Steven Pasquale and Laura osnes star

Rodgers and Hammerstein's fantastical Carousel comes to the Civic Opera House in an all new production. One of the highlights of Lyric Opera's 2014/15 season, Carousel is a guaranteed crowd pleaser and undoubtedly one of the finest musicals of the 1940s. Its story follows the tragic romance between fairground worker Billy Bigelow and factory worker Julie Jordan, and contains a whole score of classic numbers, including You'll Never Walk Alone and June is Bustin' Out All Over. Richard Rodgers himself later wrote that it was his favorite of his own musicals.

Who's Who

Taking the role of the swaggering Billy is Steven Pasquale, whose stage credits include turns in Neil LaBute's Fat Pig and Reasons to be Pretty and the Tony Award-wining musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County. He's best known to television audiences as Sean Garrity in FX's firefighting drama Rescue Me. He'll play opposite Laura Osnes (Cinderella) and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. Tony, Emmy and Drama Desk Award winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie) will choroegraph and direct.

What is carousel about?

Billy Bigelow is a charismatic carousel barker who falls in love with local factory worker Julie Jordan in the small town of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. After a whirlwind romance, Billy and Julie marry but are now both unemployed. Desperate to prove himself a worthy breadwinner (especially as Julie is pregnant) Billy falls back into a life of crime with his old friend Jigger Craigin. The two men plan a robbery together, but it ends in tragedy, with Billy turning a knife upon himself to avoid capture. Fifteen years later, and Billy is granted on last chance to return to earth from 'up there' to repair the damage he has done.