Beneath the often indecipherably thick Southern accents and the
overly dramatized competition between the two leading men, there
lies a cast of triple threats who can act, sing, and dance their
way into the collectively nodding heads and tapping feet of a very
pleased audience.
“Oklahoma!”, now revived at the Pantages Theatre,
was the first of a respected list of musicals from the duo of
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Written in 1943,
“Oklahoma!” became the longest-running show of its time
and was later adapted into a movie that won two Academy Awards.
The simple plot presents a story of the anxiety surrounding a
homecoming dance, with suave cowboy Curly (Jeremiah James)
competing with the downtrodden farmhand Jud Fry (Andrew Lebon) for
the right to escort lil’ country girl Laurey (Julie Burdick)
to the Box Social that evening. Along the way, numerous
relationships are broken and repaired during the quest for
marriage, freedom or simply a splendid ride to the dance in a
surrey with some fringe on top.
From Curly’s optimistically trite opening number
“Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” to the heated debate of
“The Farmer and the Cowman,” whatever lacks in the
overly simplistic lyrics is redeemed many times over by the raw
talent displayed by the performers. A weak link was not to be found
among the powerful vocal performances, which added such enthusiasm
to the addictive, hummable songs that at one point provoked an
audience member to audibly shout “Ye Haw!”
Even more surprising was the bawdy, often lewd nature displayed
by the cast’s amiable hillbillies who portrayed life in
Oklahoma as being one ongoing orgy in various haystacks and
cornfields. The show proved to be even crude enough to harbor some
pornography, inserted through pinups and postcards that the eager
cowboys drool over at every given opportunity. So much for old
fashioned virtue.
On the whole, “Oklahoma!” is, for lack of a better
word, cute. The often simpleminded rednecks who are our lovable
main characters very nicely set the scene for a country story of
love triangles and social obstacles met along the road to something
as humdrum as the Box Social. Of course, seeing this show with
expectations of theatrical splendor might lead to some slight
disappointment. However, if one goes already expecting to view an
endearing story with a large overdose of twang, then breaking out a
surrey to go see “Oklahoma!” is a very worthwhile way
to spend an evening.
-Erica Diem