--The new Broadway staging
of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel is the most honored musical revival at this
year's Tony Awards, earning 11 nominations in total. Among that tally,
are 5 nods for the show stars Jessie Mueller and Joshua Henry as ill fated
lovers Julia and Billy Lindsay Mendez and Alexander Gemignani
as Sardine sweethearts Carrie and Enoch and opera icon Renee Fleming as
Nettie Fowler, who delivers the stirring You'll Never Walk Alone
we recently gathered the talented fivesome for a photo shoot and also set
them down for a quick chat about the everlasting power of the 73 year old
classic. --We are sitting with, Oh my god. Hi! 20 nominees
in one show. That's crazy. That doesn't happen all the time. --On
two couches --SO first of all congratulations, that's
nuts --Thank you. --And some first timers
-- This couch. The red couch --We'll tell you everything you need to know.
--I love this show. This is my favorite classic musical. I always say this. Carousel is number
one for me. Is being great in a great musical sort of easier?
--When it's classic, and you know it works, I think it lends itself to the personalities
that can come and sort of reinterpret it, like a great Shakespeare or something like
that. --And there's so much emotion built into the
music right away, and people know a lot of the music so their expectation is already
high. And if you sing it, then it works. --Did you know the music? --All of it.
--Yeah? -- All of it. I did not know the show. I'd
never seen it. Did you guys know it all? I knew most of it, yeah. But, I wasn't
that familiar with the script, so to read it and then to see how all of this music that
we all know so well fits into telling this incredible story, it was this really cool
for us to kind of like dive into it again, I think.
And fun to do something like this with people like this. Because, to me, it always defines
like my Julie is because of his Billy, and her Carrie. And you know what I mean? Her
Nettie. And even like your Enoch. It really does, like when you're in a room with the
best of the best, it just comes together that way. It ups your game and everybody just brings
so much to it. --I think it actually says a lot that I've
seen you play Carrie. You played Carrie at Lincoln Center.
-- And now I can't imagine it any other way. Like, Lindsay is Carrie to me. I I really
mean that though. Like I wouldn't I wouldn't be able to kind of redefine it in my brain
anymore. It's it's always you, Lindsay. -- I got in your head. [whispers] I got in
your head. -- It says a lot about the material that you
actually it's not so, you know, I'm a Julie. I'm a Carrie. It feels like you're able to
lend yourself to these roles in in a great way?
-- With with all just like great respect to all of the productions
with all the classic shows that have come before us, the trope of sort of like kind
of person who plays each role, I don't think Jack and Justin were interested in that, so
much. I think they were interested in community and how do these people function together
in a community? And how do they not? Who are the people who don't function within the community?
Or work their way in or work their way out? I think if you take that lens on on Carousel,
you get this very sort of like deep tapestry of of rich colors that these people live their
lives with. And the resulting things that we all feel on stage, there's this thing of
like I can't really imagine it another way, as Jessie was saying, because it's so feels
ingrained. [Music] [Music] --Josh, what is it like to sing a "Soliloquy" every night?
--It's incredible. I love a song like that, or "If I Loved You", which was the first song
musical theater than I ever learned. --Did you sing both parts? [laughs]
--I sang the selection, which was just like -- Like, [sings] chorus!
--I Love you... but it's like you're saying, the material is so rich that it challenges
you every night. For me, it just feels like you can't think
about it. You know, that the intro starts and it's like skydiving. You can't reach up
to the plane again. You're already falling. It's so much fun.
--Jack O'Brien, great director has directed so many amazing plays and musicals on classics
works over the years. What was sort of the, the mission when you started? --When I first
talked to him, he really wanted to lead into the spiritual aspect of this
piece. -- This is the same conversation I had with
him. -- Yeah, and really the theme of redemption
and what that means, how asking the questions about do we get second
chances? What does it mean to be loved? Like the adventure of that, the innocence of that,
the purity of that, what that can be. ["If I Loved You"] --He just kept saying over and over He's like, let's ask the questions. Let's keep asking
the questions. Because people know this well, let's not sort of rely on
that. Let's make sure we get every point, if we have a question, let's ask the question.
Let's not just do it the way it's always been done because that's how it's been done. To
have a director that that lets you do that, and not make doesn't make you feel in the
room that like you're wasting time, you know what I mean?
but gives permission for that kind of work? --And it built so much trust between us. I
feel like there wasn't there just isn't a moment that we haven't all discussed together.
And so we can all serve the piece rather than serving ourselves.
-- I think that unlocks a real non-precious way to view something that you could potentially
try to hold with kid gloves and miss the sort of like deeper part of the thing. And so,
ironically, by not being precious with it and being able blow the dust aside and ask
all the questions you want to ask, you honor it and a much, for me, a much truer way.
--It's authentic that way, yeah. --And it can handle it. The piece can handle
it. The more we dug into it, the more we open up, I feel like the more we found. It's not
like you open it up and there's just not the depth to be found. It's there.
--Were there any specific moments that were specifically challenging for any of you? Or
exciting to work on? --I'll never forget the first time we started
going into the bench scene. --If I Loved You. I was so nervous. I was like,
Let's not work on it. [laughs]
-- We got time! --I was like, We got time, right? We can just
crack that one open in like a week. Everybody loves the song. There will be a bench. -- The
twists and turns in that piece are so intricate, and trying to find them truthfully,
--Truthfully, yeah. --I remember we got into the room and we were
sitting this close to each other, and we were doing the scene just like this. And it felt
great, and then we had to sing. And there was this big divide between the performance
volume and the intimacy of the scene. And it took so long to find what that was, and
to just feel --The balance of that. We re-blocked that
how many times? I don't know. We're on like version 12.5.
--You know what else was hard? Was the stuff with the three women. With you? --Yes, that's
true --Calling, when we would kind of hold Julie
to task about her relationship with Billy. Both those moments between the three of us,
we worked so much. Remember that scene, and then Also "What's the Use of Wondering?" --We
have an obligation in 2018 to like make sure we're
saying you know the right thing with holding Julie up, and also you know calling her out,
I think. And it took us till probably the last preview to figure some of that stuff
out. --Yeah. Yeah, making sure that women were
authentic, yes. --And strong. --And strong and complex.
--I was so stunned in the preview process, completely stunned. I just assumed a classical
piece like this, it had been around for 75 years, what are you gonna do? You're just
gonna do it as well as you can. No, no, no. Things were added and cut and added again
and moved around and things were re-blocked five times. It was extraordinary. And in the
end, people who came, who I know, who came early on in the preview, so then saw it later
just said they could not believe the difference in how much more exciting it was?
I first was introduced to the power of this show many years ago, and I love any
opportunity to see a new version of it, and a new cast do it and, and it's sort of undeniable.
What is it like for you on stage to to sort of be in something that, you know, how's that?
-- Why, why do you love it, Paul? I'm curious. --Yeah. What do you think it is?
--It moves me so tremendously, I mean, -- Because of its
sort of epic nature or the depth of it or a combination like what do you think
it is? --I'm just a moderator here! [laughs]
-- I'm really interested! I think part of the beauty, I guess the reason I'm asking
that question is, to me, part of the beauty is that I can tell why. I can't define it.
It is bigger than one person. It's even bigger than a group. I think it's about tapping into
something very deep and very human and very innate and very complex about what it's like
to spend your time on this planet. -- And thinking about the people who leave
you who are still looking out for you. We all hope for that, I think.
-- The idea that you're not alone! -- And, and so getting to see a piece about
that, there's that. And then there's this score, which is like, when that prologue starts,
it's overwhelming. The sound of what they made I just think all of it together makes
it's just it's magic. -- One more thing: Is there any other show
you can all imagine doing together? --Yes, we already talked about it.
-- We talked about it. --We talked about Guys and Dolls. What was
the other one we were talking about the other day?
-- Yes! -- Oh, Calcutta
-- Nope. [laughs] --Sure she wasn't it.
--Well, you're gonna be doing Carousel for a while, so I'm thrilled. And it's at the
Imperial Theatre and everyone needs to go see it. And
thank you all for being here. --Thanks Paul --Thank you, Paul
