Catch it while you can

“Carousel” Opera House, Manchester

This is a stellar show, but not because the star is Lesley Garrett.

The Yorkshire diva was unwell on opening night of this West End-headed production, so Kathryn Akin stepped in as Nettie Fowler.

But the show belonged to Alexandra Silber as Julie Jordan, the innocent who marries the fairground barker Billy Bigelow (Jeremiah James).

Their stormy marriage and his eventual death during a robbery are the central story in this rather dark musical from the golden era of Rogers and Hammerstein.

Silber’s calm and still stage presence and her rich and thrilling voice brought a unique quality to the Julie Jordan role, not easy when the character is wooed and married within the first few scenes to a charmer we all know is no good for her.

Another discovery is Lauren Hood as Carrie Pipperidge, Julie’s dizzy best friend. She is a character actress with a fine voice, and when this show opens at the Savoy in London for its West End run, she can be sure of good reviews.

“Carousel” was a milestone in American musicals, coming in 1945 when the world was ready for escapism, music, dancing and a hugely successful songs.

Despite the storyline, “Carousel” is a romantic fantasy, heavenly and earthly, set in New England where the tough fishermen, and the savvy mill girls, meet at the travelling fair.

The carousel which gives the show its title, and the swirling, soaring overture, is cleverly projected on to the stage, whirling and spinning with colours, as the cast mimic the rise and fall of the galloping horses on the merry-go-round.

The choreography by Adam Cooper is stunning, the costumes a pastel rainbow for the women, dark and leathery for the men.

Jeremiah James as Billy Bigelow manages to combine the charm of the ladies-man fairground barker with a truly nasty streak, yet still leaves the audience with a lump in its throat at the end of the contrived second act, when he looks down on heaven to see his daughter beginning to make the same mistakes he made.

The score includes old favourites such as “Mr Snow”, “What’s the Use of Wond’rin” and of course, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. It should have been Lesley Garrett’s anthem role, but Monday’s audience missed out — and the show’s only on until Saturday. Tickets are in short supply, catch it before it heads off to London.