Photo © Gerry Goodstein

Simplicity and an abundance of charm dominate a rare musical turn by the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, opening a 40th anniversary season with the 1961 musical "Carnival." With some clever innovation and atmospheric continental flavor, artistic director Bonnie J. Monte has put a sweet new spin on the flavorful old tuner.

Robert Cuccioli is well cast as the bitter, war-crippled puppeteer. Snarling and sullen, he brings a dark, brooding presence to the tacky world of a traveling carnival. As Lili, the little watchmaker's daughter, Kate Dawson...is a most fetching orphan, and ultimately an appealing and spirited heroine. What's more, Dawson sings beautifully, taking the lyrical strains of "Love Makes the World Go Round," Yes, My Heart" and the haunting "Mira" to glorious heights."

The sympathetic carrot-topped clown, the cynical fox, the haughty [Marguerite] and the sentimental walrus - don't call him a seal! - are immensely likeable and diverting companions....Like the gullible little Lili, the audience is drawn closer to the charm and simple wisdom of the chummy puppets.

Bob Merrill's score is richly varied and musically colorful...The songs are well served by the cast, and Cuccioli's robust baritone in particular turns "Her Face," "She's My Love," and "Everybody Likes You" into boldly soaring melodic statements.

In a rare musical sidestep for the festival, director Monte has flavored the piece with the colorful presence of stilt-walkers, strong men, souvenir peddlers and a diminutive acrobatic dwarf who scurries in and out under the legs of carny roustabouts. Monte has set the piece at the tail end of the 19th century, somewhere in provincial France.

Shakespeare Festival celebrates with 'Carnival!'
By ALLEN CROSSETT, Drama Critic
Madison Eagle
June 13, 2002

'Love Makes the World Go Round" is heard again and again during Carnival! for love is what this musical is all about. Audiences at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival in Madison, where this show is enjoying a rare revival, are loving what they see.

On a midway somewhere in France about a hundred years ago, we meet Marco the Magnificent, a magician with tricks up his sleeve, who loves The Incomparable Rosalie, his assistant, although there are moments when both have other interests. And there's B.F. Schlegel, who loves his Grand Imperial Cirque de Paris, although it's neither grand nor imperial.

At the heart of this love story, however, are two very lonely people. There's Lili, the pretty young orphan who comes to the carnival desperate for a job, and Paul, a crippled puppeteer. She is naive and he is bitter, and you know from the moment they first set eyes on each other that sooner or later, because this is musical comedy, somehow their love will prevail.

Carnival! starring Anna Maria Alberghetti opened on Broadway in 1961, directed by Gower Champion with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill and a book by Michael Stewart. Bonnie J. Monte, who directs this Festival offering, provides program notes explaining that this show was inspired by the film Lili, starring Leslie Caron, which was in turn inspired by a Paul Gallico story in the Saturday Evening Post that was inspired by the television show Kukla, Fran and Ollie and its creators Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison.

That's a lot of inspiration. But the link here is the puppets and the idea that a mechanical doll can be outwardly loveable and express true affection even when the puppeteer is suffering terribly. At the start of this "Grand Magic" season at the Festival, here's the metaphor that may tie the entire season together.

Literature is filled with characters who wear "masks" of one sort or another, and in our lives as well, maybe love really is the only power that can heal the crippled soul.

Providing good support to Monte's creative theatricality are the contributions of musical director Jan Rosenberg, who has assembled a nine-piece orchestra that generates a full and rich sound, and choreographer Keely Garfield, who infuses energy into some clever musical numbers.

Merrill's score is pleasant but it does not have the depth of a South Pacific or Carousel. And because there's not much to remember beyond "Love Makes the World Go Round," the staging becomes all the more important. Monte also gets good help from set designer Janie Howland and especially lighting designer Steven Rosen.

Then there's the cast, with some familiar faces who would be welcome at the Festival no matter what show they were in. Robert Cuccioli, who starred in Enter the Guardsman and Antony and Cleopatra in Madison and in Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway, returns to portray the embittered puppeteer Paul Berthalet.

There is an awesome strength in his character, and his voice, without amplification, easily fills the intimate theater. Early in the first act he sings "I've Got to Find a Reason," a song that asks some very basic questions like Who am I? and What is the meaning of my life? and Cuccioli delivers this number with a power that would serve as a most fulfilling climax to most other musicals.

Paul Mullins, another Festival favorite, gives us a Marco the Magnificent who's less a rake and more a snake. He appears looking like a black-haired Einstein with curled mustache, and he uses his penetrating eyes and elastic body to define his captivating character.

In the role of Lili, Kate Dawson sings beautifully, and smiles and smiles and smiles, and she has a wonderful duet with Cuccioli in Act II that is one of the show's best moments. Pay close attention, as well, to the work of Michael Medeiros as Paul's partner, Jacquot, for here is a supporting character with enormous talent. Tina Stafford also does a good job in the role of Rosalie.

Because of the importance of puppets in this musical, and because many of the performers should have the special skills of actual carnival characters, Carnival! is not done very often. Give credit to the Festival for reviving this show, and for initiating its 40th season with a musical that introduces the provocative themes we'll be exploring through December.

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