OKLAHOMA: YOUR OPINIONS

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 4:24am

it is 4:15 am and I am watching the excellent 1955 film version of OKLAHOMA on Turner Classic Movies. The thought occurred to me that what with all the shows I have seen mostly on Broadway in a lifetime of theatregoing, I have NEVER seen a live production of Oklahoma. I really can't explain why, except that it hasn't been done on Broadway that often.

What are the feelings of those BOARD members who HAVE seen a Broadway, London, or touring production of this landmark musical?

Updated On: 7/14/11 at 04:24 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 5:04am

It's a show that I love. I love the music, the traditon, the humor, the potential of the choreography, its sentimentality, its heart. (I even like most of the movie.)

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 5:18am

I saw a tour of the '79 revival with Lara Teeter and Paige O'Hara (later the voice of Belle in Beauty & the Beast) as Ado Annie. What I realized was how fresh and alive the story can seem on stage. If it's done well, it doesn't feel like a museum piece at all.

I remember how blown away I was by the Agnes de Mille choreography, too. I miss that kind of imagination and storytelling and "character communication" in today's choreography.

Posted: 7/14/11 at 5:43am

I saw the Nunn revival in London live, and loved it 9although Stro's choreography will never work for me as well as DeMille's). But I find it a bit of a chore to sit through on DVD (partly as I hate how it's a "fake filmed live event"--filme don a soundstage with useless shots of the audience from an actual performance cut in--ARGH).

Can't wait for the apparent showing of that College reconstruction fo the original production next Spring.

[Musical Director 109]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 7:34am

I love this show!!! It was my first live performance, at a great high school production, and I was bit by the bug big time. The show certainly is revolutionary in many ways and is the blueprint in which other musicals follow. I loved the 1979 revival with Mary Wickes, Christine Andreas and Laurence Guittard. The cast recording is also wonderful to listen to because the energy of that production is felt as you listen. The movie is good and does capture the flavor of the stage classic. I love Rod Steiger as Jud and, of course, Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 7:49am

When is that college production supposed to air? I thought it was going to be this fall for some reason.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 8:44am

When I was a kid visiting my Philadelphia aunt, who introduced me to theatre, I would listen to the OKLAHOMA original cast album all the time. So, I can't understand my not seeing the 1979 Broadway revival. I love Mary Wickes and Christine Andreas. The London production directed by Trevor Nunn would have interested me also. When was the most recent Broadway revival?

Updated On: 7/14/11 at 08:44 AM

[chewy5000]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:08am

Not a huge fan of the show, and can't really put my finger on the reason why. I really don't care about the protagonists and the central storyline, although I do love Will Parker and Ado Annie.

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:08am

One of the all-time greats, no question.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 10:51am

The show carries a lot of history. It was NOT the first "integrated" musical as has been claimed many times, but it was the first integrated musical to achieve smash-hit status. Also, while the OKLAHOMA! Albums of records (6 in Volume 1, 2 more in Volume 2) is often credited s the first cast album there were other cast albums done before but none were nearly as complete. Also the first volume sold over a million copies (as a set of 78-rpm discs) and another million in 1949 when it was re-released on Lp.

So, while it may not have been the very first, it was the first to score such phenomenal sales thereby starting a trend.

When you look at the careful construction of the show you see the format that Broadway would follow for the next few decades. Yes, some of the humor is forced, and the false dialect in the script can be hard to take, but the simple story and beautiful songs always win out when the show is performed with enthusiasm, dedication and conviction.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 11:56am

I think the Nunn production really renewed my faith in the show. It was quickly slipping on the Enjoyment-O-Meter, and then Nunn and Hugh Jackman came along and made it all seem brand new again.

The movie? Almost as bad as STATE FAIR, sorry.

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 2:32pm

Reagle Music Theatre near Boston is staging a top-notch production right now. I caught it over the weekend and it holds up really well. They have teamed up with UNCSA and Gemze de Lappe to recreate the 1943 Broadway original sets, costumes and choreography. I'm telling you, that Dream Ballet is magnificent!

Stephen Mark Lukas as Curly is a revelation. He and a solid Laurey anchor the show, but there are many bright lights in the cast. It's also a tremendous treat to hear the score delivered by a HUGE ensemble (50 plus or minus) and a full pit orchestra. While watching the Dream Ballet I was paying close attention to the story that the instruments were telling right along with the dancers. It was outstanding and very dramatic.

If you are within traveling distance, I'd say it's worth checking out, especially if you've never seen it on stage, or if you've only seen high school or community groups do it. It's very rare to be able to see the De Mille choreography recreated and danced so beautifully.

And that Curly. Wow! They also get a lot of the comedy and make it fresh.

It runs through this weekend. Here's a photo spread that BWW ran:


Reagle Oklahoma Photos

Posted: 7/14/11 at 5:45pm

Sean, WHICH State Fair though? Surely not up there with the Ann Margaret version I think the movie (especially the Todd AO version which feels oddly fresher) is decent, and I do think God it saves nearly all of DeMille's choreography (something I wish Carousel had done--but of course they found her too difficult so it was newly, poorly choreographed, except the ballet which was largely a rip off of DeMille's - I believe she even sued over that).

Posted: 7/14/11 at 5:47pm

JC, I'm pretty sure they said it would air this Spring (ie Spring 2012) for some reason, which feels too long for me to wait, but...

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 7:40pm

I have never seen a Broadway or touring production but I have seen a few regional productions and even a wonderful college one, and I think the show is beautiful. I LOVE the dream ballet. I wish there were shows these days that still did numbers like that.

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 8:42pm

"I wish there were shows these days that still did numbers like that."

I wish there were shows these days that still had scores like that!

[Q]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:04pm

"I wish there were shows these days that still had scores like that!"

Amen.

A. F*CKing. Men.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:08pm

Eric: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038116/

Sorry, I find it almost unwatchable in spots.

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:12pm

It's far from great, and seems a mighty step backwards after Oklahoma and Carousel--but have you seen the 60s remake? Actually in some ways it's more enjoyable just cuz it's so over the top campy.

I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Slu3DiNC4

[Skip2]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:21pm

The Hugh Jackman production was a revelation. Too bad the same directed show was so bad on Broadway.

And the Christine Andreas and Lawrence Guittard production was perfection. With Harry Groener and Christine Ebersole!

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:21pm

OMG, Eric, that was hysterical. Thanks for the link!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:37pm

I've only seen part of the Ann-Margaret version. I was watching it once when someone came in and changed the channel.

As for Oklahoma I've only seen the film version and the Nunn DVD. I enjoyed both immensely. I also played Girl #4 my sophomore year in HS ("And out of your dreams you'll gooooooo"). I love Oklahoma.

[Q]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:46pm

I want to play Aunt Eller.

Posted: 7/14/11 at 10:02pm

SeanMartin, glad you enjoyed! lol

It's interesting what FrontRowCenter says--often in basic musical history books they jump from Show Boat (which really was the first integrated *dramatic* musical in my book, but also came out of a huge operetta tradition--as you can particularly hear in some of the songs that were cut on the road like Creole Love Song which was replaced with You Are Love), right to Oklahoma!, with maybe a brief stop at Porgy and Bess -- despite all the arguing if it's opera or not -- or Pal Joey. But obviously that's not the full story.

It's also interesting that, as did Show Boat, it followed the then traditional musical comedy formula of a lead romantic copuple, and a secondary comic romantic couple. (R&H didn't really break from this till Allegro or South Pacific--SP where the secondary romance is far from comic).

FRC or someone else--maybe you know, with the bonus songs recorded for Vol 2 of the cast album (Lonely Room, which I believe Drake actually sings for whatever reason, Farmer and Outrage), the sound quality on the remastered CDs is always noticeably much more poor. Is it just because they weren't as well preserved--never being on the LP editions, or?

[dented146]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 10:08pm

Oklahoma is a Broadway masterpiece from the score to the incorporation of dance. The problem is that for many on this board it is difficult to have the same kind of feelings I have when looking through 2011 eyes.

And I'm not suggesting that younger people can't appreciate the musicals from 60 or 70 years ago; it's just impossible to explain how much the sensibilities of people have changed over the years.

You get leave stateside in 1944. You've been flying in bombers from England to Germany. It's 40 below in the plane for 16 hours and you are terrified every day because odds are you are going to die as many of you friends have. Your girl is back home--maybe you'll hear from her. And you have all ready lived through the depression working constantly. You are simply happy to be alive as you enter the theater.

Then you see Oklahoma or South Pacific a few years later. AND YOU FEEL IT TO YOUR BONES AND YOU FEEL VERY VERY SAD YOUR LOST FRIENDS CAN'T SHARE IT WITH YOU.
.