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| re: The theme of the production | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 02:27 am EDT 08/29/19 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:26 am EDT 08/29/19 | |
| In reply to: re: The theme of the production - AlanScott 12:37 am EDT 08/29/19 | |
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| Alan, I've never seen the video of the London ''Oklahoma!,'' but could it have been a bigger hit there because Hugh Jackman played Curly? (And did a film commitment keep Jackman from reprising his role on Broadway?) And did Jackman have better chemistry with its British Laurey, Josefina Gabrielle? One of her selling points, I believe, was that she could dance the role of Laurey; however, critics here seemed less enthused about her acting and singing. At Tony nomination time, Gabrielle got shut out, but her American co-stars (Patrick Wilson, Andrea Martin and Justin Bohon) all got nominated. And Shuler Hensley reprised his Olivier Award-winning role as Jud and became the only ''Oklahoma!'' nominee to win a Tony. (Speaking of Wilson, I wish he'd come back to Broadway to do musicals with that glorious voice of his.) |
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| Link | Patrick Wilson and 2002 cast of 'Oklahoma!' on David Letterman show |
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| re: The theme of the production | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 12:14 am EDT 08/30/19 | |
| In reply to: re: The theme of the production - WaymanWong 02:26 am EDT 08/29/19 | |
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| I'm surprised you've never seen the video. It used to get shown on PBS and it's available now on Blu-Ray (having been available in the past on both VHS and DVD). But I can't say it makes a great case for the production (not that I'm sure a great case could be made for it but I think a better one could be made than is made by the video). I can't remember exactly why Jackman wasn't available for Broadway. People say that Jackman and Gabrielle had better chemistry than Wilson and Gabrielle. I have no opinion. It was at first being claimed that Gabrielle was the first actress ever to play Laurey and dance the dream ballet. I pointed out here that was not correct, that Susan Watson had done that in a City Center revival and that I also bet that this had happened in various other productions. I think that I later learned that Karen Ziemba had done that in her high school production. Eventually, they changed Gabrielle's bio to say that she was the first person to do this both on the West End and Broadway. Gabrielle is very talented — I thought she was quite good in that London Merrily we saw here in the movies — but there was a wide feeling that she was not wonderful vocally as Laurey, that she was really more of a belter and her upper register was not very appealing. I've heard much worse, but I think it was clear that she was not among the most vocally appealing Laureys ever. Again, she is very talented. I'll just say again that the London production did not have a super-long run after it left the National. I can't remember if it closed because some cast members (perhaps including Jackman) had to leave and they decided to close rather than replace them or if it just wasn't doing great business (or perhaps both because I would think that they would have found new people if it had been doing really well). |
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