The cast of Chichester Festival's latest musical extravaganza have just done a run-through and it has left them, according to star Norman Bowman, feeling "emotionally rocked".

It's not a response people often have to a genre dominated by glitz and grins.

But then Carousel, as well as being voted the best musical of the 20th Century by Time magazine and the personal favourite of its creators Rodgers and Hammerstein, was also one of the first musicals to contain a tragic plot.

Adapted from Ferenc Molnar's play Liliom and later made into a film starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, Carousel is packed with rousing chorus numbers, from the classic anthem You'll Never Walk Alone to the inspiring crowd-pleaser June is Bustin' Out All Over.

Yet the plot, set in a freshly industrialised America, is dark, gritty and unsettling.

In 1870s New England, a demure young mill worker named Julie visits the town's carousel where she falls for its handsome but rough-and-ready barker, Billy. The two marry but the relationship turns sour when money worries drive Billy to violence and crime.

In a desperate ploy to improve their situation, he becomes involved in a doomed robbery and ends up stabbing himself rather than go to prison.

However, things take a turn for the fantastical when, 15 years later, Billy's ghost is allowed out on a day trip from limbo in order to visit Louise, the daughter he never knew.

"For me, having played a lot of these 'romantic leads', this one is a really interesting departure," says Bowman, who plays the anti-hero Billy. "There's nothing simple about this lad. Yes, he beats his wife but he's not a brute, he's not without feeling.

"My teacher at college said I sang like an angel but luckily for this part my voice has matured a bit now. I'm coming from an angle that's closer to my own dad, who didn't have a particularly close family connection, and when you don't have that it makes it harder for you to show emotion to your kids. Billy isn't a bad guy, he just has trouble communicating."

Directed by the BAFTA-nominated Angus Jackson, the large cast includes Roy Dotrice as The Starkeeper and members from some of the most popular West End musicals including Les Miserables, Cats and West Side Story.

Carousel has been choreographed by Javier de Frutos, renowned worldwide for his innovative approach, and includes a 15-minute ballet sequence by means of which Billy's daughter is introduced to the audience. But Bowman himself won't be doing any dancing.

"I don't think it would be very Billy Bigalowish, do you?" he laughs. "At one point he does refer to going dancing but that's with a girl. Strictly no jazz hands."

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