'Carousel': The Complexities Of Romance At Goodspeed

"Love is so intangible," says James Snyder who plays Billy Bigelow in the revival, now in previews and opening Aug. 1 at the East Haddam theater. "You know it when it's not there."

Teal Wicks, who plays Julie Jordan, says she recently saw the Tony Award-winning musical"Once" and completely believed in that mismatched romance because it wasn't "a typical love story."

Snyder says characters couples that struggle in their relationship — like the leading players in "Once" and "Carousel" — are ultimately the ones that are more satisfying on stage.

Rob Ruggiero, who directs Goodspeed's "Carousel," agrees, saying he is attracted to non-perfect romance like "Show Boat" and "Sunday in the Park with George," two musicals he recently directed. "The inability of the characters to fulfill a love is so emotional for me."

Says Snyder: "You want to root for these romances that shouldn't happen — but somehow did anyway."

In "Carousel" the unlikely romance is between Snyder's character, the raffish carousel barker, and Julie Jordan, the independent mill worker.

Wicks says she didn't know the musical very well and just superficially saw the character as "a cliche ingenue in a show with a lot of pretty music."

But then she discovered the dark undertones and began to see the character's complexities on a deeper level.

"She's very much a contemporary woman," says Wicks. "She is not your typical ingenue and that's why I love her."

Ruggiero calls the characters "two damaged people who are deeply in love with each other but their story is not played out in this lifetime. With damage from abandonment comes the feeling of not just, 'Am I capable of being loved?' but, 'Am I worthy of being loved?' There are fears and walls they build around themselves. But, in the end, their love is bigger than their fears, bigger than their histories and they give over to it."

In casting, Ruggiero says Snyder — who starred on Broadway in another "bad boy" role in "Cry-Baby" — has right the qualifications for the role."

"I knew our Billy had to be attractive, cocksure, confident, sexy and charismatic. But I needed someone I could tap into other levels and James brings a healthy ego, charm and a natural magnetism, but could also connect to some of the darkness. It's a great fit because he brings to the role some of the same doubts that Billy has.

Abusive Relationship

"As for Teal, she brings an old soul to the table. In no way is she a victim. She has a strength that comes from a real centered place. And there was also great chemistry between them."

Snyder says he's been lucky in his career to have directors see in him the sensitive side for roles that are tough on the outside but tender within.

"That's where 'Cry-Baby' links into 'Carousel,' "says Snyder. "They both have leading characters who are afraid to be loved, who think they can't be loved and who are unlovable in their own mind."

The role also required Snyder to "get rid of my go-to charming guy. I naturally approach things from a sweeter place and Billy is anything but sweet. He definitely is a savory dish."

Singing the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein soliloquy where his character comes to terms — with responsibility as he imagines a future life for his unborn child — also resonates with Snyder.

"Listen, I'm a poor actor and I've been married for two years. When Billy — who as a carousel barker is really a kind of an artist, too — sings about his little girl, I think about me, a bum with no money.

"My life is shifting, too, and there's nothing like a woman to anchor you and help you build a foundation and a family. In my personal life, I felt if I kept on playing games, too, and was gong to wake up one day and find that I have missed my chance at building something real. I'm 31 and I'm becoming a man, too. I'm stepping up. I'm becoming a leading man now. It's time for me to take roles like this one."

Snyder says he has a kindred spirit on multiple levels with Wicks, who is leaving the show on Aug. 4 to take a leading role in the national tour of the Broadway-bound revival of "Jekyll & Hyde."

"We're both from Sacramento," says Snyder. "It's easy to fall in love with her. She's gorgeous she sings like a bird and we approach acting from the same place. Plus, we have similar walls, similar masks,"

Like?

"Like I tend to put the charming guy forward, tempering it with a bit of self-deprecation. We both do that."

In finding the justification on why her character says with a man who is abusive, Wicks says they are similar souls.

• Teal Wicks To Exit Goodspeed "Carousel" After Opening
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• "Carousel" at Goodspeed Opera House: Everlasting Love...
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• Teal Wicks, James Snyder To Star In "Carousel" At Goodspeed
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• 'Carousel' Rolls Into Town
  May 1, 2008
• Love Springs Eternal In Timeless Musicals
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