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Oklahoma!

Author: Julie Petrucci

Information

Date
26th November 2014
Society
Cambridge Operatic Society
Venue
Arts Theatre Cambridge
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Chris Cummings
Musical Director
Lucas Elkin
Choreographer
Emma Olley

As far as classic musicals go it doesn't get any better than Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! nor will you see anything more professional on the amateur stage than this latest offering from CaOS (Cambridge Operatic Society). Therefore it is going to be very difficult to do this review without resorting to the over-use of superlatives.

The show tells a story of unrequited love and obsession, following Curly and Laurey, as they realise their feelings for each other despite the attempted interference of the weird-loner Jud. Of course, Oklahoma! also features some of the most memorable songs in the musical theatre repertoire and there can be no greater chorus number than the title song from this show.

The cast under the direction Chris Cumming , choreographer Emma Olley and musical director Lucas Elkin did a fabulous job of bringing the show to life, infusing it with an enthusiasm that was hard not to be carried along by.  In fact, one of the best things about this production was the level of talent throughout the cast, not only do they sing beautifully but they also move exceptionally well. There are certainly no stragglers here, the whole cast kicked up their heels with abandon, pulling off some rather complex routines.

Another strength of this production was that the acting was so solid. 
Kayleigh Orrock gave us a wonderfully feisty Laurey and her scene with Jud Fry was fraught with tension.  A bravura performance surpassed only by her most beautiful voice. She was as good as anything you will see on a professional stage.  

Skilfully playing against her was Andrew Ruddick as Curly who has a nice natural stage presence he sang beautifully and acted exceptionally well.  His frustration with the will-she-won’t-she Laurey was well handled. A fine performance.

Harriet Graves made an excellent Aunt Eller.  This is a huge role which was extremely well handled - always in charge sorting out the lives of all around her with determination and panache.  Again, a first-rate performance.

The comic relief characters like the nice but dim Will Parker (Mark McCormack), his (sometimes) fiancee Ado Annie (Emma Vieceli), and Ali Hakim (Alan Hay), were superb.  McCormack is a very talented actor/singer and a great mover.  His was an excellent performance which I much enjoyed.  Vieceli obviously relished her role as Annie and she had some nice moments with both Hay and McCormack.  Hay is a gifted performer with great comic timing and he drew every ounce of humour from his role - the audience was eating out of his hand.  We even managed to feel sorry for him having to marry Gertie, beautifully played by Jodie Haughton.

Steve Waring created an exceptionally insidious Jud Fry.  One got a real sense of how he is dangerous without him being overtly threatening.  An extremely chilling,  believable and well-judged performance.

Of course, it goes without saying that the whole cast contributed one hundred percent to the success of this production which had one of the finest set of farmers and cowmen ever.

The staging was superb and I must commend the stage crew on some excellent flying in the dream sequence.  This sequence as a whole was impressive.  

The excellent costumes, hair and make up served to enhance the overall staging of the show.  But reigning supreme was Lucas Elkin and his absolutely fabulous orchestra. You will need to go a long way and pay very much more to hear better

CaOS produced a show bursting with energy and life a show the society can be very proud of and one which could easily have graced a West End Stage.  

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