Over the years, Music Director Doug Peck has become a vital part of the Court Theatre family. Let's Look Inside with Doug Peck to learn more about the production.
When did your journey with Court Theatre begin?
I am proud to call Carousel my sixth production at Court, having previously music directed Man of La Mancha, Raisin, Guys & Dolls, The Importance of Being Earnest, and the revival of James Joyce’s “The Dead.” For all of these projects, my work has been informed by an open, rigorous collaboration with Charlie Newell.
What is the core message that you hope the audience takes away from Carousel?
The reason we need to keep presenting this piece is its message of community. Songs like “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” present a vision of people living and working together, bearing life’s burdens with a measure of joy. The development of the relationships in the piece is conveyed so perfectly through the music.
What do you think will surprise people about this version of Carousel?
I think audiences will be surprised by the power and contemporary nature of the piece. The power of storytelling through music can be devastating in moments like the Bench Scene (which contains “If I Loved You”) and “Soliloquy.” Also, with a smaller cast and orchestra, the audience will experience Oscar Hammerstein’s amazingly simple lyrics in a way that a larger presentation can sometimes overwhelm.
Unlike some musicals that buckle under the burden of too much music, Carousel only sings in moments of tremendous intimacy or importance. We hope the audience feels they are seeing a play heightened by music, rather than a musical comedy. Indeed, that was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s intent in constructing these visionary musical works, so we are only helping Carousel shine to its fullest potential.
What impact does producing Carousel in such an intimate space (Court’s 250 seat theatre) have on the show?
The intimacy of Court’s space make presenting Carousel such a joy. Behavior can be realistic and orchestrations can be tender, rather than bombastic. Frankly, Court is one of my favorite places to make music, as the acoustic is so fantastic and you can feel the audience right there, intensely listening to every note.
Describe your perspective on Court’s project to reexamine classic musicals.
Court’s aesthetic and mission perfectly fit my own instinctual approach as a music director. Focusing on a natural transition from speech to song and back into speech is a priority, as is shaping the score to match the action and emotion of the production. Also, all of these musicals are based on amazing classic texts like Don Quixote, A Raisin in the Sun, and Molnár’s Liliom, so exploring those works in conjunction with the musicals they inspired is very exciting. With this piece, we will be exploring why Rodgers and Hammerstein made the choices they made in adapting the play into a musical.
Do you feel connected to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s intent in creating Carousel?
Rodgers and Hammerstein created Carousel to follow up Oklahoma!, basically the biggest musical hit ever. At Court, we think of our work as a continuum, always building on the last project. So, after the success of pieces like Man of La Mancha and Raisin, visiting a piece so beautifully scored and perfectly constructed as Carousel seemed both necessary and natural.
For this production, you have had the opportunity to create a new orchestration of Carousel. How do you re-orchestrate a score so complex and well-known?
Obviously Don Walker’s original is thrilling, and Bruce Pomahac of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization has been a tremendous partner in choosing an instrumentation that fits Court Theatre’s aesthetic while doing justice to the drama and beauty of the score. For the Court production, we are using a string quartet (two violins, viola, and cello), bass, piano, and two woodwind players who play flutes, clarinets, and bass clarinets. When the production travels to Connecticut’s Long Wharf Theatre, we will add two brass players (trumpet and trombone) to fill out the sound.
At Court, we will be performing the production without amplifying the actors or instruments, and that obviously informs orchestration choices. For moments when the actors sing or speak softly, the music underneath them needs to be thinner, and when the vocal sound swells, the orchestral sound must grow to support them. Also, the musicians will be separated into two distinct groups, with the string quartet stage right and the piano, bass, and winds stage left. There will be moments throughout the production when underscoring will come from one group or the other, before the two groups blend together for moments when all eight instruments are needed to support the singing.
What is your perspective on the rehearsal process?
To tell the truth, as much as I love performing, the rehearsal process is where it’s at for me. Working with a director like Charlie and so many of my favorite actor/singers is truly thrilling, as ideas bounce back and forth. My job is to teach the score, working with Charlie to coach the actors to find the truest, most emotionally motivated performance possible. As the staging develops, I have to make sense of all the timing and acting impulses and how they affect the score. As conductor, I have to lead the other musicians, so I need to know each actor’s performance intimately. As orchestrator, I need to make sure that each instrumental part supports the storytelling we are conveying, without overpowering the singers.
-Jack Tamburri, Management Assistant
and Adam Thurman, Director of Marketing and Communications
