Oklahoma

Myself and my guest went along on a rainy, cold evening to NWTAC Theatre to see North Manchester AODS`s production of Oklahoma. Inside it was lovely and warm as was our welcome from NMAODS`s Chairman, Paul Allcock. NWTAC is quite a small intimate theatre space with the orchestra and Musical Director, Jon Gibson, being in a clump in front of the stage to the very right hand side as the audience looks. Jon kept his musicians at good pace and the sound balance between music and dialogue was good. The vocals from Principal cast members were solid and strong with some lovely intonations. I particularly enjoyed how Sarah Bartlett (Ado Annie Carnes) kept up her accent within her vocals. The sound throughout the show was solid with no gremlins or drops, projection from the cast was also good. The lighting by Mark Beaumont was good with an obvious connection to what was happening in the dialogue  - the passage of time was evident, the dark oppressiveness in the smokehouse and surrounding Adrian Davis (Jud Fry) came across well. The set (again by Mark Beaumont) had to be reasonably compact due to the stage  size, so trucks were utilised and I was especially impressed with the way the smokehouse was put together. Props by Catherine King were handled competently by the cast and were fitting to the era. Costumes supplied by The Boyz  were bright and cheerful, although I personally did feel that Tori Lewis`s (Laurey Williams) denim dungarees and checked shirt looked a bit too modern, but that could just be me.

Choreography by Jayde Rylance was refreshing, it was great to see the gentlemen in the cast do some “two stepping” and the dream sequence was ethereal.

Nick Lowe as Ali Hakim brought his comedic side to the fore. He was a pleasure to watch, he used his stage space well and made sure all his sight lines were clear at all times, he automatically angled himself and whoever he was acting with  perfectly. The chemistry between Ali and Ado Annie (Sarah Bartlett) was evident. They kept some great pace and both gave us some superb facial expressions. Adam Cornett as Will Parker was a great foil to Ali and they also kept good pace.  Phil Callaghan as Curly McClain was beautifully paired with Tori Lewis as Laurey Williams, their voices blended well in their duets and their solo numbers were consistently strong and solid with some good diction and enunciation, they were very believable in their characterisations.  Adrian Davison as Jud Fry definitely made the character his own with his stomping and scowling black looks at everyone, but personally I would have liked to have seen Adrian give a bit more anger and darkness – I do however acknowledge that this is Adrian`s very first musical and I sincerely hope not his last. Rebecca Tonge as Gertie Cummings showed us some great comedy timing, she really immersed herself in her characterisation and looked to be having fun on the stage.

Oklahoma is an all or nothing show and North Manchester AODS certainly looked to be giving their all in their performance and, judging by the resounding audience applause, they thought so too! Thank you for inviting me. Myself and my guest enjoyed your performance.  

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.