Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
Carousel
Music by
RICHARD RODGERS
Book and Lyrics by
OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Based on Ferenc Molnar’s Play “Liliom“
As adapted by Benjamin F. Glazer
Original Choreography by Agnes de Mille
Conducted by David Angus
Directed by Anne Bogart
Production Choreography by Shura Baryshnikov
Co-Production with Boston Lyric Opera and Utah Opera
Emerson Colonial Theatre
Friday, April 4, 2025 | 7:30PM
Sunday, April 6, 2025 | 3:00PM
Friday, April 11, 2025 | 7:30PM
Sunday, April 13, 2025 | 3:00PM
80th Anniversary Production
Running Time: 3 hours with 1 intermission
Nearly a century after premiering at the Colonial Theatre, Carousel has become one of the most beloved American musicals of all time. In this landmark 80th anniversary production, creative visionary and BLO Artistic Associate Anne Bogart stages a stunning and evocative tribute to this Rodgers & Hammerstein gem. Featuring unforgettable songs like “If I Loved You” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” this timeless paean to the power of love and redemption is sure to sweep you off your feet.
Music Director David Angus conducts an exceptional cast featuring Brandie Sutton as Julie Jordan, Edward Nelson as Billy Bigelow, Jamie Barton as Nettie Fowler, and Anya Matanovič as Carrie Pipperidge.
CAROUSEL is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. www.concordtheatricals.com
Edward Nelson’s appearance as Billy Bigelow is supported by Peter Wender
Jamie Barton’s appearance as Nettie Fowler is supported by Katie and Paul Buttenwieser
“A revelatory production…a richly resonant and memorable experience!”
– Edge Media Network
“Breathtaking…a musical and theatrical event for the ages..”
– On Boston Stages
“Sparkles with originality, grit and passion…a beautiful pageant of a show.”
– Theater Mirror
Carousel is more than just a musical; it is a time capsule from 1945, carrying with it a sense of magic that transcends generations. Yet, as we view this material through our contemporary social lens, we must confront its problematic themes – domestic violence, cycles of poverty and crime, suicide, and toxic masculinity – issues that resonate strongly into day’s social and political climate. As artists and audiences alike engage with challenging subject matter, we are invited to question characters like Billy Bigelow – a morally ambiguous protagonist whose flaws prompt us to examine our own attractions to danger. This reflection is crucial as we navigate our own dilemmas in a world fraught with complexity.
Brandie Sutton | Julie Jordan

Edward Nelson | Billy Bigelow

Jamie Barton | Nettie Fowler

Anya Matanovič | Carrie Pipperidge

A graduate of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program, she has appeared with the company as Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro; Gretel, Hansel and Gretel; Marzelline, Fidelio; and Nanetta, Falstaff. Recent roles also include Wanda, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein and Papagena, Die Zauberflöte, Santa Fe Opera. At the Metropolitan Opera, she covered Violetta during the 2022/23 season, having previously sung the role with Utah Opera and Boston Lyric Opera.
Other engagements include Micaëla, Carmen, Glimmerglass Festival; Musetta, La bohème, New Israeli Opera; Mimì, La bohème, Opera Colorado; Isotta, Die Schweigsame Frau, Bard Summerscape; Anne Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, Boston Lyric Opera; and Stella, A Streetcar Named Desire, Kentucky Opera. Ms. Matanovič made her professional opera debut as Mimì in the Los Angeles commercial engagement of Baz Luhrmann’s Tony Award-winning production of La bohème.
Highlights of the soprano’s orchestral appearances include Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Cleveland Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony, Carmina Burana with Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with North Carolina Symphony.
Omar Najmi | Enoch Snow

Recent engagements include Valcour, The Anonymous Lover, Boston Lyric Opera; Ruggero, La rondine, Opera on the James; Lord Byron, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (world premiere), Guerilla Opera; Alessandro, Il re pastore, Orpheus PDX; Rodolfo, La bohème, Opera Steamboat; Shakur, Thumbprint, Portland Opera; and Spearmint Lodge, The Artwork of the Future (world premiere), Fresh Squeezed Opera. He debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2018 and has toured with Video Games Live. Accolades include the Harold Norblom Award (Opera Colorado), Stephen Shrestinian Award (Boston Lyric Opera), and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellowship (Emmanuel Music).
As a composer, Najmi has written several operas, song cycles, and choral works, including my name is Alondra, Boston Lyric Opera; The Portrait, Atlanta Opera; The Last Invocation, Emmanuel Music; More Than Our Own Caves, Juventas New Music Ensemble; This Is Not That Dawn, Catalyst New Music; and Jo Dooba So Paar, White Snake Projects.
Markel Reed | Jigger Craigin

At the Metropolitan Opera, Reed performed with the ensemble in productions of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones and sang in their Grammy®Award-winning Porgy and Bess in 2019. That same year, he created the role of Chester in Fire Shut Up in My Bones in its premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Recent highlights include singing as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Virginia Opera, Young Emile in Terence Blanchard’s Champion with Boston Lyric Opera, and Marcello in La bohème with Opera Steamboat. Concert highlights include soloist performances in Carmina Burana with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Wozzeck in concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the Toledo Symphony, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Charlotte Master Chorale, and a Bach and Margaret Bonds program with the Cecilia Chorus of New York at Carnegie Hall. In the spring of 2023, Reed traveled to Switzerland to perform the role of Joey in The Time of our Singing at Theater St. Gallen.
Sarah Heltzel | Mrs. Mullin

Lee Pelton | Starkeeper/Dr. Seldon

Pelton holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Harvard University. He taught English and American literature at Harvard University, Colgate University, Dartmouth College, and Willamette University, also serving as a dean at Colgate and Dartmouth. He graduated from Wichita State University, located in his hometown.
He regularly seeks opportunities outside his “comfort zone,” such as his co-curation of Steve McQueen’s Lynching Tree exhibition with Peggy Fogelman of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Pelton has received many awards and recognitions for educational excellence and social justice and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves as an advisor to the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Project and sits on the Boards of The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Chamber of Commerce, WGBH, The Green Ribbon Commission, The Barr Foundation, and Urban Institute.
Theophile Victoria | David Bascombe

Tyler Dobies | Policeman

Devon Russo | 1st Man

Fred C. VanNess, Jr. | 2nd Man

Alexander Davis | Captain

Sabrina Lobner | Principal

Angela Yam | Heavenly Friend #1

Yam’s solo concert appearances include Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, New York City Ballet; Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle, Opera Saratoga; and Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Music at Co-Cath. Yam was a New York City District winner in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and her self-directed visual recital was awarded 3rd place in the 2022 American Prize Competition.
Abigail Marie Curran | Louise

John Robert Sasso | Enoch Snow, Jr.

Olivia Moon | Dancer

Jay León | Dancer

Cassie Wang | Dancer

David Angus | Conductor

Prior to his time at BLO, Angus was music director of The Glimmerglass Festival and Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Flanders. He has led orchestras and choirs throughout Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, including the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and several Danish orchestras. Born in England, he has conducted most of the major orchestras in Great Britain, including the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, most of the BBC orchestras, the London Mozart Players, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He recently debuted with the Toscanini Orchestra in Parma and the Porto Symphony Orchestra in Portugal. He returned to Wexford Festival Opera, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the LPO, and the Huddersfield Choral Society, as well as to his former orchestra in Belgium. Angus was a boy chorister at King’s College under Sir David Willcocks and read music at Surrey University. He was a conducting fellow at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he won several prizes for opera conducting.
Anne Bogart | Stage Director

Recent theater works with SITI Company include Falling and Loving; The Bacchae; the theater is a blank page; Persians; Steel Hammer; A Rite; Café Variations; Trojan Women; American Document; Antigone; Freshwater Under Construction; Who Do You Think You Are; Radio Macbeth; Hotel Cassiopeia; Death and the Ploughman; La Dispute; Score; bobrauschenbergamerica; Room; War of the Worlds; Cabin Pressure; Alice’s Adventures; Culture of Desire; Bob; Going, Going, Gone; Small Lives/Big Dreams; The Medium; Hay Fever; Private Lives; Miss Julie; and Orestes. Opera credits include Tristan and Isolde, Croatian National Theatre; Macbeth, Glimmerglass Festival; Norma, Washington National Opera; I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Carmen, Glimmerglass Festival, Seven Deadly Sins, New York City Opera; and three operas by Deborah Drattell: Nicholas and Alexandra, Los Angeles Opera; Marina: A Captive Spirit, American Opera Projects; and Lilith, New York City Opera.
Shura Baryshnikov | Choreographer

Sara Brown | Set Designer

Haydee Zelideth | Costume Designer

Brian H Scott | Lighting Designer

Earon Chew Nealey | Wig & Makeup Designer

Angie Jepson | Intimacy Director / Fight Director

Steve Colby | Sound Engineer/Consultant
