Carousel

The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, Carousel, was beautifully presented by Brigg Amateur Operatic Society.  The production, directed by Maggie Brader, centres on the story of fairground worker Billy Bigelow and his love affair with the young and naïve Julie Jordan.  Their troubled alliance doesn’t progress well and as Billy loses his job he becomes depressed and bitter when things go from bad to worse.  The players did a wonderful job of making sure that there really were some glints of sunlight through the storm clouds particularly in the scenes featuring the Snow family. 

Becky Toward as Julie Jordan had a very strong voice and excellent expressions to portray this downtrodden, but still determined young woman. Kelly Johnson, who was making her debut with the society, was excellent in the role of Carrie Pipperidge, super timing and great moves to support her lovely singing.  Dan Busby, was suitably menacing as Jigger Craigin, who seeks to lead Bigalow astray which ultimately results in the loss of Bigalow’s life.  David Phillips was a pompous Enoch Snow and Beverley Evans delightful as the proprietor of Nettie’s Spa.  Janine King was very strong as Mrs Mullin with costume, wig and make-up really adding to her character (she was unrecognisable in her programme photograph). 

The younger performers Katie Reynolds and Summer Woosey (sharing the role of Louise Bigelow), Lewis Robinson (Enoch Snow Junior) and all of the delightful Snow children (even the cheeky, face-pulling ones!) were great – with clear delivery and beautiful dancing from Reynolds and Woosey.  There were some excellent cameos from John Parsons (Mr Bascombe), Colin Wells (Starkeeper & Doctor Seldon) and Steve Rands (Policeman) who also added strength to the very engaged chorus who all held their parts well.

The protagonist of this story Billy Bigelow, was excellently played by Ashley Bateson.  With a strong voice and excellent characterisation Bateson was totally believable, handling the difficult themes well.  The audience were caught up in the tragedy through his empathetic handling of the role, particularly watching his love for his daughter and his desire for her to make something of her life as he had failed to do so.

The locally made set and props were great and a credit to everyone who had spent time on them.  Sound and light were to a high standard and the costumes worked well.  The opening scene was particularly pretty with costumes and set to really enhance the fairground atmosphere – complete with a beautiful carousel.

Throughout the production the singing was to a very high standard and credit should go to Liam Fletcher for his work as Musical Director.  The thirteen-piece orchestra really enhanced the production and it was great to hear the score live played by talented musicians.

The whole production was a joy including the bitter-sweet, emotional ending with the stunning rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.  Congratulations to Maggie Brader and all the Production Team for a lovely production of Carousel which was very-much enjoyed by the audience – even those with tears in their eyes at the end.

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