Northern Light Opera Company will present Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 26-27 and Thursday and Friday, Aug. 1-2 and at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 28 and Saturday, Aug. 3 at the Park Rapids Area High School auditorium.
“Carousel” is the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics). The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnar’s1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline.
The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs.
He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child. After it goes wrong, he is given a chance to make things right.
A secondary plot line deals with millworker Carrie Pipperidge and her romance with ambitious fisherman Enoch Snow.
The show includes the well-known songs “If I Loved You,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Richard Rodgers later wrote that Carousel was his favorite of all his musicals.
Tickets are available at Beagle Books, Coborn’s or online at
www.northernlight
opera.org.
