Why should I like this? Oklahoma duet- Page 2

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/26/19 at 10:32pm

goodlead said: "I don't have a problem with the singing style but I do with the acting. This ought to be a flirtatious duet, but the Laurie sings the song flatly without any particular emotion. She doesn't act it well."

I think she is acting it in the spirit of the new revival, but not the typical way.

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 4/26/19 at 10:36pm

dramamama611 said: "From my understanding, this ^ is no longer the interpretation."

I agree. RNJ's Laurie is still very much still torn at this point and slightly warms up later in the song when she starts dancing.

This scene on stage is so wonderful - the singing, staging, and green lighting were breathtaking on set. 

[Skip23]

Posted: 4/27/19 at 12:34am

haterobics said: "goodlead said: "I don't have a problem with the singing style but I do with the acting. This ought to be a flirtatious duet, but the Laurie sings the song flatly without any particular emotion. She doesn't act it well."

I think she is acting it in the spirit of the new revival, but not the typical way."

 

Exactly!  The spirit of the new revival is to flatten the emotion of the lines and music by delivering lines in a modern/ironic pattern and singing without much vibrato and questionable pitch.  Only Annie, Jud, Gertie and Eller have solid voices.

 

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/28/19 at 1:42am

Skip23 said: "haterobics said: "goodlead said: "I don't have a problem with the singing style but I do with the acting. This ought to be a flirtatious duet, but the Laurie sings the song flatly without any particular emotion. She doesn't act it well."

I think she is acting it in the spirit of the new revival, but not the typical way."



Exactly! The spirit of the new revival is to flatten the emotion of the lines and music by delivering lines in a modern/ironic pattern and singing without much vibrato and questionable pitch. Only Annie, Jud,Gertie and Eller have solid voices.



"

Singing off-key is a "concept" now? All righty then.

In the duet, I think the young lady is "pitchy" in her solo verse/chorus because she needs more instrumental support (in that not-in-the-show context). The young man sounds just fine because he accompanies himself on the guitar. He's also good in the "Surrey" clip.

The Laurie may sound just fine in the context of the show. I doubt they asked her to sing off-pitch.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 4/28/19 at 2:38am

Wow honestly I was going into this expecting to agree with the OP because I was afraid this revival ruined the lush original orchestrations. But I loved the People Will Say video and p.s. does Curley really say “who laughs at your jokes?” I feel like that’s the kind of modern snarky humor I would love to add if I ever directed this show (at the hs level—don’t worry I know my place). I loved how they kind of sounded like teenagers and I loved how high Curleys voice was at the beginning. There was something innocent and beguiling about it. I see people are saying it was bad because it doesn’t have the staging so I’m hoping to love it even more when I see it staged.
The other video, Surrey with the Fringe on Top, might be my favorite Oklahoma song and man Damon sure made it sound sexy— sexier than I’ve ever considered the song to be. There’s something so cool and simple and American about this song as it’s just a boy asking a girl to check out his whip/car. So classic. And they wrote this in the 1940s when car ownership was barely even a thing. This revival shows how far ahead of their time R&H were.

[John Adams]

Posted: 4/28/19 at 8:50am

Phantom4ever said: "Wow honestly I was going into this expecting to agree with the OP because I was afraid this revival ruined the lush original orchestrations. But I loved the People Will Say video and p.s. does Curley really say “who laughs at your jokes?” "

I wish my memory on this was better, but I think that line is scripted. 

As an aside re: whether/not the OP's intent was to simply bash the show, I don't think it should be overlooked that they asked the question, "What am I missing?"

RE: your observation, "I loved how they kind of sounded like teenagers and I loved how high Curleys voice was at the beginning": at first I didn't (especially the use of falsetto). ...and musically, I still don't, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like Damon Daunno's vocals are very inventive, even if I find his voice unappealing. (I also like the distinct emphasis Rebecca Naomi Jones puts on the word "Don't", and the angry side-eye she gives him.) 

Daunno's choices to use falsetto, and to play with the melody just enough, make it seem as if Curly's not singing a pre-written song, but more like Curly's making it up on the spot. Is the use of falsetto a playful, flirtatious "mocking" of Laurie, and the people who are gossiping about them? What an inventive and fun choice that is, if that's his intent.

What other posters have said is definitely true for me. It's hard to evaluate this duet outside of how it's performed within the show.

I wish I had the opportunity to ask Daunno (in particular) about how he arrived at his vocal choices. I also wish I appreciated his singing as much as I do his guitar skills, but that's just a matter of personal tastes.

I could also try to see the show, but after reading posts about other aspects of the production (the 'table read' blocking, the harsh lighting, the ballet - the comment about a dog scooting its hind end really made me laugh!), I'm not so sure...?

Updated On: 4/28/19 at 08:50 AM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 4/28/19 at 10:01am

In the context of the show much of the singing and dialogue is unmiked. There is only one mike placed upstage. So when Curly goes up to the mike to sing "People Will Say You're In Love" it sounds like a young guy trying to impress a girl by singing directly to her. Also in the show the moment he sings into the mike is when he drops some of the bluegrass inflections and it becomes a more straightforward Broadway belt. So it's a really magical moment because there's a meta-moment of "hey, love me because I can really SING!"

[John Adams]

Posted: 4/28/19 at 10:39am

poisonivy2 said: "Also in the show the moment he sings into the mike is when he drops some of the bluegrass inflections and it becomes a more straightforward Broadway belt. So it's a really magical moment because there's a meta-moment of "hey, love me because I can really SING!""

Well now you've opened up an interesting question for me...

Traditionally, it's assumed that the singing in Oklahoma! is not actually happening in the story. Like most musicals, we know that the characters aren't actually singing to each other, but we accept the convention that  characters aren't hearing actual music, but dialog, instead.

Based on what you wrote regarding the "meta-moment", I wonder if Daunno (or the director) has made a choice that Curly is literally a "singing cowboy"? 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 4/28/19 at 10:51am

I've explained the use of miking/no mike to accentuate the dramatic moments in Oklahoma! in my blog post.

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/04/oklahoma-violence-as-american-as-chili.html