Arena Stage’s “Carousel”: Reinventing a Classic
Choreographer Parker Esse brings Carousel's famed ballet to life
Of the incomparable catalogue of Rodgers and Hammerstein “Golden Age” musicals — from Oklahoma! to State Fair, South Pacific to The Sound of Music — the powerhouse writing team loved Carousel most. Choreographer Parker Esse, too, has come to call Carousel his favorite in the canon for its glorious score, its emotionally saturated second-act ballet and its heartfelt story of love, loss and redemption.
Carousel is, in many ways, the perfect musical to re-create in Arena’s in-the-round Fichandler space, and for Esse, the four-sided configuration is a piece of cake.
“Once you get to know the space, it’s your best friend as a choreographer,” he says. “The three-dimensional quality of performance is highlighted because it’s quite realistic behavior. There’s no front, there’s no back, there’s no stage left or stage right. The possibilities are endless.”
The possibilities are also inspiring to Esse, who, for the opening “Carousel Waltz,” has male dancers portray the merry-go-round’s horses, bucking and leaping until the women enter, to swirl around on a stunning revolving stage. The second time the theme is played, during Louise’s second act ballet, the mood turns darker, more provocative, frightening even.
“I compare Louise to a wild fawn,” says Esse. “The act two ballet, tells the story of Louise and the girl she has become in the 15 years [her father] Billy hasn’t known her. I have the challenge of showing her different characteristics and how her mother and father shine through her.” Esse hopes audiences will take Louise’s wordless journey, danced by Skye Mattox of Broadway’s On the Town, and arrive at their own conclusions.
The original 1945 Broadway production featured innovative choreography by Agnes de Mille, and the musical went on to inspire numerous choreographers, including Britain’s late Kenneth McMillan, who choreographed a London West End production in 1992 and Christopher Wheeldon, who in 2002, created Carousel (A Dance) for the New York City Ballet, using an extended orchestration of the second act dance sequence and the song “If I Loved You.” Esse prefers to go his own way.
“I like to approach everything I do with new and fresh eyes,” he says. “I know enough of de Mille from my own background as a dancer to use her style, but I don’t use her steps in my choreography. I pay homage to her, because I get to do that same kind of storytelling through dance with those pieces of music that she did, but I definitely create my own vision and vocabulary.”
Carousel runs through Dec. 24 at Arena Stage, 1101 6th Street, SW. Tickets are $50 to $99. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.
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