Conversation so far:
What year was production?
1945.
Who was the producer?
CANNOTANSWER.
Where was this first performed?
It played for five months in Chicago alone.
Who played in it?
The original cast included John Raitt (Billy), Jan Clayton (Julie), Jean Darling (Carrie), Eric Mattson (Enoch Snow).
Who wrote this?
CANNOTANSWER.
were there any issues during early production?
Rodgers had injured his back the previous week, and he watched the opening from a stretcher propped in a box behind the curtain.

Question: What else interesting happened during this time?
Self-contained rewrite: Besides the original cast of Carousel including John Raitt , Jan Clayton, Jean Darling, Eric Mattson, what else interesting happened during early production?