Carousel Tickets

It was amazing! I loved the choreography. Julie was a little under par acting-wise, but everything else was superb!

The Reprise production of Carousel was fabulous. We were totally enthralled with the whole production...the acting and singing performances (particularly the part of Julie by Alexandra Silber), and the dance production numbers. Soliloquy by Rober Patteri was both poignant and chilling. If we hadn't seen the final performance, I would definitely had gotten tickets for my 3 sons and their girlfriends, and tickets for my husband and me to see it again!!!

I purchased two tickets as a gift for my mother's birthday (76 y/o) to attend this musical, with my father, at the Ralph Freud Theater in Los Angeles. My father's voice message to me after they came out of the performance says it all " Baby, we just came out of watching Carousal, thank you so much for these tickets, it was incredible, it was really, really good, the performance the venue was beautiful, it was great, thank you." As far as I'm concerned this is worth the price of gold to me.

The production of CAROUSEL...that odd but compelling piece of musical theater from Rodgers and Hammerstein...currently on view at UCLA's Freud Playhouse is not to be missed by lovers of musical theater. The production is imaginatively staged, beautifully costumed and brilliantly choreographed. The entire cast is excellent; Robert Patteri knocks the Solliloquy out of the water, and Alexandra Silber, who plays Julie, is just astonishing... a real 'star-in-the making". I saw this with a full house of spellbound theatergoers...you could hear a pin drop in the theater. Both the dramatic and the musical elements of this show have been brilliantly realized by the creative team...so if you have any interest in this show...see this production!

I liked this production, but I'm still waiting for someone (including Broadway) to do a revival that actually has a REAL CAROUSEL for a set in the opening pantomine sequence. (I don't know why everyone is so afraid to do it as written, unless it's the monetary restrictions -- something that obviously wasn't the case for the LAST Broadway revival, which I saw, and which used the same tired idea of a revolve and static chorus members for horses.) That said, the use of boxes/crates for the set (including carousel horses) was very creative and imaginative, especially in the top of Act II, when the crates became two large sand dunes! The leads were very good, especially "Julie," "Mr. Snow" and "Jigger." I thought "Billy" did a fine job with "Soliloquy." I generally love Michael Michetti's work as a director. We have seen at least 3 plays he's directed in the past few years at Boston Court (where he is one of the artistic directors) and they were ALL EXCELLENT! Lee Martino's choreography was also impressive, as well as the dancers, notably Scott Weber, who, Peter Pan-like, virtually defies gravity with his aerial gymnastics and outstanding balletic work. (Why he wasn't cast as the "Carnival Boy" in the Act II ballet is "a puzzlement.")

Of course the story is a bit dated, thin and clunky. But the music, if you remember, is still textured and rich like the fabrics the working women are weaving in the mill. The singing, oh the singing! I've rarely attended a performance of a musical where the voices were so reassuring and just magnificent. I never held my breath in anticipation that some of those wicked R&H notes would be skirted - they were approached, attacked and knocked out of the park. I'm impressed at the variations in the timber of those voices and their ability to actually match the role of the singer. The Julie Jordan, Alexandra Silber, is riveting - you don't want her to ever stop singing. There is so much color and assurance to her vocals that I'll believe anything she sings; such is her lyrical believability. Throughout, the show was carefully and accurately cast. Despite the minimalist scenery your imagination still filled the stage with whatever props were necessary. The orchestra - also not the full complement - could have used some additional amplification. The dancing, while fluid and pertinent, could have used some judicial editing. At three hours, "Carousel" was a bit longer than necessary. One final caveat - the parking. It's diabolical so leave plenty of extra time.

A wonderful play with outstanding acting, singing and dancing. The Reprise actors are very talented and made the evening very enjoyable.

Carousel is another excellent production put on by Reprise at the Freud Theater at UCLA. It was a very moving and emotional experience, with excellent leads. We are long-time subscribers to the Ahmanson downtown, and from what I can tell, the main (only) differences between the two is that the Ahmanson productions spend lots more on lavish sets, and have larger ensembles. But the productions at the Freud give up nothing in terms of quality of cast members., and Carousel was no exception. In fact, I sometimes prefer the minimalist approach to set design, where the audience needs to use a little imagination, instead of costly over-the-top sets that detract from the performances. Go see it!

Our first experience at a Reprise performance. We were stunned by the quality of the cast. Where have all these people been? Enjoyed every minute of it, even though it was 3 hours long. Can't wait for the next Reprise event.

Excellent singing and dancing. I've loved this musical since childhood and this production lived up to my expectations. Reprise is always great!