History will repeat itself when Longwood Amateur Operatic Society raises the curtain on its latest production, Carousel, at the Lawrence Batley Theatre next month.

For the company was the first amateur operatic society to appear on the stage of the theatre, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year.

“Ours was the first-ever musical there,” says Phil Danielson, Longwood AOS publicity officer, “the theatre was so new that the paint on the fire doors was still making them stick.

“We had really good audiences because everybody came to see the new theatre. Suddenly we had all this comfort behind the scenes, with dressing rooms, and a stage with a lot of room on it.”

The show 21 years ago was Broadway Pirates, a jazzed-up version of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance, but this time the amateurs are offering up the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic Carousel, a tale of corruption and redemption that is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Rodgers declared it his favourite musical and many of its songs have gone on to become much-loved and iconic, particularly the anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Longwood has performed Carousel twice before in its eight decades. This year’s show has a real family feel about it, with half the 40-strong cast under the age of 18.

As chairman Kay Royston explained: “There are a lot of family groups in the amateurs. My own daughter Jayne Davison joined as a teenager, was a dancer and has directed a show. My grand-daughter Amy Davison-Quinn was in the society and her daughter Caitlyn, who is 10, is now a dancer and singer.

“The show’s choreographer Lynn Clarkson has two daughters in the show. Her daughter Zoe is playing Carrie. And their father David is involved as well.”

With so many children in the show, rehearsals have been complicated affairs with chaperones needed for the younger members of the cast.

However, Phil says the choice to perform Carousel was taken partly because it involved young singers and actors. As he explained: “We try to pick shows that are for the benefit of members and their families. We don’t just do a show because it is the latest release, we do them to suit who we have. And if we don’t bring these youngsters into the shows then amateur theatre doesn’t have a future. It shows them at an early age what work goes into a show, backstage as well as on it.”

Rehearsals for the production, which will cost the amateurs around £25,000 to stage, began back in May.

The leading character Billy Bigelow is being played by Andrew Bailey, with other leads taken by Holly Comber-Moccia (as Billy’s love interest Julie Jordan) and Richard Armstrong. Colin Harris, who has been connected with Longwood for many years, is directing. The musical director for the production is Adam Boniface and the accompanist is Scott Kitchen – both of whom are newcomers to the society.

Carousel opens on Tuesday, October 6, and runs until Saturday, October 10. Tickets are from £8 to £17 and can be booked at www.thelbt.org.uk or by calling 01484 430528.