OKlahoma!

This classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical set around the 1907 birth of Oklahoma state and the rivalry of the farmers and cowmen is packed with iconic songs and has a tale of hope over adversity, It is always good to see a classic musical brought back to life and brought to a new generation both through the opportunity to perform in it and as audience members.

The set was bright and lots of effort had been made to portray the warm farming environment. The design ensured that there was no hold up in the scene changes which is a bonus especially with a 90 minute first act.  The lighting complimented the production well creating atmosphere and highlighting the story telling therefore reducing the need for scene changes. The sound quality was good and clear. Costumes were colourful and in keeping with the era and it was noticeable that the cast had made an effort with the period style footwear.

Music accompaniment was provided by a three piece band but I personally missed the fuller accompaniment that the score has especially in the underscoring and the big production numbers; singing throughout was delivered with enthusiasm and confidence. The choreography, from high energy barn dance to graceful ballet, was intersting to watch and well delivered with everyone involved secure in their steps and portraying the emotion that Helen had intended. Helen Downey danced well as Dream Laurie and the joy, especially in “The Farmer and the Cowman” was palpable.

The love story of Laurey and Curly was portrayed by Hannah Stothard and Reece Sohdi. Hannah gave Laurey the independent, confident and headstrong personality of someone running a farm but had just a touch of vulnerability which I really enjoyed. Reece gave us a charismatic cowboy who used his charming personality to get what he wanted, including Laurie. The Smokehouse scene where Curly manipulated Judd into imagining his own funeral was well portrayed.  As Jud Fry, Connor Sinclair gave a more vulnerable portrayal than I’ve seen before, highlighting Jud’s internal struggles but not the physically scary character.  The love triangle of Ado Annie, Will Parker and Ali Hakim was well played by Lucy Hill, Adam Potter and Shaun Crosby. Lucy made Annie flirtatious, unaware of the chaos she was causing and loveable, her numbers were well delivered and she maintained her character throughout (even a personal battle with a mic pack didn’t put her off). Adam as Will danced and sang well and had a childlike naivety and likeability in his portrayal. Shaun was an ideal Ali Hakim, he had great comic timing, facial expressions that spoke volumes and the scene where Ali and Will negotiated over the $50 was very well played by them both. Aunt Eller was in the safe hands of Claire Taylor she gave this wise family elder a warm, believable, matriarchal personality and commanded the stage in all of her scenes but especially the auction scene in Act 2, a standout performance. Ronnie Monaghan as Andrew Carnes made the most of his cameo role with good singing and character portrayal and Emma Monaghan as Gertie Cummings had perfected the annoying crazy laugh essential to her character. The other cameo actors, soloists and ensemble all worked together to give good support to the principal cast and the story telling. What was evident to the audience was the camaraderie, love and enjoyment of performing that the company have, the positive energy flowed into the audience.

Congratulations to Steph, Carl, Helen and their team for bringing this classic to life, there were lots of happy faces leaving the auditorium and not many people could resist the temptation to join in with that final chorus of “Oklahoma!”

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.