- Date: 1943
- Composer: Richard Rodgers
- Period: Modern (1910-1949)
Review
Oklahoma! is one of the all time great musical plays of the twentieth century. For 15 years it held the record as the longest running musical on Broadway. Scouts for New York City backers had reported that it would be a flop. But after the rousing centerpiece title song of the show was added, complete with a dance sequence for the folk of the new state of Oklahoma, the show became a smash hit. It is based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, whose text was closely followed, and whose poetic images inspired some of the lyrics to the songs of the show. It is a simple and refreshing love story with an Americana bucolic background. Cowhands, farmers, and rustic characters liven the plot, and ballet sequences add artistry and energy everywhere. There is a comic secondary pair of lovers, a shifty charlatan, and a vile, evil force in the person of Jud Fry, who strikes delicious fear into the sentimental story, but also provides the romantic lead with some comic opportunities. The music is refreshing, upbeat, and filled with dance idioms. The songs contain clever lyrics full of humor and romantic poetry. At the time of the premiere, March 31, 1943, the public psyche was overwhelmed by the immensity of the war, and sought refuge in this story of simpler times and simpler people.Rodgers and Hart had been a highly successful team for nearly 20 years, and wrote almost 30 shows together. When the project of Oklahoma! was offered to Hart, he turned it down. Richard Rodgers sought help from an old friend of his named Oscar Hammerstein II. Oklahoma! was the first of many collaborations between Rodgers and Hammerstein, which made them as famous a duo as Rodgers and Hart had been. Hammerstein wrote the book that on which the show was based. Agnes de Mille was responsible for the choreography, and Robert Russell Bennett orchestrated the score.
The original Broadway cast included Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts in the lead roles, with Howard da Silva, Celeste Holm, and Lee Dixon as Jud Fry, Ado Annie Carnes, and Will Parker respectively. In 1955, a classic film version of Oklahoma! starred Gordon McRae as Curly and the effervescent Shirley Jones as the lovable Miss Laurey. Rod Steiger is terrifying as Jud Fry. Laurey's dream sequence in which she envisions her conflict between Jud and Curly through a ballet medium, is poetically memorable. ~ Rita Laurance, Rovi
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
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