Oklahoma!

I have only just found this website and this thread so I would like to post my comments about the National Theatre's production of Oklahoma.

I was lucky enough to go to the show at the NT and was absolutely entranced by it all. As most people have said Hugh Jackman was a revelation. I saw the show before he became famous as Wolverine so had no preconceptions about him. I am so glad that he has done so well.

Maureen Lipman was terrific as Aunt Eller. When the video was shot I understand she was suffering from an abcess on her tooth but you would have never known.

Must watch the video again.

Oklahoma was never my favorite musical. By the time I was aware of it, Oklahoma & all of the Rodgers & Hammerstein canon seemed dated, superseded by the darker, more modern Sondheim musicals.

But Trevor Nunn's re-imagining of this American classic makes it so fresh & vibrant, it could've opened yesterday. What seemed sappy in the 50s film version now seems innocent, charming, believable-thanks to Nunn's keener dramatic vision & an exceptional cast.

Hugh Jackman reinvents the swaggering male musical lead with an irresistible magnetism and ability to infuse a song with emotional realness. When he sings O What a Beautiful Morning, it seems totally spontaneous-a young man singing from the depth of his soul his love of life & everything in it-and we feel this song we've heard for decades is being sung for the first time.

The decision to play Laurey (Josefina Gabrielle) as a shy tomboy in overalls, in contrast to the assertive, gingham-clad lasses we've seen in the past, is a wonderfully right one. The attraction between the lovely, thoughtful young girl and the radiantly confident Curly is palpable, and their different temperaments make the parries & shifts of their courtship utterly believable.

Gabrielle is an impressive triple threat-a trained ballerina who is also a good actress and a fine singer. Nunn no doubt wanted an accomplished all-round performer to play Laurey so that the Act I ballet could be danced by the same performers who act and sing the parts-not, as is usually done, by dancing alter egos. That alone makes this famously integrated show that much more integrated, and dramatically satisfying.

As Aunt Eller, Maureen Lipman is tough, wry, funny, touching, wise -hers is the most captivating performance of Eller one can imagine. She is perfect.

Like Laurey, the portrayal of Jud has been rethought. He is still brutal, but you feel the wretchedness, the yearning for acceptance, behind the brutality. Shuler Hensley realizes this brilliantly.

He is one of only 2 Americans contributing to this quintessentially American musical (though all American accents are impeccable, and it's refreshing that the script's phony country pronunciations have been pared down to an unnoticeable level). The other is the choreographer Susan Strohman, whose work here is joyous, spectacularly inventive, and (as in the case of the Act II opener The Farmer & The Cowman) electrifying. The dancing, & there's lots of it, conveys the galvanic energy of these very physical frontier folk. It's thrilling to watch the cast's highly skilled dancers doing numbers that build and build to an explosive rapture that makes you wish you could only be up there with them.

Strohman, with Nunn and their talented, almost exclusively English team, offer us what must be the finest production of Oklahoma ever staged. How fortunate our cousins across the Atlantic have cast a different light on this national treasure, and revealed new splendors it contains!

In 1943, "Oklahoma!" debuted on Broadway, and in doing so reinvented music theater. Roughly fifty-five years later, Trevor Nunn reinvented "Oklahoma!". The result is something very rare indeed: a production that not only captures the original appeal of its source, but also brings new facets and dimentions to a familiar work.

The story itself remains simple, almost quaint: young pioneers Laurie (Josefina Gabrielle) and Curly (Hugh Jackman), like a prairie-school Beatrice and Benedick, tease, flirt, goad each other, and otherwise go out of their way to avoid admitting their obvious mutual attraction. But hired hand Jud Fry (Shuler Hensley) nurses a much less wholesome desire for Laurie, and his obsession starts to boil over into a serious threat. Meanwhile in the comic subplot, cowboy Will Parker (Jimmy Johnston) tries to prove himself worthy of his sweetheart Ado Annie (Vikki Simon) before her father can marry her off via shotgun to an unwilling Persian peddler.

But presentation is everything, and it is here that Nunn's genius shines through. Gone are the clean gingham gowns and pristine landscapes of so many productions past. The sets have a weathered, hard-used look to them, with a cast to match. One can almost feel the sweat and dust clinging to them. This is a harsh frontier we're entering, where there is certainly joy and laughter but also lots of hardship, poverty, and desperation. It's no wonder so many characters cling to their pride, risking everything on a single grand gesture--their pride is one of the few things they can truly call their own.

The three lead actors are excellent, easily some of the best I've seen in the material. From the moment he strides onstage singing "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'," Jackman is a captivating and fully-developed hero. He brings much of the same cocky bravado that has defined Curly over the years, but balances it with healthy doses of anxiety, bitterness, and sensitivity. Not to be outdone, Hensley's Jud (a creation which quite justly earned him a Tony Award) starts out as a somewhat sad and pitiful creature, but gradually reveals the explosive rage buried inside him. As the woman who comes between them, Gabrielle balances nicely between naivitee and cleverness, and sings in a clear, beautiful soprano.

Of the supporting cast, Maureen Lipman is the standout as that quintessential pioneer matriarch, Aunt Eller. Wise as her years, hard as her life and tender as a sunset, she is the story's moral compass. Simon and Johnston are good, albiet rather conventional in their interpretations. As the peddler Ali Hakim, Peter Pollycarpou is the one false note in the cast, with a huckster attitude and an accent that sounds nearer to Manhattan than the Middle East.

Is this "Oklahoma!" better than the 1955 film with Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones? Arguments will abound for both sides, but at some point the comparison becomes superfluous. The two were created several decades apart, with different approaches and ideas about the story. Suffice it to say, this is and excellent performance, with solid direction, good choreography, and a strong cast. That is recommendation enough.

As exuberant and wonderful as Kenneth Branagh's 1993 "Much Ado About Nothing", this amazing production deserves a "15"; alas, I can only give it a "10". Hugh Jackman is a revelation, leaping into the film with cheerful high energy from his first appearance on the set. A must-see for lovers of musicals and for all others too. A sure cure for depression!

This is a wonderful stage production of Oklahoma! As a teaching guide for my drama students, Oklahoma! has everything that I need in it to teach about a musical. Vocally, the actors are wonderful. Josefina Gabrielle has a beautiful voice and range and is lovely as Laurey. Hugh Jackman, from the first note of 'Oh What A Beautiful Morning' grabs your attention and keeps it. Wow… what a voice, what a stage presence enough said. Shuler Hensley plays Jud Fry with a passion that allows the audience to embrace Jud and yet despise him – tough job to do, but Hensley does it well. Visually, this play uses simple designs and staging, which allows the actors to carry the story and they do an excellent job of carrying the story. Perhaps the lack 'Hollywood' style sets or backdrops may take some aback, but it's the music and the actors that you should notice in a musical. For any one who loves a good musical, it is a wonderful presentation.