STAGE WEST
  • Home
  • About David
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Theatre Reviews
  • New Page

Theater reviews

Stage West

Oklahoma! struts its stuff at Welk

1/1/2014

0 Comments

 
​It’s time to take a fresh look at Oklahoma!, which has only been around for 71 years. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first musical is beloved for its struttin’ cowpokes and down-home romances, and of course for a score that includes “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’”, “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “Kansas City,” “People Will Say We’re in Love” and a rousing title song. But on fresh examination, it’s the show’s left turns that keep Oklahoma! interesting. The courtship of Laurey Williams by Curly McLain is an overly sincere bore, but the one between big-grinning Will Parker and man-mad Ado Annie sure ain’t. There’s also the presence of a flirtatious Persian salesman, and stranger still, a psychopathic farm hand named Jud Fry who darkens Oklahoma!’s sunniness every moment he’s on stage. And how about the extended dream sequence, complete with ballet dancer, that ends Act One? No one’s ever going to call Oklahoma! edgy, but at least it’s not nonstop cute.
            Welk Resorts’ barn-like theater is an apt setting for this famed musical, running through Nov. 16, and its relative intimacy brings the singing and dancing close to the audience. The acoustics can be tinny, however, rendering a couple of the characters (RC Sands’ Pa Carnes and Sydney Blair’s Ado Annie) difficult to understand when they’re vocalizing. But the fresh-faced cast as a whole meets the expectations that come with a Broadway show as well-known as this one. While Kailey O’Donnell and Allen Everman as lovers Laurey and Curly are fine, it’s the actors occupying the character parts who shine brightest. Ado Annie is the best part in Oklahoma!, and the aforementioned Blair is a skilled comedienne with an infectious smile. Robin Lavalley earns her share of laughs as wise old Aunt Eller, and Will Huse is truly disturbing as the menacing Jud.  
            The costumes, provided by The Theatre Company of Upland, are cartoon-colors cheerful, and while the set is merely serviceable, there is a cameo appearance by the eponymous surrey with the fringe on top. 
            Like so many of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s collaborations, Oklahoma!’s legacy is assured. That doesn’t mean you’ll want to see it time and again. But if you never have, well your education in musical Americana is incomplete.
                        
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    David L. Coddon is a Southern California theater critic.

    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    August 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    January 2016
    January 2015
    December 2014
    January 2014
    January 2013
    January 2012
    January 2011

    Categories

    All
    Theatre Review

David Coddon

About 
David Coddon Fiction
Theatre Reviews

Support

Contact
FAQ
Terms of Use
© COPYRIGHT 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About David
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Theatre Reviews
  • New Page