Produced by The Kennedy Center

Reviewed by Gary McMillan

 Michael Arnold (center) as Jacquot with the cast of Carnival!.  (Photo: Joan Marcus)

Carnival! is seldom staged, so I awaited the Kennedy Center’s production with great anticipation, never having seen the show nor heard the full score. When the show debuted on Broadway in 1961, it had a successful run of over seven hundred performances. It received several Tony Award nominations, including best musical and best book, but was passed over for a music (composer) nomination. Hmm. Since the meat of a musical is the music, I wondered if the show would be more sizzle than steak. This made me all the more curious. [Read more...]