SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp Review
Oklahoma!
By Elyse Sommer
|
Revisiting Oklahoma! to Meet Its Current Cast Members For a big Broadway musical to have a big, fat run, it needs star quality understudies and an occasional infusion of new talent to keep the show fresh. The players who do hang in even as some cast members leave, can't rest on their laurels but must play their parts as if each performance was the opening. I'm happy to report that all the above requirements were present at the recent matinee I saw -- almost a year after first seeing this production. Amy Bodnar, initially Josefina Gabrielle's understudy, currently appearing as Laurie at four of the eight performances, struck me as more than capable to take over the role soley as she is set to do beginning February 18th. If anything, she and the new Curly, Stephen R. Buntrock, seem to generate a stronger sense of physical attraction. Buntrock is just right as the Oklahoman who's tough when he needs to be but also tender. One of the most buzz-creating recent cast additions, Patty Duke -- yes, the same Patty Duke who made her Broadway debut at the ripe age of 12 as Helen Keller in William Gibson's The Miracle Worker -- is a pert Aunt Eller. What she lacks in Andrea Martin's experience in musicals, she more than makes up for with her obvious enthusiasm for being part of this grand old show. Perhaps the hardest shoes to fill were those of Shuler Hensley's Jud -- the character whose darker nature was magnified by Trevor Nunn (a darkness that's less likely to bother people familiar only with the movie version in which Rod Steiger played Jud pretty darkly, than those remembering the 1943 Broadway show). At any rate, Merwin Foard brings a rich baritone and great presence to his interpretation of Jud. Justin Bohon (Will Parker), Jessica Boevers (Ado Annie) and Aasif Mandvi (Ali Hakim) are amongst those who have remained in the cast -- animated as ever. The sets and costumes also show no sign of wear. And of course, there are all those wonderful, addictively hummable songs. -- Elyse Sommer, January 23, 2003. |
--- the Original Review ---
|
Oh, lots of things happen to folks Sickness or bein' poor and hungry even -- bein' old and afeard to die. That's the way it is -- cradle to grave. And you can stand it. There's one way. You gotta be hearty. . . . You cain't deserve the sweet and tender things in life less'n you're tough.
--- Aunt Eller, expressing a sentiment to help anyone, anywhere to face the future. |
To begin, two caveats: 1. Oklahoma! may be bad for New York's current water shortage. This song-after-hummable-song feast will have you singing in the shower longer than is good for our depleted reservoirs. 2. If you have tickets, get thee to the Gershwin in time since the overture begins sharply at eight; also, as anyone familiar with this granddaddy of the modern book musical knows, Rodgers and Hammerstein wasted no time launching into their tuneful score. Arrive ten minutes late and you'll miss "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' " and "The Surrey With the Fringe On Top."
Except for the many youngsters who will undoubtedly be taken to see the show, its return to Broadway, like any revival, is more like visiting a beloved old friend, than experiencing the thrill of discovery. In the case of Oklahoma! seeing the original brought the excitement of being present at the birth of the book musical in which the songs and dances were story driven and all the elements forged into a unified whole.
While Oklahoma! was a precursor of Roger and Hammerstein's more sophisticated and involved musical stories, it nevertheless added an unusual dark undercurrent to its basic romantic plot, a triangular romance set against a background of the Oklahoma territory on the cusp of statehood, when cowboys and farmers were often pitted against each other.
In case you forgot, the romantic principals are Curly a cowboy, farm owner Laurey and hired hand Jud, who's neither cowboy or farmer but an outsider. Curly and Jud's rivalry begins when both men vie to take Laurey to a box social. It culminates in a fight to the death and ends well for everybody except Jud. What makes the story memorable is the way the characters come alive as an embodiment of the American frontier spirit of community, optimism and patriotism.
Unless you've been living on Mars, listening to Curly and Laurey and Aunt Eller and all the other spirited Oklahomans is comfortingly familiar rather than the sort of Wow! that comes with hearing a song you will mentally replay every time the title is mentioned. The good news is that the familiarity with Roger and Hammerstein's songs still breeds admiration and the giant stage of the Gershwin was intended for big musicals like this and brings much of "that bright golden haze to the meadow." It extends sufficiently in all directions to accommodate the orchestra upstage where we glimpse the musicians briefly during the overture and at the end through the sky blue scrim curtain. Visually impressive as this is and the superb orchestrations notwithstanding, this does make for a somewhat distanced musical sound.
On the other hand, the opening image of Aunt Eller (played with pert, no-nonsense charm and energy by Andrea Martin) alone on that vast stage as she churns butter immediately establishes the sense of the still desolate and developing frontier. Of course that stage doesn't remain empty. Set designer Anthony Ward sends forth farm buildings, backdrops of "high as an elephant's ear" corn fields, not to mention a toy train and miniature version of the life-sized surrey in which Laurey and Curly ride off to live happily ever after. And, best of all, Susan Stroman has the dancers, a truly superb ensemble that includes some adorable and fleet-footed kids, cavort all over the place.
The radiantly innovative dream ballet, now danced by Laurey instead of a stand-in as in the original, is a triumph in its dramatic evolution from dream into nightmare. Josefina Gabrielle's dancing makes you willing to overlook that she's neither a great singer or actress. But the fifteen-minute-long ballet, is not the only choreographic highlight of the show. The "Kansas City " number sets off sparks in the first act and showcases Justin Bohon who plays Will from the subsidiary romantic triangle (Will, Ado Annie and Ali Akim, a Persian peddler, played rather too broadly by Jessica Boevers and Aasif Mandvi). In other high voltage and highly original numbers, like "The Farmer and the Cowman" and the charming "Many a New Day", Ms. Stroman has men dancing with men, women with women, and all together. Whatever the combinations, these dancers seem capable of anything from leaping over fences to twirling ropes.
As already mentioned, Ms. Gabrielle stands out more as a dancer than as an actress or singer. By the same token, Patrick Wilson who plays Curly will never make it as strictly a dancer. He gives a likeable performances and sings well. He deserves a less wiggy-like wig though, and unfortunately, he and Ms. Gabrielle don't seem as irresistibly drawn to each other as they should be. That leaves acting and singing honors to the third lead, Shuler Hensley who portrays the nominal villain of the piece, Jud with mesmerizing darkness and a thrillingly operatic baritone.
This new Oklahoma! is likely be an answer for those looking for a family show. I saw a lot of ten to thirteen-year-olds (this is for the middle-graders and up, not the toddler set!) even though I was there on a school night and the curtain doesn't go down until eleven o'clock. The families who buy three and four and five tickets instead of a pair, will be an important factor in keeping the Gershwin's over 1600 seats filled -- else, to paraphrase "pore" Jud, the producers will be singing "Pore Oklahoma! is Daid." despite the resonating fervor of the title anthem's "we know we belong to the land/and the land we belong to is grand."
For some background notes on Oklahoma!, see the yellow box after the gray boxes with the production notes and song list.
LINKS
The 1999 London production CD
The 1955 film: VHS format. . . DVD
|
Oklahoma
Book & Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Music: Richard Rodgers Directed by Trevor Nunn Choreographer: Susan Stroman Cast: Patrick Wilson (Curly), Josefina Gabrielle (Laurey), Andrea Martin (Aunt Eller), Shuler Hensley (Jud Fry), Jessica Boevers (Ado Annie), Justin Bohon (Will), Aasif Mandvi (Ali Hakim), Michael McCarty (Carnes), Ronn Carroll (Skidmore). Set and Costume Design: Anthony Ward Lighting Design: David Hersey Sound Design: Paul Groothius Musical Supervisor:David Caddick Musical Director: Kevin Stites Original Orchestrations: Robert Russell Bennett Additional Orchestrations:William David Brohn Running Time: 2 hours and 55 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission Gershwin , 222 W. 51 St., (Broadway/8th Av), 307-4100 From 2/23/02; opening 3/21/02. Mon - Sat at 8pm;Wed & Sat at 2pm -- $20-$90. Reviewed by Elyse Sommer based on 3/20 press performance. |
|
Musical Numbers
|
|
Act One
|
Act Two
|
Background Notes On Oklahoma!
|
At This Theater
Leonard Maltin's 2003 Movie and Video Guide
Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam
Somewhere For Me, a Biography of Richard Rodgers
The New York Times Book of Broadway: On the Aisle for the Unforgettable Plays of the Last Century
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
Click image to buy.
Go here for details and larger image.
