OKLAHOMA! Previews- Page 2

[all_that_jazz]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:26pm

Its all over the place time location. Performances are dull wooden like everyone is on prozac. Will and Mary Testa are great. I think they had a concept but just didnt want to explain their concept. Maybe it works for a warehouse in Brooklyn but it does not here. Sucked all feeling or anything out.

They wanted to go for edgy but comes off as high school students trying to be edgy just to be edgy.

The drug enduced dream ballet sealed its fate for me.

I knoe alot of people liked in at St Annes. I did not see it there but I have a feeling a lot of people wowing it perhaps are those that figure if they don't "get it" then it must be good.

I would never tell someone not to see something because different things ring different with all of us but I just couldn't reccomend it to people.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:39pm

The REAL important question though............ how was the chili?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:40pm

Well, I’m not much of a food critic, but I can personally guarantee that the cornbread is delicious. Truly. I wanted to go back on line for a second piece. The chili (vegetarian) is fine as a soup, but really lacks spice. Don’t be afraid to add a little kick to the pot.

As for the show, I guess you could say choices were made. I fully admit that my idea of a good classic revival involves Bartlett Sher and the full Lincoln Center orchestra. I genuinely tried to go into this with an open mind knowing full well it would be the opposite of that.

If I could review this production as a new work I might very well be among the chorus of those hailing it as brilliant (minus the ghastly dream ballet). There was a vision and the actors are all very committed. I just don’t know if this works. I mean, how can you reconcile Laurie playing the reprise of the title song as Lucia’s mad scene with what you know that scene to normally be?

This production will be beyond divisive.

[A0326T]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:50pm

I am truly excited about this and have tickets in August. "Lucia mad scene" as in Lucia di Lamermoore?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:51pm

The one and only!

[Wick3]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:53pm

I'm more concerned with the sound design and microphones.

At St. Ann's, for most of hte show microphones were not used so it was hard to hear the actors if they weren't facing you.

 

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/19/19 at 11:55pm

Hmm. I’ve only ever seen a high school production of this show, so I’m curious to see this, and I like artsy, but sucking the fun out of a fun show seems odd.

[GetUp&LiveIt]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:00am

Was there tonight. Loved it! It will be extremely divisive for audiences. If you are expect a beautifully sung spectacle of a Broadway musical you won't get it. If your main interest is in something real and raw and honest it's superb. It pushes boundaries, it is thrilling, sexy and dangerous. Truly one of the best evenings I've ever spent in a theatre. I imagine it's as shocking and provocative as the original Oklahoma might have been for audiences back in the day. For those who have preconceived notions of what a Broadway musical should be- you'll probably hate it. I thought it was brilliant.

Updated On: 3/20/19 at 12:00 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:01am

It was mostly mic-free, which was nice. I had no issue hearing anyone.

[\_(•_•)_/]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:06am

Tony nominations? (If any)

[oh-bwayhereicome]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:09am

Any merch?

[ethan231h]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:10am

_(•_&bull_/ said: "Tony nominations? (If any)"

It will likely sweep many categories

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:13am

“For those who have preconceived notions of what a Broadway musical should be- you'll probably hate it.”

I don’t think it’s a question of one’s preconceived notion of what a Broadway musical should be (could be anything!), but rather what one’s preconceived notion of what Oklahoma should be. We all have the OBCR, the glorious 1979 revival recording, the movie version (and likely several others) floating around in our heads. The reason this this revival is shocking is because it turns everything you thought you knew about Oklahoma on its head. There’s no ensemble! One person dances the entire dream ballet!

This revival is like Oklahoma trapped in a production of Spring Awakening.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:15am

oh-bwayhereicome said: "Any merch?"

I saw this on the OklahomaBroadway hashtag earlier. Not my photo: https://twitter.com/BrigidNYC/status/1108154622332624896

Updated On: 3/20/19 at 12:15 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:17am

_(•_&bull_/ said: "Tony nominations? (If any) "

I think it will get a slew of nominations. It could possibly get more nominations than any other play or musical. 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:17am

I think the best thing to compare this production to is the John Doyle Sweeney. I loved it for having a new, fresh, interesting take on a classic, but ultimately some people just want to see the show they know and love. I think this production actually intentionally tries to play with American sentimentality. It takes a light, happy, truly American musical and flips it on it's head and forces you to see it for all that it is. I thought it was brilliant Off-Broadway, but I can see why some would find an issue with it. It makes REALLY bold choices to really get a certain, organic response from an audience. I can see why choices like staging certain scenes in the dark or the nightmare dream ballet might upset people, but I thought both really worked. Im very interested to see how this transfers to a Broadway house with a Broadway audience.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:21am

WhizzerMarvin said: "There’s no ensemble! One person dances the entire dream ballet!"

Wait............. what? A..... one person Oklahoma dream ballet? How..... how does that even WORK? Oh wait.... it DOESN'T work. I see now. Wow that's really odd. I know that there are some changes at the ending as well that I am super curious about but if they are as head scratchily dumb as that, maybe I don't want to know how Jug's demise is handled anymore.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:24am

Returned tonight after seeing it at St. Ann's. For those who loved it at St. Ann's, rest assured it is intact and in as fine form as ever. Tonight could've been opening. The production is scaled down a tiny bit to accommodate the smaller size of Circle, but it fits in perfectly. 

Personally, this is as close to a perfect evening at the theater you can get. From the staging to the singing, to the dream ballet that I still don't have words for - it's just sublime, and so masterfully crafted. This is high caliber, genre-defining work that you simply do not see on Broadway often. 

The actors wear mics, and they are used to breathtaking effect in some moments, but overall are turned on extremely low as to sound like they're off. Regarding seating, you're probably good anywhere! I personally wouldn't want to sit towards the ends of the rows along the back wall, as the least action happens there.

Interesting to hear people think this will be divisive - because it's not trying to be. Instead of recreating a production, it takes the core of the idea & all the original material and revives it in the most aggressive & true meaning of the word. I f*cking love the original Oklahoma! and the Hugh Jackman filmed production - but I love this, too. It's an Oklahoma for 2019. And that's exactly what I want. I feel spoiled now with revivals, and am not sure I'm interested in settling for productions of old musicals just for nostalgia. 

Cannot wait for everyone to see this. How amazing that a musical written in 1943 is so provoking today. 

---
If interested, here are some differences I spotted between St. Ann's & Broadway -

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

• There is much less square footage of playing space, but the essence of the set design is still here. It feels as intimate & environmental as St. Ann's.
• The actors are not as busy on stage in Act 1; all of the blocking feels MUCH more concentrated.
• The second half of the Dream Ballet was re-choreographed to substitute for the lack of the NYU Dance Ensemble, which is not in the show.
• The video elements are much more noticeable, as a camera man with a night vision camera documents the Curly x Jud scene, and the Dream Ballet.
• The flags do not move up and down above the stage, but there's some beautiful new lighting moments to substitute.
• The costumes for the party look like they had a bigger budget. The Dream Baby Dream shirt is also sparkly, not just a normal white tee.

For those just tuning in and want the Dream Ballet spoiled -

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

It is now done with 1 dancer - a young black woman in a cloud of fog. It is underscored by an electric/hardcore rock remix of the original dream ballet music.

She does a modern dance piece that fully embodies the themes of the show, just as any dance act would in a ballet or performance.

It's mind-blowing.

 

Updated On: 3/20/19 at 12:24 AM

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:27am

Scarlet, I wouldn't judge a show without seeing it. The dream ballet is a solo contemporary dance done by one woman. It's actually quite effective when you figure out what's going on. It's really performed as some sort of anxiety ridden nightmare.

The ending isn't actually changed. It's just staged in a way that questions how we should maybe perceive certain characters in the play. It's not like any cuts were made. It's more in just how it's performed.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:29am

I remember reading/or watching a video with the director Daniel Fish and he said this is like there was a time capsule with the script/score to Oklahoma! and he took it and just did what he thought the script was. After seeing this at St Anns in the fall I can say this is definitely the case. But it works (in my opinion). This show is NOT for everyone but you should know going into it that you are not seeing the Oklahoma! you once knew.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:29am

George, I thought of Doyle’s Sondheim revivals, but I think with Sondheim’s shows, people are willing to accept changes in setting and orchestrations more readily. His shows often exist in a dreamlike place, ripe for mutation. Sondheim is also alive and able to approve of the tinkering of his works. If someone decided to set a production of Follies in a concentration camp with a troupe of Yiddish performers communing one last time, well it might raise some eyebrows, but we’d go along with it.

I think people’s ideas of what Oklahoma will be are much more set than what to expect from Sweeney or Company.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:33am

I agree 100% Whizzer and I think that's kind of the point though. People love America and don't want to look at the darkness of it's history and people want to just enjoy Oklahoma! and ignore the darker themes, but this production rips it open and makes to look at the darkness in the story as well as the darkness in America.

[haterobics]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:50am

VotePeron said: "The production is scaled down a tiny bit to accommodate the smaller size of Circle, but it fits in perfectly."

Circle seems much larger than St. Ann's, though?!

This was the entire seating chart at St. Ann's:

[VotePeron]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 12:58am

haterobics said: "VotePeron said: "The production is scaled down a tiny bit to accommodate the smaller size of Circle, but it fits in perfectly."

Circle seems much larger than St. Ann's, though?!

This was the entire seating chart at St. Ann's:

"

Hard to explain. But the stage deck was both wider & longer at St. Ann's, and the cieling was much higher. While there are more seats, there is definitely less overall space. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 1:03am

Personally, I certainly don’t mind an exploration of the darker side of America’s past. There are dark elements built into the show, most definitely, but the show is at heart musical comedy. I think what suffers most in this production is the romance between Curly and Laurie.

I feel very conflicted over this. Like I said, if this were an original musical it would easily be brilliant in my book.