Arts & Entertainment

Last Chance to Catch 'Carousel' on North Fork

Don't miss the last weekend of a Broadway classic in Mattituck.

Nothing captures the magic of summer more perfectly than a carnival, complete with cotton candy, games of chance, and, of course, the carousel. How many generations of young lovers have shared their first kiss in the glow of the colored lights, with the music of the carousel the soundtrack for their first memories together?

"Carousel," playing through Sunday at the North Fork Community Theatre in Mattituck, is a Broadway classic, with book and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, that bursts to glorious life for the North Fork audiences that pack the house each night.

"Carousel," is at its very core, a love story -- the tale of how the life of a rough-at-the-heels but popular with the ladies carnival barker, Billy Bigelow, is forever transformed after a kiss with the young and innocent Julie Jordan.

In the NFCT's production, Bigelow is played by New Suffolk music teacher Matthew Gardiner, and he imbues the character, a broken, flawed leading man, with just enough ugly to convincingly portray a down-on-his luck carnival barker who hits his wife, can't keep a job, and stays out all night boozing with shady sorts.

And yet, there is that look -- that look of of a heartachingly lost soul who finds hope and newborn promise as he gazes into Julie's trusting eyes, and learns that he will soon become a father for the first time.

Gardiner's scenes with his young daughter Louise, played by Lily Spellman, are a reminder that even the most hardened man can melt at the sight of his little girl -- and rise up to the challenge of fatherhood  with the ferocity of love that only a father can have for his daughter.

Julie, as played by Becca Mincieli, is a breath of fresh air and innocence, who captures the essence of a young woman in love -- who, despite the tragic turn her own romance has taken, refuses to give up on the dream of the shining knight who swept her heart away.

"Carousel" is perfectly cast, and direction by David Markel is razor sharp. Producer/Assistant Director Mary Motto Kalich takes a turn onstage in this show, and is not to be missed.

And the music -- that beautiful, soaring score, with Broadway classics including "June is Bustin' Out All Over," "If I Loved You," and the breathtaking rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone," by Mincieli and Leslie Luxemburg as Nettie -- epitomizes perhaps the most joyous celebration of life and the advent of summertime that's ever been brought to life on the NFTC stage.

Audiences were seen tapping their feet, humming and singing along -- and brought to tears by Luxemburg's timeless voice.

Standout performances include a star turn by Amanda Mouzakes, as the bubbly and fiercely independent Carrie Pipperidge, who weds her man and gives birth to a passel of Snow children while managing to keep true to her spirited self. The spot-on scenes she shares with her onstage husband, Enoch Snow, played to perfection by Nate Kalich, illuminate the show.

Bill Kitzerow, as the nefarious Jigger Craigin, handily creates a character audiences love to hate as he plots a dangerous scheme that threatens young lovers Julie and Billy -- even as he keeps them laughing with his ardor for Carrie as he teaches her how to hold her own with a man.

"Carousel" is perfectly cast, impeccably staged, and, with don't-miss choreography by Jan McKenna, Jessica Raven, and Meredith Shumway, and exceptional costumes by costume designer and sewer Dee Andes, it's bursting with life and jubilance and the reminder that the beauty of summer can be found in the simple joys of a clambake on the beach with friends -- and in the magic of a first kiss that seals a love so strong, it can last forever.

"Carousel's" final performances unfold Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, call 631-298-NFCT (6328) or click here


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