#1
Posted: 2/4/04 at 2:46pm
Hello friends! It has been a while since I've posted but trust me...I've been keeping my eye on all of you. :) Unfortunately (or fortunately?) work has been keeping me very busy and I'm not able to keep up with theater news well enough to be able to post without fear that I'll be chastised for being misinformed. Although...I suppose there is always that risk! Anyways...last night I was able to see the National Tour of Oklahoma in San Antonio and just wanted to share some thoughts on the production.
First, the only other staged production of Oklahoma I've seen was by a community theater in Galveston, TX almost 15 years ago...so I really have nothing to compare this to other than the movie and what I've seen of the West End production film, which just didn't come across well.
This production had its highs and its lows. The singing was good for a touring cast. No one stood out as very weak, and there were a couple of performers that I thought were excellent, most notably Brandon Andrus as Curly and Tom Lucca as Jud.
The cast was very good in the "high" parts where there was lots of activity on stage, dancing, singing, etc. However, in the more dramatic or low-key scenes things really dragged. I'm still trying to decide if this was a casting or a directing issue...probably a combination of both. Even scenes like the proposal scene or the auction scene just seemed to take an energy dive.
The biggest disappointment, however, was the ballet/dream sequence. This is one of my favorite parts of the movie and it has been completely destroyed. The musical arrangement was completely different and therefore Agnes DeMille's beautiful choreography has been lost. The current sequence is just boring and ineffective. All the meaning of the ballet sequence was lost. My boyfriend, who has never been to a musical (I'm working on him!), turned to me at the beginning of intermission and asked "What was the point of that whole last part? It was so boring!" And I completely agreed. It could have been cut out and the show would have been no worse for the wear.
All that being said...I enjoyed myself a lot, but I definitely see why this was not successful on Broadway. I hadn't seen a musical since October though and I was feeling so deprived I would have sat through almost anything. (well...maybe not another production of Titanic...but I said "almost.")
First, the only other staged production of Oklahoma I've seen was by a community theater in Galveston, TX almost 15 years ago...so I really have nothing to compare this to other than the movie and what I've seen of the West End production film, which just didn't come across well.
This production had its highs and its lows. The singing was good for a touring cast. No one stood out as very weak, and there were a couple of performers that I thought were excellent, most notably Brandon Andrus as Curly and Tom Lucca as Jud.
The cast was very good in the "high" parts where there was lots of activity on stage, dancing, singing, etc. However, in the more dramatic or low-key scenes things really dragged. I'm still trying to decide if this was a casting or a directing issue...probably a combination of both. Even scenes like the proposal scene or the auction scene just seemed to take an energy dive.
The biggest disappointment, however, was the ballet/dream sequence. This is one of my favorite parts of the movie and it has been completely destroyed. The musical arrangement was completely different and therefore Agnes DeMille's beautiful choreography has been lost. The current sequence is just boring and ineffective. All the meaning of the ballet sequence was lost. My boyfriend, who has never been to a musical (I'm working on him!), turned to me at the beginning of intermission and asked "What was the point of that whole last part? It was so boring!" And I completely agreed. It could have been cut out and the show would have been no worse for the wear.
All that being said...I enjoyed myself a lot, but I definitely see why this was not successful on Broadway. I hadn't seen a musical since October though and I was feeling so deprived I would have sat through almost anything. (well...maybe not another production of Titanic...but I said "almost.")
"Best to take the moment present as a present for the moment."-ITW, Sondheim
