Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel returns to the stage where it originated 80 years ago. If you’re hoping for a simulacrum of the first preview, forget it—as Stephen Sondheim vividly recalled, the cast then included a Mr. and Mrs. God, celestial observers who quickly gave way to a fellow called The Starkeeper, up by the Pearly Gates. But archaeology is plainly the last thing on the new production team’s mind. “As we view this material through our contemporary social lens,” the director Anne Bogart writes, “we must confront its problematic themes—domestic violence, cycles of poverty and crime, suicide, and toxic masculinity—issues that resonate strongly into today’s social and political climate. As artists and audiences alike engage with challenging subject matter, we are invited to question characters like Billy Bigelow—a morally ambiguous protagonist whose flaws prompt us to examine our own attractions to danger. This reflection is crucial as we navigate our own dilemmas in a world fraught with complexity.” In short, there will be no nostalgia for the naïveté of yesteryear. That said, best beware naïveté in our time. Problematic themes? Questioning characters? Here’s hoping Bogart isn’t setting sail to discover America. Just bring the drama to life, and the platitudinizing will fall away. For the record, the original choreography by Agnes de Mille is out the window, clearing the deck for new steps by Shura Baryshnikov. —Matthew Gurewitsch