Carousel will get another West End outing on November 22, when Lindsay Posner's production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic will begin previews at the Savoy Theatre. The production, which will be choreographed by Adam Cooper (
Swan Lake), will officially open on December 2.
Alexandra Silber, an expatriate American alumna, will play Julie Jordan opposite Jeremiah James as Billy Bigelow . Nettie will be played by Lesley Garrett, the opera singer who is making something of a specialty out of crossover appearances: she played the Mother Abbess alongside Connie Fisher in the West End revival of The Sound of Music.
Carousel received a National Theatre staging from Nicholas Hytner in 1992 in a production that subsequently transferred to the West End and then, mostly recast, landed at Lincoln Center. Michael Hayden played Billy on both sides of the Atlantic, while the Broadway incarnation made a name out of a then-unknown Audra McDonald, in the role of Carrie Pipperidge.
This production of Carousel will tour prior to coming into town. William Dudley (The Woman In White) is the designer.