OKLAHOMA! Previews- Page 4

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 4:00pm

ColorTheHours, what did you think of Sher’s South Pacific/King and I/My Fair Lady? Those productions are in no way reproductions/replicas of the original production. I find them to be very thoughtful and wonderful, personally, but I don’t remember reading what you thought of them.

What did you think of the Dolly revival?

[Pashacar]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 4:37pm

jonartdesigns said: "I’m not going to prejudge a show I have t seen, but from the set photos I’m disappointed by the design. I like the idea of the picnic tables, but I feel like they should look old and weathered, not like something that came from ikea. The floor also seems too “new” I’m kind of reminded of rehearsal space and set elements, sterile and to be given character later."

I hear you and had the same thought going in. But once in the room, it worked for me. I felt like I was at a local gathering somewhere in Oklahoma in present day – an elk's club, or something like that – and perhaps these were the slapdash bleachers and tables they had put together for the event with the wood they had lying around. It all looks very cheap, but in the right way. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 4:43pm

Good questions, Whizzer. Re: a Sher revival, what I love about them is that the people onstage feel like they’re speaking today, despite the trappings of a time long past. He finds a way to make the show sing as though it were new without removing it from the time and place, physically. Interestingly, when I revisited My Fair Lady with Laura and Danny after loving it last March, it felt too reverent to the surface “musical comediness” and I found it all significantly less affecting. Lauren Ambrose brought such an earthy groundedness to her performance that was sorely missed, for me.

Re: Dolly, it sailed by on a lot of charm and game performers and I loved every minute of it. But that’s dessert. Delicious, but did I *need* it? No. Did I see it three times? Yes.

These are not what Daniel Fish set out to imitate and if the text didn’t support his interpretation of it, it wouldn’t succeed. But it does. It just doesn’t align with your memory of it as a traditional musical comedy. Again, there is a time and a place for that kind of staging, but Fish found his own way to make Oklahoma! sing for today.

Updated On: 3/20/19 at 04:43 PM

[Sauja]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 4:48pm

Again, I'm speaking from a place of ignorance about this particular piece, not having seen the material presented traditionally, but I do think it's interesting, Whizzer, to consider whether a production can be successful even if it doesn't capture the intent of the writer. Is it possible to consider that this production's success (to some!) shows off even more clearly the underlying strength of the material in that it shows that the piece can sustain such radical reinvention without textual changes and still tell a complete and thoughtful story?

 

I'll say this for this show: I do not think there will be many middle of the road responses to it. Whether it succeeds or fails for its audiences, I hope they appreciate that it goes for broke.

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 6:03pm

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "How were the actors?"

I haven't seen the previews on Bway but I while I enjoyed this show at St. Ann's, I and my companion did not at all care for the lead Rebecca Naomi Jones in this role. We felt like she seemed quite put out and annoyed to be there all the time. I get that she is 'hard to get" as a love interest, but we both felt she was just too hard to get - too disdainful of Curly. We otherwise enjoyed all the actor performances. Look forward to seeing the production on Bway once I can hopefully score a less $$ seat.

 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 6:50pm

Hmm i confess I have little interest in seeing this because I've always thought of Oklahoma! as one of the least compelling "golden age" musicals simply because Curly/Laurey/Ado Annie/Will Parker have to be the least likable quartet of lead lovers of any golden age musical. I simply don;'t care about their journey. There's not much going on with them to draw me in.

I care more about the journeys of Billy/Julie/Carrie/Enoch, King/Anna, Nelli/Emil, Eliza/Higgins, Fred/Lilli/Bill/Lois, Maria/Tony, Mama Rose, Tevye and his family, Sky/Nathan/Adelaide/Sarah, and so on and so forth. They are all less vanilla than the Oklahoma main characters. In terms of modern musicals, Hamilton/Burr, Evan, the whole Fun Home family, Jenna, Lola/Charlie, Price/Cunningham, and so on and so forth all draw me in more than Curly and Laurey. 

So making already unlikable characters more unlikable? I'm not tempted.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 6:52pm

I definitely am planning on seeing this production, but I'm in a similar position as Sauja, having known about the musical but not really knowing too much about the plot besides the major songs and characters.  Since this is such a departure from a traditional presentation on the show, would you recommend watching a traditional version first?  It seems like Sauja didn't have any issues with it, but I'm wondering if having seen Oklahoma in its original form might make the message of this production more impactful.

I had only heard good things about the St. Ann's production so I'm actually quite surprised and intrigued at the divisiveness here.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 7:08pm

Remember that Terrance Mann-directed faithful replication of the original production a few years back at a college? Was anyone able to catch that? I honestly can't remember reading a single review.

Would LOVE to hear comparisons in how that "revival" played vs. the St. Ann's revival, especially with modern audiences!

[all_that_jazz]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 7:54pm

Mediamaven2 said: "disneybroadwayfan22 said: "How were the actors?"

I haven't seen the previews on Bway but I while I enjoyed this show at St. Ann's, I and my companion did not at all care for the lead Rebecca Naomi Jones in this role. We felt like she seemed quite put out and annoyed to be there all the time. I get that she is 'hard to get" as a love interest, but we both felt she was just too hard to get - too disdainful of Curly. We otherwise enjoyed all the actor performances. Look forward to seeing the production on Bway once I can hopefully score a less $$ seat.

"

This was by far the worst part.  Rebecca Jones portrayal.  She had the one pissed off annoying the whole time.  How dare you say you like me.  How dare you ask me to a dance.  Bit then the moment she was scared she screams for Curly and is instantly marrying him.  Then her social justice warrior freak out in the finale.  What was that .  Bad directing or bad acting not sure which but neither category is good.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 7:56pm

Are they including ALL of the Dance music, all of MANY A NEW DAY, KANSAS CITY and the BALLET?

 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 10:15pm

There is no ensemble and therefore much of the dancing has been cut. Many a New Day has no dancing. It is sung by Laurey, Eller, Ado Annie and Gertie as they shuck corn together. Kansas City has some dancing, but not the full amount.

The dream ballet is long, but not performed by the live band. It’s like a rock/punk/angry arrangement of the music. It’s less of a ballet now and more of a modern dance piece.

Sauja, yes I agree with you that this shows how truly brilliant the material in Oklahoma is that it can withstand both the musical comedy and this avant-garde musical drama treatment.

Also, I’ll give Fish credit that I didn’t think he was (mostly) pulling from a bag of tricks and gimmicks like I often feel about Ivo. These trapping seem to spring organically from the material and his vision.

Now that I’m more fully prepared, I will make the effort to see this again.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 11:17pm

WhizzerMarvin said: "I love reading everyone’s thoughts on this thread.

Spoiler (?) the ending of Green Grow the Lilacs also does not see Curly get off so easily for his role in Jud’s (Jeeter in the play) fate. Hammerstein was sure to give us a big happy ending that the play did not allow.

I greatly enjoy your insights.  But Oscar, he was the Man behind modern musical theater, no? The driving force behind the "integrated" musicals Show Boat and Oklahoma. (Since Show Boat was an immediate and large hit, with the first production having hardly closed before the revival came along, I've wondered why it took so many years after Show Boat for the next integrated musical to come along.) Lyricist to Richard Rodgers and mentor to Stephen Sondheim.

But you are not implying that Oscar wrote syrupy happy endings as a rule. Although he might have wished that he could.

Show Boat, Carousel, South Pacific and King & I all had appropriately mixed endings. Well, Carousel I suppose on the down side of mixed.



 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/20/19 at 11:56pm

Holy hell, what was this?

For me, there were some standout moments, but the whole show was so tonally discordant that there was more than one moment in the show that make me unintentionally giggle or hang my jaw in disbelief. It was like an orgy of classic R&H, 80s MTV music videos, and “American Psycho”.

The good: Mary Testa and Ali Stroker. Both had the best moments in the show. Testa keep the proceedings moving along whenever she was on stage and managed to be darkly comic, in almost a threatening way. Ali Stroker was the scene stealer for me from the minute she slayed the house-down boots with “I Cain’t Say No” and kept me going with her very cheeky Annaleigh Ashford-esque style. Also, the chili and cornbread were actually good (and everyone got some if they wanted).

The bad: I already stated that the tone was so unclear and erratic that my friend and I (both huge theatre people) found it less edgy and more a nuisance. Rebecca Naomi Jones really doesn’t do anything special here. I’m use to dynamic performances from her, but she very much blends into the background like cardboard, and that upset me because I think that’s partially the fault of the direction. Damon Daunno really needs to pick a key and stick with it. He was between traditional country, country pop, and a cracking pubescent falsetto - and melding this all together really took the “oomph” out of “Oh What A Beautiful Morning”. Good news is that he looks GREAT in chaps. Also, the “dream ballet”...did not make a damn lick of sense at all. Knowing what it’s supposed to convey, it looked more like an awkward extended audition for “World of Dance”. Plus, that ending...I won’t spoil since I’m on my phone, but oooooof.

I give this a 5.5/10

Merchandise: All the usual stuff (keychain, mugs, magnets, T-shirts) sans a program or windowcard.

Stage Door: With the exception of Mary Testa (she dashes our before most of the audience), everyone came out, signed, took selfies, and really made an effort to discuss and process the show with the few of us who were utterly perplexed.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 12:27am

I’m from Oklahoma. I had no interest in seeing this until the reports from St. Ann’s started trickling in. I have never seen the movie. In the 90’s, my parents and I saw a production by a company outside of Tulsa that performed it in an outside theater each year during the spring/summer months as I recall. I enjoyed it, but didn’t feel a need to return. I think I’ll either love or loathe this production...

As someone who didn’t grow up experiencing a lot of musical theater, I’m less tied to the original productions or the intent of the writers. Honestly, I think once an artist puts their work out into the world, it quits become solely theirs and then belongs to the community/communities it finds ideas in. My love of Tori Amos’s pared down, piano-driven version of Madonna’s Like A Prayer does nothing to violate my love of the original which is my favorite song of all time. Neither does me appreciating other quite diverse covers. Until recently, I had a pretty solid track record with loving revivals. I liked the production of Evita I saw in 2012 (minus Elena Roger’s singing). Ditto for La Cage Aux Folles in 2011. I also adored the recent revivals of On The Town and Pippin. I thought the last revival of Cabaret was good. I saw Hello, Dolly! twice (once with Bette, once with Bernadette) and both rank very high in my theater going experiences. Then came my trip last summer where I saw My Fair Lady and Once on This Island and was disappointed in both. But my faith in revivals was replenished last month when I saw Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish and Kiss Me, Kate.

I’m not much of a purist when it comes to revivals, but I’m not opposed to an energetic, revitalized revival that hues close to the lines of the original. I’m thinking of Hello, Dolly! for instance here. However, I’m not opposed to certain liberties being taken as long as it benefits my experience in the audience. I’m thinking of Pippin (and the Spring Awakening revival) here.

I likely won’t make it back to NYC before November. If it’s still playing, I’ll likely see Oklahoma! then. Based on the response here, I can see this having trouble attracting positive word of mouth, so I wonder if even with a Tony win for best revival, if it will have a long shelf-life.

Speaking of which, Whizzer, I know you weren’t much of a fan of KMK. Which production would you vote for to win best revival at the Tony Awards? Also, is the consensus still that Oklahoma! wins?

Updated On: 3/21/19 at 12:27 AM

[seanmcdonagh121]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 12:52am

I saw the second preview of Oklahoma! tonight and my friend and I both loved it and couldn’t stop talking about it on the train home.

We both love Oklahoma having performed the musical with our own theatre group and seeing the UK tour a few years back.

This show will definitely divide people but I loved it all from the orchestrations to the lighting design to very out there direction.

Yes, it’s a totally new, fresh and different take on a very beloved property and I feel like it’s a totally different show because it really made my see the show and characters in a new light.

I was very frustrated at the end of act 1 but by the start of act 2 i was won over.

Try going out with an open mind and don’t expect anything you’ve seen/heard of Oklahoma before.

P.S ; maybe I’m over thinking this but did anyone else feel anything between Jud and Curley in their scene?

[Fan123]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 4:34am

Really interesting to read these reports. As I understand it, back in the day the Trevor Nunn / Hugh Jackman (in London) revival was regarded by many as having an unusually strong focus on the dark side of the play, for better or worse. For example:

http://observer.com/2002/04/theres-a-dark-rainy-cloud-on-the-meadow/

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/22/movies/theater-review-this-time-a-beautiful-mornin-with-a-dark-side.html

It's interesting to think that the Nunn production might now be seen as embodying a more traditionalist approach, in comparison to the latest dark reimagining.
(For the record, personally I like the DVD of the Nunn production, my first exposure to the show in any form. I'd probably find a 'too happy' interpretation of the show jarring, heh.)

Updated On: 3/21/19 at 04:34 AM

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 5:20am

Loving the praise for Ali Stroker - have always thought she was an insanely funny and gifted comic actress. I hope she's recognized come Tony time. She makes a meal out of a snack with this role.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 7:59am

BlueEyes, Sorry, I wasn’t trying to imply that Hammerstein always had big, happy endings (even though he was often a pretty optimistic/syrupy writer), but rather that Hammerstein stuck pretty close to the plot of Green Grow the Lilacs, except to add in Will Parker for comic relief/love and to erase the ambiguity of the ending re: Curly’s fate.

Miles, if I were a Tony voter I would vote for Oklahoma without hesitation.

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 8:56am

seanmcdonagh121 said: P.S ; maybe I’m over thinking this but did anyone else feel anything between Jud and Curley in their scene?"

Oh yes, my friend and I saw that as a total homoerotic moment and nothing less. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 9:35am

Yes, I was shocked they didn’t start making out in the smokehouse. R&H would have been shocked, but Lynn Riggs could easily have approved!

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 9:42am

quizking101 said: "seanmcdonagh121 said:P.S ; maybe I’m over thinking this but did anyone else feel anything between Jud and Curley in their scene?"

Oh yes, my friend and I saw that as a total homoerotic moment and nothing less."

One of the things I love about the casting is that neither of them are particularly brutish. Where as Shuler and Hugh in the Uk revival are both in their own ways very stereotypically “masculine” “manly men.” These two have such a modern less traditional (bohemian?) vibe that it changed the dynamic in a really exciting way for me. It also makes it easier to be more sympathetic to Jud and see how Laurie was actually somewhat attracted to him as well. (I saw it at St. Anne’s)

[Rogerdellibovi]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 10:23am

I’m excited to see Ali Stocker getting positivity! I saw he as Olive in Putnam County Spelling Bee in Cleveland this past summer and she was brilliant! Glad to see she’s back on Broadway. My question is for those familiar with Hadestown, do you think Mary Testa or Ali Strocker could beat Amber Gray for Featured Actress?

[teatime2]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 11:28am

I saw the second preview in both spaces. A brilliant piece. It's nice to see how it's grown and changed since Brooklyn. The biggest change was cutting the 20 something extra dancers in the ballet, and more video use throughout the show. I will say that all the audience members clapping along with the reprise at the end completely missed what it was trying to say.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 11:57am

Bold, brash, and slightly uncomfortable are the three terms that first come to mind after seeing this. As others have stated, this is Oklahoma! as we have never seen it done before. It’s sexy, violent, and even angry. All this being said, I fell absolutely head over heels in love with this production.

The Circle in the Square has been completely covered with wood paneling on the floors and walls and streamers span the entire length of the ceiling. The lighting design is jarring, but extremely effective and powerful. The sound design is pitch perfect, and I was able to make out every single word. The costumes are fun, modern, and sexy.

The cast is absolutely excellent. I never missed having a full ensemble because they were all so full of energy. Damon Daunno and Rebecca Naomi Jones have great chemistry. Ali Stroker and Mary Testa are both absolute hoots. The tension and anguish in Patrick Vaill’s Judd is staggering.

While I loved the cast and design, there is one thing that ultimately makes this production so successful. That is Daniel Fish’s marvelous direction. I have never seen a director approach any piece of theatre (old or new) like this. I think Ivo Van Hove has tried multiple times, but he has never been completely successful (at least for me).

I had serious reservations going into this. When it comes to musical revivals, I typically tend to prefer a somewhat faithful adaptation, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this. My favorite revivals recently include Bartlett Sher’s The King and I and Fiddler on the Roof and Hello, Dolly!, but this Oklahoma! is definitely going to be added to this list. 

 

Updated On: 3/21/19 at 11:57 AM

[Kitsune]

Posted: 3/21/19 at 11:57am

Flat-out asking for a spoiler: What's the ending in this version?