, Cherese Ledet from the YWCA, and Eva Mwariri from Apna Ghar for their expertise, help, and insight.

Thank you as well to the artists, technicians, donors, subscribers, ticket buyers, and our whole community for supporting us in updating and sustaining these amazing shows.

(Musicians are members of Chicago Federation of Musicians, Local 10-208)

Bill Kirchmeyer and Binny’s Beverage Depot, Javier Vega at Byline Bank, The Walder Foundation, Jon Will, LaLonna J. Jackson of the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Carolyn Gabbay and the Victory Herbert Foundation, Alyce Mott, VHSource, Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE, Dana Pearl, Tom Shea, Shalva, YWCA, Z interpreting