Matthew Hydzik, Jarrod Emick, Charlotte d’Amboise, and Tony Roberts complete principal cast of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL

Lyric Opera of Chicago announced casting for the remaining principal roles in its new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Matthew Hydzik will portray Enoch Snow alongside Tony Award winner Jarrod Emick as Jigger Craigin, two-time Tony Award nomineeCharlotte d’Amboise as Mrs. Mullin, and two-time Tony Award nominee Tony Roberts as the Starkeeper. Carousel will run April 10 to May 3 at the Civic Opera House.

Hydzik, Emick, d’Amboise, and Roberts join fellow Broadway stars Steven Pasquale, Laura Osnes, and Jenn Gambatese, who will portray Billy Bigelow, Julie Jordan and Carrie Pipperidge, and opera star Denyce Graves as Nettie Fowler in this new production directed and choreographed by Tony, Emmy, and Olivier Award winner Rob Ashford.

“We are delighted to welcome these four acclaimed actors to our cast of Carousel,” said Lyric’s general director Anthony Freud. “Matthew Hydzik, Jarrod Emick, Charlotte d’Amboise, and Tony Roberts are all celebrated for their work on Broadway, and we’re excited to see their portrayals of some of American musical theater’s most iconic and classic characters in Lyric’s new production of the work.”

Matthew Hydzik recently starred in Broadway’s critically celebrated revival of Side Show as song-and-dance man Buddy Foster. Other Broadway credits include Tony in West Side Story, under the direction of the musical’s playwright, Arthur Laurents. Before that, he scored his first role on Broadway as Kenickie in the most recent revival of Grease, directed by Kathleen Marshall. Shortly after graduating from Penn State University with a BFA in Musical Theatre, he toured nationally and internationally with the musicals Rent (10th Anniversary Tour), Grease, and Fame 

Jarrod Emick is a Tony Award, Drama Desk, and Theatre Award winner for portrayal of Joe Hardy in the 1994 production of Damn Yankees. Additional original cast productions include The Full Monty (Prince of Wales Theatre, West End premiere), Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Boy from Oz (opposite Hugh Jackman), and Ring of Fire (also featuring Grammy-winning artist Lari White). National tours include Miss Saigon (opened in Chicago) and Les Misérables. Emick most recently starred as Captain von Trapp in the Casa Manaña (Fort Worth, Texas) production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music.

Charlotte d’Amboise recently closed a two-year run in the Broadway revival of Pippin, for which she won her second Astaire Award for excellence in dance on Broadway. She has been a frequent Roxie in the long-running hit Chicago. Twice she has received Tony Award nominations as Best Supporting Actress in a Musical: first, in 1989, for her work in Jerome Robbins’s Broadway and again for her show-stopping performance as Cassie in the hugely successful 2007 revival of A Chorus Line. Other leading Broadway roles include: Contact, Company, Can Can, Song & Dance, and Cats, her Broadway debut.

Tony Roberts starred on Broadway in The Royal Family, Xanadu, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Victor, Victoria, Cabaret, The Sisters Rosensweig,They’re Playing Our Song, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Sugar, How Now, Dow Jones, Promises, Promises, Play It Again, Sam, and more than a dozen others. He has received two Tony Award nominations, and was the winner of the Critic’s Poll Award for his performance in Promises, Promises in London. He also starred in both the original and the recent Broadway revival of Barefoot in the Park. He can be seen on screen in Annie Hall, Play It Again, Sam, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and many others. His television work includes Arthur Miller’s The American Clock, Saul Bellow’sSeize the Day, The Carol Burnett Show, and his own series for NBC: Rosetti & Ryan.

Previously announced cast members for Carousel are Steven Pasquale as carousel barker Billy Bigelow, Laura Osnes as his true love, millworker Julie Jordan, Jenn Gambatese as Carrie Pipperidge, and Denyce Graves as Nettie Fowler. Pasquale most recently triumphed on Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County with Kelli O’Hara and is currently appearing on CBS’s The Good Wife. A two-time Tony nominee, Osnes most recently starred on Broadway in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Gambatese returns to Lyric after her highly praised portrayal of Maria in last season’s production of The Sound of Music. Internationally acclaimed opera star Denyce Graves will make her musical theater debut with this production, singing the iconic “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Graves is well known to Lyric audiences for her title-role portrayal of Bizet’s Carmen.

Carousel will be directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford, who made his Lyric debut in the 2013-14 season directing a new production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Ashford is the choreographer for the 87th Academy Awards, airing on February 22. He recently co-directed Macbeth at the Park Avenue Armory with Kenneth Branagh and directed NBC’s recent live musical hits Peter Pan Live! and The Sound of Music Live!. Conductor David Chase makes his Lyric debut with Carousel, and will lead members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Chase is a regular collaborator with Ashford; he was music director for The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live!, as well as the recent Broadway revival of  How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which was directed and choreographed by Ashford. Artist Paolo Ventura will make his theatrical debut as set designer. Tony Award-winning Catherine Zuber is costume designer, returning to Lyric after her company debut with Ashford’s Barber. Lighting will be designed by Neil Austin, and Michael Black will be chorus master.

Carousel is the third Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to be presented as part of Lyric’s American Musical Theater Initiative. The King and I andSouth Pacific follow in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, respectively. Past productions were Oklahoma! in the 2012-13 season and The Sound of Music in the 2013-14 season. 

Carousel runs Friday, April 10 through Sunday, May 3, 2015 (26 performances, including one preview) at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago. Tickets start at $29, and are now available at lyricopera.org/carousel or at 312-827-5600.  The official press opening for Carousel isSaturday, April 11 at 7pm.

The April 11 opening night performance of Carousel will be broadcast on 98.7WFMT streamed on wfmt.com on Sunday, April 12 at 7:15pm.

The new Lyric Opera production of Carousel is generously made possible by The Negaunee Foundation, an Anonymous Donor, Robert S. and Susan E. Morrison, Mr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Reyes, Liz Stiffel, Mrs. Herbert A. Vance and Mr. and Mrs. William C. Vance, and Jim and Vicki Mills/Jon and Lois Mills.

About Lyric

Founded in 1954, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great opera. Lyric exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to Chicago and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form.

Lyric is dedicated to producing and performing consistently thrilling, entertaining, and thought-provoking opera with a balanced repertoire of core classics, lesser-known masterpieces, and new works; to creating an innovative and wide-ranging program of community engagement and educational activities; and to developing exceptional emerging operatic talent.

Under the leadership of general director Anthony Freud, music director Sir Andrew Davis, and creative consultant Renée Fleming, Lyric strives to become the great North American Opera Company for the 21st century: a globally significant arts organization embodying the core values of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility.