“Everyone wants their life to be a musical. They are emotional, exciting and fun!” said David Dorfman, professor of dance and choreographer for Connecticut College’s upcoming production of Carousel. Every year, the Theater, Dance, and Music departments embark on the intensive, interdisciplinary endeavor of producing a musical. There are two different scales between which the departments alternate. Last year, they produced James Joyce is Dead and So Is Paris (2005) in the smaller Tansill Theater, but this year, the performing arts departments are organizing a performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (1945) in Palmer Auditorium. Associate professor of theater David Jaffe is the director of the entire performance. Assistant professor of music Mark Seto is in charge of the orchestra, assistant professor of music Wendy Moy is the vocalist coach, and professor of dance David Dorfman is in charge of choreography. Assistant professor of theater Sabrina Notarfrancisco is in charge of costume design, adjunct assistant professor of theater Edward Morris is set designer, and a guest artist, Daisy Long, is lighting designer. And this list of leaders is only a small fraction of those invested in the musical. The total of participants comes out to nearly 80, among the orchestra, cast, and crew. The artists come primarily from within the immediate Connecticut College community, students and professors, but there are also members of the New London community who perform in the orchestra.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, how do the departments even decide which musical to perform? It is quite a process. Each year a Season Planning Advisory Committee made up of performing arts students and faculty decides which kind of musical should be produced. In this instance, they chose to stage a classical musical. For those of you less versed in musical categories, have no fear. A classical musical is a musical composed in the years surrounding the middle of the twentieth century. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were two famous musical theater writers. Rodgers wrote the music and Hammerstein wrote the book and lyrics. They took already-existing plays (Carousel is based on Ferenc Molnar’s 1909 play Liliom) and made the music tell the story. Up until this point, the music in theatrical pieces was a nice addition, but it did not have the same prominence as Rodgers and Hammerstein gave it. They transformed the whole genre, writing such shows as The Sound of Music, Oklahoma! and The King and I.
Once the board members decide what type of musical they would like to perform, they read a selection of musicals from that cannon. Mark Seto, as the orchestra conductor, is involved to discuss what is musically possible. Which musicals have complex enough music to make it worthwhile for the orchestra to spend a few months learning the music? David Dorfman, the show’s choreographer, has a voice as well. Because the show depicts such issues as domestic violence, Carousel was a difficult choice. But after careful consideration, the faculty involved decided to reimagine the piece so that it would speak to the lives of an audience in 2016. The show many provide an opportunity for critique, commentary, and consideration of such difficult issues.
Dorfman tried to be as active as possible in the audition process, and has helped to select as many performers with strong dance backgrounds as was feasible. He said, “We try to choose the best mix of people,” referring to the different roles that needed to be filled in such a large performance. The large pool of female students is proves to be a challenge to showcase all the talents on stage while still following the original script. So Dorfman and Jaffe have accepted some gender-blind casting into their rendition. “In the original show there may have been a dance with only women, or only men, but in our rendition we will choose dancers representing the community of the play at large, not merely based on their gender,” Dorfman explained.
The setting was also changed for the Connecticut College rendition. Due to copyright, none of the wording in the script can be changed, but there is artistic license on how the script is interrupted. While the original story was based in a sleepy beach town in Maine, this version will be based in Ocean Beach Park, right here in New London, post World War II. It is a summer resort with a boardwalk, pool, mini-golf, playgrounds and cafés. By using a local and more contemporary setting, Jaffe hopes to make this classical musical, which was originally set in the 1880s, seem more relevant. In trying to create an urban image, the show’s set designer, Edward Morris, visited Ocean Beach Park and saw some picnic tables. He sent a picture to Jaffe, and together, they contacted the Park, which is closed for the winter months, and asked to borrow the tables. Now the stage will showcase the real benches! The set will be beautiful.
The set is only a small part of the actual performance, however. In order to be ready for opening night in March, the performers spent the last week of their
winter break on campus preparing – learning lines, songs and dance sequences, and organizing all their schedules for the upcoming semester. Jaffe beautifully said, “Our creativity is actually dependent on really intricate scheduling.” Because all the people involved are busy, it can be difficult to have all the time needed. Musicians, dancers, and actors met mornings and afternoons to rehearse. Jaffe smiled, “To have a week where the only focus was creating the world of Carousel was a real treasure.”
All of this work is only the beginning, however. The three departments and all of their members will continue to strive for success. Their big night will arrive in the middle of March. Palmer auditorium has 1,300 seats, so we hope to see you in the audience.
Carousel will be performed on March 4 and 5 at 7:30 P.M. and on March 5 and 6 at 2:00 P.M. All shows will take place in Palmer Auditorium. •
