Is the new Oklahoma!???

[FranklinDickson2018]

Is the new Oklahoma! Broadway's answer to the regietheater (some call it Eurotrash) that has infected opera for quite some time now? Musicaly these opera productions are complete and they are often well sung.  But opera audiences are now subjected to a complete re-imagining  of the story because of these directors.  William Tell with decapitated horses onstage and sexual abuse, Simon Boccanegra with giant rats, A Masked Ball with men of the court sitting on the toilet, Lohengrin with giant (I think) cockroaches, Don Carlo, set in a Pizza Parlor, La Sonnambula in a hospital for mental illness,  and the list goes on and on.  And frequently the plot is changed eg Carmen shoots Don Jose at the end of the opera.   

Is this what is happening to Broadway now?  It hasn't helped the cause of opera as the older audiences don't really like these productions and stay away and maybe don't donate as much, and the younger ones aren't compelled to go, unless it is to say "I saw it" and that is all.  Boo-ing at these productions is a badge of honor to the director who laughs all the way to the bank. 

What I have read about the new Oklahoma! indicates I would stay far away from it as I do from regie opera.  I am sensing that this production has betrayed the intent of the original creative team.  And musically (I heard the cast sing at Broadwaycon) I am not at all impressed.  The singing wouldn't not be enough for me to compensate for the staging. At least in the opera I can listen with my eyes closed.

And please don't forget part of the creation of Oklahoma! came about because of the darkest days of WWII.  In other words the show was written to convey a positive message.  What our servicemen and women were fighting for.  Frequently, the show was the last thing a soldier saw before shipping overseas.  Oklahoma! doesn't need a new message.  It has one that creators intended, and one can use a positive message in any time. 

Does anyone remember the controversy about the time that a production of "South Pacific" was set in a mental hospital.  Didn't R & H shut it down?  If so, how far have they come in allowing these productions.  And not in a good way.  Is it just about the money? Assuring a stream of royalties keep coming in?  If R& H were alive today don't you think they would shut this production down in 5 minutes flat?  They were sticklers.  Read the stories about John Raitt and the high note in "Carousel" or Hammerstein accosting a chorus member who screwed up "Nothing like a Dame".  They wanted their shows to be the way they wrote them. 

If Fish and his team are the way of the future for Broadway revivals --- I will cherish my memories, thank you very much.   And spend my money on the next Sher production.  

 

 

 

 

[LizzieCurry]

Which word is your subject line missing?

[dramamama611]

Different strokes.  It's ok if everything isn't for you.

 

Question: have you SEEN it or just heard about it?

[TonightsMarquee]

[natashalost]

Which person from Kiss Me Kate paid you to post this?

[broadwayguy2]

They do not "add" anything different to the show. Those themes, those plot points and beats were ALWAYS in the show. The show had and still has a happy ending. The show had and still has dark themes that run throughout. The tone in which they were handled then reflected the world as it was. In fact, you can watch the NC School of the Arts' exact recreation of the original production on line - it was filmed for PBS. Those darker themes of Oklahoma!, of South Pacific, and Carousel are handled differently in current society. A production is very welcome to explore that fact. In fact, one of the absolute darkest and most jarring moments of South Pacific is now shrugged off by modern audiences because of our distance from World War 2.

There is nothing particularly avant garde about staging a 'country' musical in a barn.. especiallyw hen there is a barn and a barn raising in the show. 

At best you can argue that re-orchestrating to reflect a country western sound is the biggest stretch there, and even then, it is entirely character related and easily justifiable and R&H Library offers multiple orchestrations available for the bulk of R&H's shows.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Sis..who hurt you? 

[jimmycurry01]

What is interesting here is that you comment that this clearly goes against the intent of the creators. While Rodgers and Hammerstein are the creators of the usually cheery musical, don't forget that it is based on a much less cheery play. It is my understanding
that this production brings forth the themes of Lynn Riggs' play, and puts those themes front and center. Using your argument, one could argue that the musical Oklahoma! as originally produced has the regie opera effect on the legitimate theatre.

The truth is, both of these arguments are bunk. There is an audience for all types of theatre, and no theatrical vision can infect the art form. Some interpretations work better than others, and that's OK.

[After Eight]

FranklinDickson2018 wrote:

 

"Is the new Oklahoma! Broadway's answer to the regietheater (some call it Eurotrash) that has infected opera for quite some time now?"

 

Yes. One of several answers we've been given, to the theatre's grave misfortune: Flower Drum Song, Cinderella, My Fair Lady, The Glass Menagerie. You see, the problem with infection is, it spreads. If actually nurtured and nourished, as is the case with these grotesqueries, it spreads even faster. We thought that our beloved opera would be exempt. It wasn't. We thought our beloved theatre would be exempt. It wasn't. We may have thought that at least one beautiful thing in this world would be exempt. A naive and foolish notion. Everything pure, innocent, beautiful, or  noble is targeted for sullying.

 


"Boo-ing at these productions is a badge of honor to the director who laughs all the way to the bank."

The same holds true for the theatre. Sticking it to the "rubes," who are too stupid or uncool to get it, all the while pocketing their cash, is how the hip, elite crowd gets their jollies. And also how the latest hotshot directors can gain immediate cachet, awards, fame and fortune.

"I am sensing that this production has betrayed the intent of the original creative team." 

That's the name of the game, as explained above.

" They wanted their shows to be the way they wrote them. "

Which is exactly why the saboteurs and their cheering gallery wish to sabotage them.

"If Fish and his team are the way of the future for Broadway revivals --- I will cherish my memories, thank you very much."  

Then hold on to your memories, and hold on to them fast. We're very far from Mira now, and there's no turning back.

[darquegk]

"Yanush! Ninotchka! Ivan! Quickly come! Is the new Oklahoma!!!!"

[bwayobsessed]

You say yourself that the original was present for a 1943 audience. This is for a 2019 audience. Obviously the entire view of our country has changed.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Yeah, it's a real shame nobody will ever be able to stage the original version of Oklahoma again after this production. It's lost forever.

[Niles Silvers]

Personally, I would prefer an entirely new work, than see an old warhorse totally restructured just to appeal to so-called modern audiences.  No amount of changes can hide the fact that most of these classics are paeans to white supremacist fantasies.  

[ColorTheHours048]

Niles Silvers said: "Personally, I would prefer an entirely new work, than see an old warhorse totally restructured just to appeal to so-called modern audiences. No amount of changes can hide the fact that most of these classics are paeans to white supremacist fantasies."

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

The show is performed in its entirety, verbatim, from the original libretto. What is “different” are the orchestrations and lens through which the director has viewed said libretto. Is it “darker” than most people remember Oklahoma? Yes. But it also a lot more clear-eyed in its approach to the themes.

[Kad]

Niles Silvers said: "Personally, I would prefer an entirely new work, than see an old warhorse totally restructured just to appeal to so-called modern audiences. No amount of changes can hide the fact that most of these classics are paeans to white supremacist fantasies."

Oklahoma is a very faithful adaptation of a play by a gay Cherokee. 

[YvanEhtNioj]

ColorTheHours048 said: 

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

"

That's not true. 

Re: the ending. 

[raddersons]

YvanEhtNioj said: "ColorTheHours048 said:

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

"

That's not true.

Re: the ending."

The text is all the original text. It is simply put in a different context, said with more weight, and has different pacing.

[YvanEhtNioj]

raddersons said: "YvanEhtNioj said: "ColorTheHours048 said:

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

"

That's not true.

Re: the ending."

The text is all the original text. It is simply put in a different context, saidwith more weight, and has different pacing."

Now I'm confused..

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

In this version, he's shot (or at least it looks like he is). In the original, doesn't he slip and fall on a knife? 

 

[raddersons]

YvanEhtNioj said: "raddersons said: "YvanEhtNioj said: "ColorTheHours048 said:

Nothing. In. The. Show. Has. Been. Changed. Or. Re. Struc. Tured. Stop making this claim. It is wrong.

"

That's not true.

Re: the ending."

The text is all the original text. It is simply put in a different context, saidwith more weight, and has different pacing."

Now I'm confused..

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

In this version, he's shot (or at least it looks like he is). In the original, doesn't he slip and fall on a knife?

"

I thought you were referring to the trial. That is definitely a change, although I still really don't think of a change like that to be a "restructuring". 

[Mister Matt]

Stifling creativity is so HAWT, y'all.  Who doesn't love a stranglehold on static old warhorses?

[ColorTheHours048]

Okay, so there’s a tweak to the ending that makes the morality of the trial a little muddier, but I would hardly call that a “restructuring” of the show in any way.

[YvanEhtNioj]

ColorTheHours048 said: "Okay, so there’s a tweak to the ending that makes the morality of the trial a little muddier, but I would hardly call that a “restructuring” of the show in any way.
"

Not for nothing, but there were plenty of people whining about this during the show last night. So i think it's a pretty big deal to a lot of people. 

[ColorTheHours048]

I don’t doubt there are people upset about the change to the end. But I also think people are missing the forest for the trees with this production.

[UncleCharlie]

I have to be honest. The original ending where the Tin Man finds his heart and the Lion finds his courage was so much better.

[YvanEhtNioj]

UncleCharlie said: "I have to be honest. The original ending where the Tin Man finds his heart and the Lion finds his courage was so much better."

hahahahah you win.