WATCHMEN Premieres on HBO with References to OKLAHOMA!

On Sunday, October 20, the new series Watchmen, starring Regina King, premiered on HBO. The series is set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws and it embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.

In the pilot, directed by Nicole Kassell, audiences can see many connections to the musical Oklahoma! For starters, the series takes place in the state of Oklahoma. During the episode, the title song from the musical is performed as an onstage production with full costumes and choreography with no words changed.

One of the show's characters, Judd Crawford, who is played by Don Johnson, is introduced to the audience as "a cowboy through and through," similar to the character of Curly in the musical. In the episode, we learn that Judd played the character of Curly in his high school production of Oklahoma! and even get a taste of this when Judd is pressured into singing "People Will Say We're in Love" during the middle of a dinner party.

Finally, the title of episode one is "It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice," which is a lyric from the song "Pore Jud is Daid" from the musical.

The reimagined revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! is currently playing at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. Oklahoma!through January 19th, 2020.

Directed by Daniel Fish, the production has been hailed as the Best of the Year and a Critic's Pick by The New York Times and the #1 Theatrical Event of the Year by TIME Magazine.

Seventy-five years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this is Oklahoma! as you've never seen or heard it before, re-orchestrated and reimagined for the 21st century.

Oklahoma! features music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, with original dances by Agnes De Mille.

Photo credit: Van Redin/HBO

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