lolo28 said: "I was so happy to be at the closing performance of Oklahoma!too. It was my fourth time and it felt so good to be able to give standing ovations and clap after many of the songs.
Mary Testa clearly had a cold and I imagine she wanted to power though the last performance but I could tell by her voice in her first line she was sick. She had a very funny ad-lib during The Farmer and the Cowman. After Ado Annie sang "sure am feeling bad for the pony", MT said "thatpony is a PU**Y!"
Daniel Fish was there and I was observing him throughout the show. He laughed at that line and at many of the Will Parker parts.
There was a very distracting audience member in the first row behind the table seats who was making big arm gestures along with the show, chatting and putting her over-the-knee sequined boots on the railing. During Pore Jud she decided to sneak out (presumably to beat a bathroom or bar line at intermission)and her boots made a lot of noise. I was across the theater and was distracted. She was in Daniel Fish's row and I'm sure that ticked him off. I could see him and his dategiving disapprovinglooks to her throughout the show.
I approached him at intermission and told him how much I loved the show and he was gracious and signed by playbill.
As sad as I am to see this show go, I'm glad I won't be tempted to spend any more money on it! I've never felt compelled to see a show so much! Each time I went I appreciated a new track. Always Patrick Vaill though. He shined so bright and broke my heart each time."
Are you and I the same person, Lolo28!? I was about the say many of the same things! This was my third time in three weeks at Oklahoma -- so glad my friend told me I absolutely HAD to see this production, although it took me about five days or so to sit with it to really get on board and appreciate it. And then I came back two more times.
I totally didn't notice anything off about Mary Testa, I WISH I had heard that ad-lib, that's awesome. I was also in a position where I was able to see Daniel Fish watch the show, it was fun to see -- I also noticed him laugh several times, particularly at Will Parker bits. I was too self-conscious to say anything to him when I spotted him in the lobby pre-show, but I wish I did!
I was aware of multiple people getting up to leave during the show (definitely saw sequined boots leave) and there was someone a few rows in front of me having very distracting/loud reactions. Not sure if they were drunk or had never seen the show before, but they pulled my focus multiple times. Oh, well.
I almost didn't make the trip in for closing, but I'm so happy I did! I managed to get one of the last SRO spots for the closing performance, so in addition to getting to see the final show, I got to see it from a very different perspective from the first two times (previously I had gotten one of the first spots, so I was closer to the band than the back wall). I got to see way more of both Laurey and Jud from my spot (was on the SR side close to the upstage wall) and seeing their faces during key moments made me love the show even more.
Specifically, I loved seeing Laurey's little smiles to herself when Curly can't see in "Surrey" and "People Will Say We're in Love." And pretty much the whole last scene I was able to see so much more, it hit me hard. Jud's face after he puts the gun in Curly's hand and steps away just about broke my heart (I was NOT expecting to feel that way about Jud, kudos to Patrick whose performance I just missed from my spot the first two times). And the whole fallout after the shooting -- Cord Elam's reaction to the town choosing to forgo justice. When everyone starts singing "Oklahoma," the way he walks over to Laurey to share a long look is so loaded. And then Aunt Eller shares a moment with Laurey too, acknowledging what's been done. Aunt Eller nods at her and she nods back. And the way Laurey desperately belts "and the land we belong to is grand" then stops singing and stomps manically -- wow.
On a lighter note, some other nice things: each band member received a big applause when they came out on stage. The cast was met with a big standing O and extended applause when they entered. Damon was definitely drinking it all in. In a cast like this, it's hard to single people out, but I think Will Brill is very underrated as Ali Hakam, just putting that out there (really liked him in his small part in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as well, had no idea he was in this until I opened the program the first time!). Both Ali and Patrick received standing ovations after their solos! I swear, the whole audience swooned when Damon got up on that box to finish off "People Will Say We're in Love," I WISH the cast recording somehow captured the live energy better, especially with the "rockstar" mic sound. One of my favorite things to do was to just stop and watch the band. They were having a ball and I loved how much they were part of the show and clearly enjoyed their work. I was a little surprised at how clean the show was, I feel like closing shows are often overly emotional, but I didn't pick up on a whole lot of anyone being overwhelmed. The only thing I noticed was during the scene where Curly is asking Laurey to marry him. There was a long pause after Curly says "I don't know what I'm gonna do if you don't" and Rebecca was clearly starting to tear up and her voice broke when she finally said "I'll marry you if you want me to." My heart.The rest of the scene was definitely special and she and Damon were both still emotional when they got to the "People Will Say We're in Love" reprise.
The director and I assume some of the producers and creative team came on stage after the show and hugged the case, was a little surprised there wasn't any speech, but it was great nonetheless. Everyone leapt to their feet, it was a great show. I'm also sad it's over, but similarly am glad I won't be tempted to keep spending money, although I'm still tempted by the merch! Sorry if this was way more than anyone wanted, I just have a lot of feelings on this show!
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