Oklahoma!

"Oklahoma!" - the first collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, changed the American musical theatre landscape. Set in Western Indian Territory just after the turn of the 20th Century, the rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the backdrop for the romantic entanglements of cowboy Curly McLain, farm girl Laurey Williams, Ado Annie, Will Parker and Ali Hakim and the menacing farmhand Jud Fry.

BMT have a completely new production team for this show, with Director Megan Fitzpatrick making her debut as Director, Musical Director Samuel Warner, leading the music for BMT for the first time, and Samuel Mitchell choreographing his first full musical. The first thing to say is we had a thoroughly entertaining evening with you.

Oklahoma! is a more difficult to show to put on than many may expect and quite a challenge for any creative and production team. The good news (and the bad news) is that the show is so well-known and loved, so people are familiar with it and want it to succeed, but then they also have expectations on how it should be. Recent adaptations, like the 2019 Broadway version have taken a new and very successful angle, so the voice and angle of the director and the supporting team was of keen interest in this production.

The Set was fixed, open and quite minimalist to give the effect of the wide-open spaces of the Oklahoma plain, which was nicely depicted on the side and rear.  The wooden frame created Aunt Eller’s Porch steps really well. The barn-like slatted screen at the rear was an impressive structure and the hidden doors was a nice surprise and the Surrey. Other set dressing was generally pretty minimal too in style – a wheelbarrow for ‘Surrey with a fringe’, the suitcase option for Ali Hakim’s cart and a pull-out flat for Judd’s Smokehouse. The advantage here was the potential for quick scene changes, which were completed by the cast in general and were pretty slick, keeping a good flow to the show.

The wide-open space worked really well for the dance numbers, enabling it to be maximised really well. It did present a few issues in the group dialogue scenes, where a little height would have probably helped out with some masking challenges (though you did have a go at this with the step ladder!).

Lighting was well-cued and controlled. You saved most of your dramatic work for the Ballet, which was beautifully lit, with some great colouring and effects and one of the highlights of the whole production. Elsewhere the lighting was deliberately subtle, which the rear slatting made good use of. With a very open stage and a long show I occasionally felt some more localised lighting for a solo or a greater change of effect for a song (‘Lonely Room’ as an example) may have helped audience interest, but that is just my personal view. I could see what you were doing, and you executed it very well!

Sound was all well-managed overall – radio microphones were well-controlled and other sound requirements and effects satisfactorily in-place. Balance of the production between the soloists, the cast and the band was very good.

While we have mentioned the music, the Orchestra, in the closed pit and under the control of Sam Warner produced a good sound, which greatly enhanced the production, whilst not overpowering the singers. Dynamics worked well and though there were a few minor issues with some very awkward speed changes with some principals, speed and timing were in general well-managed. Well done.

There were some modern twists to the costumes with the use of culottes for some of the women, which I’m sure was more practical for some of the choreography. I liked the costumes in the Dream Sequence, it really enhanced the good/evil theme. Props were in general where and how they should have been.

The choreography was well thought out and pitched at an appropriate level, we particularly enjoyed the Dream Sequence which I find sometimes can drag a little, but certainly didn’t in this performance, it told the story well and was well executed. The movement in ‘It’s a Scandal’ was also particularly memorable. In fact, some additional choreography was added to numbers like ‘Kansas City’ and ‘All or Nothin’ giving you an increased workload, so well done. You could see you’d based a lot of the choreography around key themes, that you were able to weave in and out of multiple numbers.

It was evident that everyone involved were fully invested in their roles and committed to bringing the story to life, with so much energy. This is a key strength of BMT that we’ve noticed from show to show.  Certain scenes, particularly the big ensemble numbers like "Farmer and The Cowman'" and "Oklahoma!", were performed full out and captured the spirit of the musical. The ensemble executed the given choreography enthusiastically and were clearly enjoying themselves.

In reviewing the Principal Characters:

Laurey: A very strong performance, you showed all the aspects of Laurey’s character well, with some lovely vocals and some great facial expressions.

Curley: Some lovely vocals, I maybe would like to have seen some more of Curley’s “cockiness” Be sure to not let the Southern accent detract from clear diction the dialogue.

Jud Fry/. A different take on than the normal portrayal of Judd – both nicer (and cleaner) to change the love triangle dynamics. I feel I have to mention the line lapse and the subsequent response, it’s so important to try and keep your composure and not show to the audience if you make a mistake. I do however totally understand the fear when you blank like that and well done for gathering yourself and continuing.

Aunt Eller: I really enjoyed this performance. There were some lovely moments I noticed when others were the central focus, and you were responding in the background.

Andrew Carnes. Another strong performance well executed and will some nicely delivered humour.

Will Parker. An energetic performance with some moments of real charm and sincerity.

Ado AnnieA different take on t. his character, a more “knowing” feel in the performance. A lovely tone in your voice, in contrast to the character’s usual style.

Ali Hakim - the decision to cast a female actor in the traditionally male role of Ali Hakim presented an interesting approach to this character. You brought your own unique interpretation to the role. It’s great to explore gender-fluid casting and challenge traditional norms as long as it maintains or enhances the narrative throughout. We perhaps weren’t so sure of this in this case, but others may have a different opinion and experimenting and trying out new approaches is very much what Amateur Theatre is about.

Gertie Cummings. I really enjoyed your performance, I also particularly liked how the character continued in the ensemble scenes. I have seen so many Gerties come on do the laugh as in the script and that’s that. I could hear that laugh throughout the dance numbers and ensemble scenes which was great.

Cord Elam. Another well portrayed performance – your lone voice in the final scene certainly made us all consider the events that had unfurled.

Well done everyone – you were quite clearly all enjoying yourselves and the audience clearly enjoyed themselves too!   Congratulations to the creative time of Megan and the two Sams - a difficult undertaking with one of Musical Theatre’s best loved and most significant shows, but you managed to successfully tell the story with some different takes on the characters and still take the audience with you. This is no easy feat.

We look forward to your future productions!

As an addition, your programme is truly excellent- one of the best we’ve seen for some time – very well done. We’d love to see your high standard of programmes entered in the NODA programme competition, though for that it would need NODA mentioned within it and a few other minor points. We can send you the criteria if it helps. As well as regional awards, programmes can go through to the national awards too.

 

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE:

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that his assessment will be effected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

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