It may sound unlikely, but Albert Einstein and the musical Carousel have something in common. Both were Time magazine's choice of the most outstanding of the 20th century: Einstein the person of the century, Carousel, the best musical. The timing of the magazine's choice of Carousel is fortuitous for The Light Opera Group of the Negev (LOGON) which is staging the 1945 classic this season.

In explaining its choice (the runners-up were Guys and Dolls and Evita) Time wrote: "Rodgers and Hammerstein set the standard for the 20th-century musical, and this show features their most beautiful score and the most skillful and affecting example of their musical storytelling." LOGON'S musical director David Waldman agrees. "I think it's a balance between classical and popular music. It has everything, really: beautiful melodies and a good story.

Most musicals have a fairly trivial story line, but the plot of Carousel is more operatic in its themes," says Waldman. And like opera, there is very little dialogue in Carousel, the story of Billy Bigelow, a rough barker at an amusement park in a 19th-century New England whaling town. For those who grew up in English-speaking countries, the music of Carousel will probably be very familiar.

Most of the songs in the musical have become classics: "If I Loved You," "You'll Never Walk Alone," "June is Bustin' Out All Over," and the poignant narrative soliloquy "My Boy Bill." The last is powerfully sung by Stephen Howden, who has played the lead male in the last four LOGON productions. Formed 20 years ago in the town of Omer, near Beersheba, LOGON initially provided a vehicle for local amateur actors and singers to put on Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. In the ensuing years, the troupe performed much of the Gilbert and Sullivan oeuvre.

Five years ago, however, the company decided to put on shows with a broader audience appeal, and began producing American musicals. So far the group has presented Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, The Most Happy Fella, and The Pajama Game. While the director and musical director of LOGON are professionals, the company is mainly made up of enthusiastic non-professionals from throughout the Negev region.

The actors playing the lead parts in Carousel include a physician, teacher, kibbutz factory manager, a psychiatric nurse and two clinical psychologists. (The latter is unrelated to the fact that the 50-member troupe and musicians

rehearse at Beersheba's Psychiatric Hospital, which donated the use of its hall to the group.) The director and choreographer of Carousel is Rosa Howden, who choreographed the last three LOGON productions in which she also starred opposite her husband, Stephen. "Carousel is not a boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl sort of show," comments Howden.

"It's very different from the point of view of story line. It's topical, with its reference to domestic abuse, but it is also full of humor and hope." Some might also call it sentimental, but then, that's part of the show's charm. Carousel's charm also derives from the fact that there are lots of children performing in the musical - all of whom are from the Beersheba area.

Of more than 30 aspiring child actors who auditioned, 12 were chosen. They perform - singing and dancing - in alternating "teams," as dictated by law, so that they won't be out late too many evenings. The Light Opera Group of the Negev is one of a network of semi-professional English-language theatrical groups in Israel, but the only one producing fully staged musicals.

Native English-speaking theatergoers in the country appear to be a dying race, particularly outside the major cities.

So who is the audience for these shows? "In the earlier productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas the audience tended to be older," recalls Waldman. "There aren't many young native English speakers these days.

But now that we've begun putting on more modern musicals, we're starting to see younger people coming to the performances, including non-Anglo Israelis, and even some Russian speakers." (For the last two years simultaneous translations into Hebrew have been projected on a screen above the stage.) Director Rosa Howden recounts her astonishment at being recognized as the star of last year's Pajama Game by a decidedly non-Anglo Egged bus driver in her hometown of Ashkelon. "'That was a great show!' he said to me as I was getting off the bus. 'We can't wait for the next one.' You could have knocked me over, I was so surprised," says Howden.

"I think that our reputation precedes us now, even in Ashkelon, and a more varied audience is coming to the performances."