Is the new Oklahoma!???

Is the new Oklahoma! Broadway's answer to the regietheater (some call it Eurotrash) that has infected opera for quite some time now? Musicaly these opera productions are complete and they are often well sung. But opera audiences are now subjected to a complete re-imagining of the story because of these directors. William Tell with decapitated horses onstage and sexual abuse, Simon Boccanegra with giant rats, A Masked Ball with men of the court sitting on the toilet, Lohengrin with giant (I think) cockroaches, Don Carlo, set in a Pizza Parlor, La Sonnambula in a hospital for mental illness, and the list goes on and on. And frequently the plot is changed eg Carmen shoots Don Jose at the end of the opera.

Is this what is happening to Broadway now? It hasn't helped the cause of opera as the older audiences don't really like these productions and stay away and maybe don't donate as much, and the younger ones aren't compelled to go, unless it is to say "I saw it" and that is all. Boo-ing at these productions is a badge of honor to the director who laughs all the way to the bank.

What I have read about the new Oklahoma! indicates I would stay far away from it as I do from regie opera. I am sensing that this production has betrayed the intent of the original creative team. And musically (I heard the cast sing at Broadwaycon) I am not at all impressed. The singing wouldn't not be enough for me to compensate for the staging. At least in the opera I can listen with my eyes closed.

And please don't forget part of the creation of Oklahoma! came about because of the darkest days of WWII. In other words the show was written to convey a positive message. What our servicemen and women were fighting for. Frequently, the show was the last thing a soldier saw before shipping overseas. Oklahoma! doesn't need a new message. It has one that creators intended, and one can use a positive message in any time.

Does anyone remember the controversy about the time that a production of "South Pacific" was set in a mental hospital. Didn't R & H shut it down? If so, how far have they come in allowing these productions. And not in a good way. Is it just about the money? Assuring a stream of royalties keep coming in? If R& H were alive today don't you think they would shut this production down in 5 minutes flat? They were sticklers. Read the stories about John Raitt and the high note in "Carousel" or Hammerstein accosting a chorus member who screwed up "Nothing like a Dame". They wanted their shows to be the way they wrote them.

If Fish and his team are the way of the future for Broadway revivals --- I will cherish my memories, thank you very much. And spend my money on the next Sher production.

Different strokes. It's ok if everything isn't for you.



Question: have you SEEN it or just heard about it?

Sis..who hurt you?

FranklinDickson2018 wrote:



"Is the new Oklahoma! Broadway's answer to the regietheater (some call it Eurotrash) that has infected opera for quite some time now?"



Yes. One of several answers we've been given, to the theatre's grave misfortune: Flower Drum Song, Cinderella, My Fair Lady, The Glass Menagerie. You see, the problem with infection is, it spreads. If actually nurtured and nourished, as is the case with these grotesqueries, it spreads even faster. We thought that our beloved opera would be exempt. It wasn't. We thought our beloved theatre would be exempt. It wasn't. We may have thought that at least one beautiful thing in this world would be exempt. A naive and foolish notion. Everything pure, innocent, beautiful, or noble is targeted for sullying.




"Boo-ing at these productions is a badge of honor to the director who laughs all the way to the bank."

The same holds true for the theatre. Sticking it to the "rubes," who are too stupid or uncool to get it, all the while pocketing their cash, is how the hip, elite crowd gets their jollies. And also how the latest hotshot directors can gain immediate cachet, awards, fame and fortune.

"I am sensing that this production has betrayed the intent of the original creative team."

That's the name of the game, as explained above.

" They wanted their shows to be the way they wrote them. "

Which is exactly why the saboteurs and their cheering gallery wish to sabotage them.

"If Fish and his team are the way of the future for Broadway revivals --- I will cherish my memories, thank you very much."

Then hold on to your memories, and hold on to them fast. We're very far from Mira now, and there's no turning back.

Updated On: 3/22/19 at 08:31 AM

Personally, I would prefer an entirely new work, than see an old warhorse totally restructured just to appeal to so-called modern audiences. No amount of changes can hide the fact that most of these classics are paeans to white supremacist fantasies.

Niles Silvers said: "Personally, I would prefer an entirely new work, than see an old warhorse totally restructured just to appeal to so-called modern audiences. No amount of changes can hide the fact that most of these classics are paeans to white supremacist fantasies."

Oklahoma is a very faithful adaptation of a play by a gay Cherokee.

YvanEhtNioj said: "ColorTheHours048 said:

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

"

That's not true.

Re: the ending."

The text is all the original text. It is simply put in a different context, said with more weight, and has different pacing.

YvanEhtNioj said: "raddersons said: "YvanEhtNioj said: "ColorTheHours048 said:

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

"

That's not true.

Re: the ending."

The text is all the original text. It is simply put in a different context, saidwith more weight, and has different pacing."

Now I'm confused..

"

I thought you were referring to the trial. That is definitely a change, although I still really don't think of a change like that to be a "restructuring".

Updated On: 3/22/19 at 12:36 PM

UncleCharlie said: "I have to be honest. The original ending where the Tin Man finds his heart and the Lion finds his courage was so much better."

hahahahah you win.