Arizona Musicfest Brings Broadway to Downtown Phoenix
Writer Shannon Severson // Photography Courtesy of Arizona Musicfest
In the pantheon of America’s vaunted musical theater tradition, Rodgers and Hammerstein stand as giants of the genre. This April, Arizona Musicfest celebrates the 80th anniversary of their 1945 masterpiece “Carousel” — a work both men named as their favorite collaboration — with a landmark production at the Herberger Theater Center.
Adapted from Ferenc Molnár’s 1909 play “Liliom,” “Carousel” unfolds in a fishing village on Maine’s rugged coast. Young cotton mill worker Julie Jordan falls in love with tempestuous carnival barker Billy Bigelow, their tumultuous relationship mirroring the ups and downs of the wooden horses on his carousel. The timeless themes of love, redemption and legacy continue to resonate with audiences eight decades later.
In a historic first, Arizona Musicfest will expand beyond its North Scottsdale roots to mark the musical’s 80th anniversary with “Carousel, A Concert” at downtown Phoenix’s Herberger Theater Center.
The Herberger’s downtown location is a first for the beloved arts and culture organization and will expand Musicfest’s already 45,000-strong ticket-holder audience. Those Musicfest devotees consistently list favorites from the Great White Way as their top genre and will thrill to the powerful voices of nationally recognized performers paired with the original, full orchestration rarely heard today.
“‘Carousel’ is a significant piece of theater and musical history. It has some signature tunes that have stood on their own outside of the theatrical work –– ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ sung by English football fans, and the ‘Carousel Waltz,’ heard in Central Park; it’s timeless,” says Allan Naplan, Musicfest executive and producing director and CEO.
Naplan’s own accolades as a professional opera singer, award-winning composer and expert in arts and opera management have been at the helm of Arizona Musicfest since 2013. He saw an opportunity to create a concert with theatrical elements.
“Carousel, A Concert” is a masterclass in collaboration with acclaimed Broadway actors in leading roles — Erica Spyres and James Snyder — directed by Valley favorite Mark Stoddard and the Musicfest Pops ensemble conducted by Josh Condon, Musicfest’s resident artist.
“Broadway is a first love of mine,” Naplan says. “Music is central for us at Musicfest, and with ‘Carousel, A Concert,’ you’re getting the musical elements at a grand scale.”
Broadway actors Spyres and Snyder fit the bill for stage stars with the classic vocal style Naplan prizes for such a performance, and he points out that, at the time “Carousel” was originally produced, there was no amplification, so actors needed operatic-level projection to be heard clearly above the sounds of the orchestra.
Spyres, a celebrated singer and violinist from Missouri’s “most musical family,” grew up on concert stages and has starred on Broadway, national tours and in commercials, garnering an Elliot Norton Award and three Independent Reviewers of New England Awards.
“‘Carousel’ is one that really stuck with me, and there’s something about it that everyone connects with,” she says. “I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t say how gorgeous the musical score is.”
Spyres is the actor who appeared as both Julie and Carrie in the 2018 Broadway revival of “Carousel,” the musical’s most recent staging, with Tony Award winners Jessie Mueller and Lindsay Mendez. She also appears on the cast album.
“[The story] doesn’t lend itself to only being told in the ‘40s or ‘50s,” she says. “It’s a story that is universal. There are no real bad guys or good guys, just human beings learning how to take what they’re given and how we don’t always make the best of things. The carousel is its own character — the round and round being emblematic, urging us to make sure that what we leave behind doesn’t leave others with the same trauma.
“Being able to sit together in a space near other humans and to feel the vibrations coming from the orchestra, to feel the laughter or tears around you — or the gasps — is what makes this kind of performance so incredibly special. There’s a short amount of time when we are all focused on giving our all. The audience is an essential part of that.”
Snyder will play Billy Bigelow opposite Julie in “Carousel.” Snyder has made award-winning appearances on Broadway in “If/Then” as Josh with Idina Menzel, for which they received a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Onstage Pair.
He first played Billy in 2010 at Connecticut’s Goodspeed Opera House and found a particular kinship with the character when he discovers he’s going to become a father in the song “Soliloquy.” Snyder’s wife was pregnant at the time, and he was using his one day off per week to fly home for ultrasounds. As Billy envisioned a son or daughter, Snyder was doing the same and ultimately discovered they were expecting a boy — their first son, Oliver.
“Carousel has always held a really special place in my heart — having my son and the start of my journey back to Broadway,” he reveals. “That performance opened a lot of doors for me.”
When “Wicked” producer David Stone heard Snyder’s rendition of “Soliloquy,” he saw a perfect fit for the emotional storytelling of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s “If/Then.”
At heart, Snyder is passionate about music, and this appearance with Musicfest is particularly special with its emphasis on the orchestration and iconic score.
“There’s no feeling in the world like it,” he says with wistful enthusiasm. “It’s like the big-wave surfers where a huge wave comes in and picks you up, and you’re just surfing along on this massive element of nature. You’re carried, in a way, by the vibration that comes out of the strings. It makes my job so much easier. I get to just relax and allow the story to come through and my voice to come through. It’s beautiful to just allow the music to happen.”
Conducting the Musicfest’s Pop Ensemble will be the organization’s resident artist, Josh Condon, who has experience leading more than 40 musical theater productions, symphony orchestra concerts, choirs, jazz ensembles and rock bands.
For Condon, it’s a chance to revisit the roots of influence for contemporary productions by the likes of Stephen Sondheim and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The instruments propel the story through the musical questions the audience is invited to wrestle with and turn about in their minds.
“Most of the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon is so well conceived,” observes Condon. “Hammerstein was very progressive for the time. I’ve heard it said that if you ever think you should take his writings at surface level, then you’re wrong. There’s always more than the veneer created that gives the initial beauty accessibility. He writes about nature and this evergreen meaning. There are always deeper meanings to the themes.”
“As a musical director, you sink your teeth into that. You have to tell that story and the dynamic of what’s going on and the development of the piece. It all has to come through, and the music serves it.”
Arizona Musicfest is bringing a bit of New York City Center’s Encores! series to Phoenix. Their mission is to revive and find original manuscripts for shows to recreate in their original formats, and Condon says these materials are “immaculate” in their arrangement. Another similarity to the Encores! series will be the fully visible presence of the 40-piece Musicfest Pops Ensemble on stage.
“We are doing something rarely done because most organizations performing in long-term theatrical runs don’t have budgets to carry an orchestra that is this large,” Condon says. “Musicfest emphasizes music, first and foremost.
“There’s something so important about being together, going to a show to be uplifted and inspired. I hope people will let the music wash over them as they engage with the storytelling and singing to connect with universality, solidarity and empathy. The audience is in for an incredible, memorable and rare experience.”
As the final notes of the “Carousel Waltz” fade, audiences will leave the Herberger captivated by the timeless power of this beloved musical, presented in full orchestral glory by celebrated performers.
More significantly, this production represents a milestone in Arizona Musicfest’s impressive growth trajectory — expanding from its North Scottsdale roots to establish a cultural footprint in downtown Phoenix. The concert series’ historic collaboration with the Herberger Theater Center signals an exciting new chapter for one of the Valley’s most treasured cultural institutions.
‘Carousel, A Concert’
April 26–27 // See website for times // Herberger Theater Center // 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix // $69+ // 602-252-8497 // herbergertheater.org
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