Reviewed 6/8/04
It was the toast of the West End. Cameron Mackintosh, creator of so much good, bad, but mostly just big musicals over the past few decades, decided it was time to take a fresh look at Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic and groundbreaking 1943 musical Oklahoma!. Following the trend of darkening musicals such as Carousel and Cabaret, Mackintosh tapped master-revisionist Trevor Nunn to make Oklahoma! a bit less corny, highlighting the shading of the duo's generally sunny work. The 1998 production was a hit. It was set to arrive on Broadway, reveling in its newfound revisionist mood, but its timing couldn't have been worse. Originally slated to open in late 2001, it was rescheduled and opened the next March. Recognizing that post 9/11 Broadway was not in the mood for the dark side of anything, Nunn revised his revision, returning much of the corn that it had originally eschewed. Few liked it. It was critically panned, ran 388 performances, was nominated for a couple of Tonys, but won only one, and closed to take its nostalgic act on the road. It is this version, with the choreography of the talented Susan Stroman, a toured-down set and costumes by Anthony Ward, and Directed by Fred Hanson based on Trevor's watered-down original staging, that is hipping and hollering it's way into Gammage. Even as summer fare, it's pushing the good will of audiences.
It's a shame, too. Amanda Rose's Laurey (pictured
left) is amazing. Her perfect soprano balances her tomboyish charm and excellent
dancing. Pat
Sibley is
a sassy Aunt Eller. In the generally can't-lose role of hot-revving Ado Annie, Sarah
Shahinian is a gas. Brandon Andrus' Curly (left)
ain't bad. He sings purdy and is appropriately heroic. There are some funny
moments. It's just that this tour, which could have been something completely
different, is something completely like I've seen the last five times the show's
been produced. Save for the marginally clever and original appearance of French
postcard gals in the "Out of My Dreams" Ballet, this production's concepts
of darkness include having Tom Lucca play farmhand Jud Fry
as a twitching psychopath with the subtlety of Freddy Krueger and making mottled
goboes a big part of David Heresy's lighting design so that
actors look like Swiss cheese.
