Tony Neidenbach and Skye Mattox (Maria Baranova)

By DCist contributor Elena Goukassian

Arena Stage’s Artistic Director Molly Smith calls Carousel, “the Hamlet of American musicals.” Directing her company’s take on the classic, Smith leads a solid production whose strength lies in its dancing.

Of all of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals, Carousel may well be the most complex, following characters beyond love to parenthood, betrayal, and even death and purgatory.

In the round at Arena’s Fichandler Stage, the stage takes on the appearance of a carousel, with a dozen musicians floating on a gazebo-like structure above the main stage, creating the illusion of a carousel roof—complete with bright light bulbs and a rotating circular platform on the stage directly below. If there’s one thing Arena always gets right, it’s set design.

Nicholas Rodriguez, as bad boy Billy Bigelow, is the undeniable star of the show, easily upstaging Betsy Morgan, who plays Julie Jordan, his love interest. Although as a couple they have little chemistry—they share a hilariously awkward stage kiss—they’re both great singers and dancers.

The singing is consistently good throughout the production, as is the small orchestra, which sounds almost larger than life. But the highlight of the show is the dancing.

The cast handles Carousel’s many dance numbers with ease. The audience can’t help but grin during the extended production of “June is Bustin’ Out All Over,” and the actors playing the carousel horses—dancing with their riders while nickering and throwing back their manes—are a delight. Toward the end of the show, Skye Mattox performs a moving rendition of Louise Bigelow’s big dance number on the beach.

In fact, this production’s success is largely due to its spectacular supporting cast, which also includes very convincing performances by E. Faye Butler as saucy carousel-owner Mrs. Mullin and Kate Rockwell as Julie’s naïve best friend, Carrie Pipperidge.

Though solid overall, this production could use a few tweaks. Despite the wonderful human horses, the play struggles due to a lack of props: when characters drink coffee or play cards, their movements look more like marking than miming. More importantly, many of the actors’ Maine accents are a mess, often veering into Southern territory. Certain cast members may have been better off playing their characters with their own, real dialects.

Yet regardless of its shortcomings, Carousel is always a pleasure to watch, particularly when the dancing is this good.

Carousel is at Arena Stage through December 24. Buy tickets here.