OKLAHOMA!

This musical was the first from the collaboration of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II.
Set in 1907 in Indian territory, soon to become Oklahoma, and based on Lynn Riggs’ 1931 play “Green grow the Lilacs”, it premiered on Broadway in 1943 and was slammed by critics with – “No legs, no jokes, no chance!”  However it ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances and has enjoyed numerous award winning professional revivals and amateur productions since then.
Vincent Vyce’s set was well made – 2 reversible cabins, a tall windmill, white picket fence ( pity it was missing for the final scene) and a simply painted general view backdrop. Props were all suitable – rocking chair, milk churn, smokehouse full of tack etc and a pretty flower-decorated ‘surrey’ for the finale. Costumes from Utopia were lovely although I would have preferred Jud to wear a darker shirt or jacket in keeping with his character. Wigs and hairstyles were all suitable for the period with matching ribbons for the young girls – I was fascinated by the long white hair of a certain banjo player!!
Sound balance was good and Lighting effective in both day and night light.

First to appear was Gillian McQuade as Aunt Eller, sitting in her rocking chair knitting! She captured the character of the rough but warm hearted aunt of Laurey and succeeded in bringing out the fun in the role. “Oh What a beautiful Morning” by Joshua Martin heralded the entrance of Curly – the handsome young cowboy who fancies Laurey but won’t admit it. Joshua had a very pleasing voice, confident manner and good stage presence. As a central character, he displayed a good rapport with other actors – especially Aideen Fox who played Laurey. She was the perfect independent but innocent girl and her vocals were just beautiful. A lovely performance.
Asleigh Gault was an energetic and comedic Ado Annie, matched perfectly to Jordan Walsh as the not very bright Will Parker. Both sang and danced well and brought much laughter to the show. Sean Harkin clearly enjoyed his role as Persian salesman Ali Hakim, bringing more comedy and some innuendo to the colourful character! As Jud Fry, Colin Boyd brought contrast to the piece in a dark and menacing way. The underlying atmosphere in his smokehouse scene with Curly was palpably angry and unsettling and he sang “The Lonely Room” with great intensity. His death was extremely well managed and I was glad to see the “blood” appear on his chest. Bryony Randal employed a truly awful laugh as Gertie  Cummings – somewhere between a guffaw and a cry of pain – and continued as an obnoxious loud mouthed girl throughout!  As Andrew Carnes, Andrew Scott brandished his shotgun with alarming alacrity and often brought the minor character expertly to notice. As he remarked in his biog. – he is fast becoming an excellent “older man” because of prematurely greying hair! Other smaller roles were well cast with many good singing voices. The Chorus was always well focused and in good voice. Dancers were particularly delightful in “Out of my Dreams” and the Dream Ballet was everything it should be – both graceful and raunchy in turn.

MD Wilson’s 10 piece band gave a strong lead but did not overcome. Some changes in orchestration were easily incorporated. Oprah’s choreography was fresh and innovative. In such a well-known show it is difficult to be different but I was pleased not to see the same old moves for “Oklahoma!”, and “The Farmer and the Cowman” was a whirlwind of dancing energy. Director Wilfie (newly awarded MBE) put great pace and energy into the show to give new life to a true classic. He made sure that the actors spoke with the correct dialect but never so strong as to not be understood. Story and music were truly intertwined.

My thanks to everyone involved with Oklahoma! – on and off stage.  I was thoroughly entertained.

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