My HS did this one. I was in the Orchestra pit, sawing away on my fiddle, so I don't really remember much about the plot. I remember it was kind of rapey, but what wasn't back then?

However: JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER, ALL OVER THE MEADOWS AND THE FIELDS.

oh, and YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE, YOU'LL NE-VER WALK A-LOOONE.

so not all bad!

UGH!!! Yeah, I'm thinking I'd MUCH RATHER walk alone than walk with wives-and-children beaters..
In these days of global warming: "February is busting all over, all over..." My cherry & camellia trees are flowering!
I also loathe "The Taming of the Shrew" and that rapey "Gone with the Wind". Frankly My Dears, "I don't give a Damn" About Rapey Rhett.
We asked to do HAIR, and was made to do the RacistsRUs "King and I"; sans Yul, so no saving grace whatsoever.

The phrase "real nice clambake" is the best takeaway from this bizarro musical. I can't believe it hasn't been reworked for modern sensibilities.

R & H often re-purposed their songs. "Getting To Know You" from "The King and I" was originally written for "South Pacific". If you like "Our Town" check out R & H's " Allegro ". It totally bombed on Broadway but you can find a new recording of it on Spotify. "Carousel" is bleak, with the exception of The Sub-Plot where Mister and Missus Snow prove The American Dream can come true if you make all the right choices.Is "Carousel" any bleaker than "Rent" or that nasty loud musical about the schizophrenic mother/wife?( --the only thing going there was the actor who played the son was smoking hot---) The big deal about a R & H's musicals was their new approach to telling a story, integrating the songs to move the plot along or to develop characters. Now it's the directors' interpretation of dated material that makes the whole revival thing interesting. Bartlett Sher's 2009 revival of "South Pacific" was astonishingly beautiful.
He stayed true to the original, like returning to the twenty-something piece pit orchestra. I'll be forever grateful to The Fifth Avenue Theatre for booking that touring company. In 1994 I saw Lincoln Center's revival of " Carousel ". It was brilliant and startling because the director took major chances like using " color blind " casting--The Snow's were played by black actors for instance--song tempos were changed to emphasize hope, the physical abuse wasn't condoned as much as it was played to be tragic, heartbreaking. It sounds as if The Fifth Avenue Theatre deserves praise for taking an old, difficult standard and giving it some new energy.

We used to call that song "You'll Never Walk Again." In my head, I still do.

@geraldpcarlin: Do you recall the title of " that nasty loud musical about the schizophrenic mother/wife?" I'm just curious.

@Tampadink: I believe that would be "Next to Normal."

Yes, Carousel is really weird plot-wise, but of the whole R&H canon it really does have the best music of any of their shows. I captured the Lincoln Center production of two years ago and some of the music is beyond great. The soliloquy from the end of act I is classic as is the short number "Highest Judge of All" towards the end of the second act II. I think sometimes you have to just ignore the plot and just appreciate it for the sake of the music. The truth is that Richard Rodgers wrote some of the best music for the musical theater of the 20th century. I would much rather listen to a Rodgers score than the drek that Andrew Lloyd Weber who likes to "borrow" from Puccini pumps out.

Carousel gave us You'll Never Walk Alone which in a round a bout way via Gerry and the Pacemakers led to the greatest sing along in all of sports by the Liverpool supporters at Anfield Park. For that contribution alone I give it two thumbs up.

In terms of rapey musicals, does anything top Seven Brides For Seven Brothers? Or for individual moments, that time in Oliver when a woman gets beaten and sings, As Long As He Needs Me.

Ugh. I HATE Carousel. Granted, the only performance I ever saw was a small-town community production, but the singers and musicians did a nice job. I just hated everything about the plot, and most of the songs. I'm a big musical theater nerd and I just couldn't stand it.