I always loved carousels as a child (one of my earliest photos, and memories, took place on a carousel in Coney Island). So of course I hopped right onto the horse for a short, fun spin on the colorful carousel (complete with barker) stationed at the entrance of The Wick Theatre to promote their latest show.  

Every day that goes by confirms we are now living in a dystopian future projected by sci-fi writers of the past. George Orwell’s iconic 1984 appears to resonate in our year of 2024 the most. The job of the book’s protagonist is to erase and rewrite history – daily. He works for the “Ministry of Truth” where facts are basically made up and no one can escape “Big Brother” surveillance. Everyone’s interior living and outdoor space is surrounded by screens that both see them and constantly broadcast fake news while regularly scheduled rallies rev up emotions for revenge upon the day’s perceived enemy. Sound familiar?

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel – a complex, intriguing combination of music, life experience (both good and bad) and fantasy – is playing at the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton.  A morality tale about the power of redemption set against a carnivalesque background, it was the second musical created by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) – the duo that debuted as a team with Oklahoma a year or so earlier.

By Alison Glass

Spectacular! Spectacular! Christian Douglas dazzles as his composer namesake in this heady stage production inspired by the final act of Australian director Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain trilogy. 

“Welcome, you gorgeous collection of reprobates and rascals, artistes and arrivistes, soubrettes and sodomites.”