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‘Oklahoma’ Closes STAGES season with a gem
The Wedding dance and music is a show favorite
STAGES’ Oklahoma Not Just OK–
It’s Outstanding!
by Pat Lindsey
There are many good reasons why Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma has delighted audiences for 75 years. The STAGES production of this fabulous show wraps up all those reasons–love, laughter, a beautiful score, superb singing, fantastic dancing, dramatic conflict, suspense, and political tension–into a lovely gift for its audiences for the final show of the 2018 season. This Oklahoma is much more than just OK. It’s outstanding and the best show of the season.
Wonderfully directed by Michael Hamilton, this cast has the ability to make the audience feel the wind whipping across the plains on a very small stage. It’s the small size of the Robert G. Reim Theatre that makes the STAGES shows all the more phenomenal for me. The sets are detailed and colorful and the dance numbers are nothing short of amazing when they’re performed in such a tight space.
There are many stars in this show, but the lead actors are Sarah Ellis as Laurey, Blake Price as Curly, and a St. Louis favorite, Zoe Vonder Haar as Aunt Eller. Each one is gifted with a fabulous singing voice. When Curly (Blake Price) opens with “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,” he sets the scene for peace and optimism on the prairie. He then engages our imaginations even more when he sings, “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top.” Laurey (Sarah Ellis) and Aunt Eller (Zoe Vonder Haar) are completely swept away with Curly’s vivid imagery of the surrey being pulled by two white horses, but that’s not enough to convince Laurey to go to the social with him that night.
There are several stories within this story and each involves a conflict. It’s the story of a sassy, independent farmgirl who grapples with her feelings for two men. Then, there is the conflict between the two men who both love the independent farmgirl. The over-arching conflict is between the farmers and the cowmen who disagree about whether Oklahoma should remain a territory or become a state. Added to those problems is the love triangle of amorous Ado Annie (Lucy Moon), cowboy Will Parker (Con O’Shea-Creal), and Persian peddler Ali Hakim (Matthew Curiano), which creates comic relief. Tension builds when Curly (Price) confronts hired hand Jud Fry (David Sajewich) about taking Laurey to the social. A gun and knife appear and we know that trouble is sure to follow, because Jud Fry (Sajewich) is dark and frightening character.
Oklahoma is credited as the first “musical play” to incorporate ballet as a story-telling device. Dana Lewis deserves a standing ovation for choreographing the stunning Dream Ballet and some terrific tap dancing while we learn that everything’s up to date in “Kansas City.”
“People Will Say We’re in Love” is one of the greatest long songs ever written and Curly and Laurey sing it beautifully in Act I and reprise it in Act II. Lucy Moon is perfect as Ado Annie and reveals her character’s true desires in “I Cain’t Say No.” Every song is memorable, but, of course, the most rousing one is “Oklahoma.”
No matter how many times you have seen Oklahoma, you will always find something new or different in each production and you’ll grow to love it even more. The intimacy of this small theater pulled me into the drama more intensely than any other time I’ve seen it. The characters are up close and personal and I felt a connection with each one of them. It’s a classic and a treasure and STAGES has made it a real gem. Don’t miss it.
Oklahoma will be performed at the Robert G. Reim Theatre in Kirkwood now through Oct. 7. 9/7 at 8 p.m. For more information, call 314-821-2407 or visit StagesStlouis.org.
The big wedding scene is full of dance and musi
