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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 01:41 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO - AlexanderKat 11:33 am EST 01/17/22 | |
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| Agreed. I'll happily stick with my memories. For me, it was the London production with Hugh Jackman. That production (particularly in London, not so much on Broadway) had so many quiet or even still moments. It rally gave on the sense of the vastness of the land. | |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 10:22 am EST 01/18/22 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 10:17 am EST 01/18/22 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO - PlazaBoy 01:41 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| I saw the Jackman/Trever Nunn production in nyc and I remember the projections were impressive as well. I didn't like the production much. Comparing it with the Fish production I'd say the Fish production had much more of a thematic and aesthetic integrity to it. I still struggled with the Fish production, I felt like I was in an operating room watching OKLAHOMA getting vivisected. I loved some things like the boots falling from the sky and the bloody ending. Other things irked me, I had seen those flag buntings used as an art gallery trope for the past few years and even though they worked beautifully in the design they felt trendy to me. The black out scene did not land for me and I found it rather precious. Looking back on the Fish production it seems to have captured the American zeitgeist of the Trump era in a way that other theater pieces have not yet been able to. Someone above asked why not pick on Shaw to deconstruct and leave Rodgers & Hammerstein alone, but R&H are our Shaw or at least as central to American theater as any play by a canonical playwright. |
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| re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 03:19 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:14 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO - PlazaBoy 01:41 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| I wasn't a big fan of Daniel Fish's ''Oklahoma!'' either. My favorite version was the radiant 2010-11 revival at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. It featured a wonderfully diverse cast, starring Nicholas Rodriguez (Latino) as Curly and Eleasha Gamble (African-American) as Laurey. Molly Smith directed it. I wish it had moved to Broadway's Circle in the Square, where I bet it would've been showered with Tony nominations. (Rodriguez is now in ''Company,'' and another Rodriguez who was in ''Oklahoma!,'' Vincent Rodriguez III, as Sam, went on to star in the CW's ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.'') |
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| Link | 'Oklahoma!' opens at Arena Stage |
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| Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:26 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "OKLAHOMA!" in CHICAGO - WaymanWong 03:14 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| That clip is incredible. E. Faye Butler is one of Chicago's stalwart performers. She's a force of nature and has played dozens of great female roles in plays and musicals at all of Chicago's top theaters. I've been privileged to witness all those performances and have had some great conversations with her. I've lost count of how many Jefferson Awards she has accumulated over her career. Valisia LeKae (who played Laurey at some point in the Arena revival) was stunning as Diana Ross in Motown on Broadway and equally fine as Sarah in Ragtime at the Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre (another of my favorite Chicagoland venues). I read about the Arena Stage revival of Oklahoma!, but can't remember the details. Did it use the revised ending in which Curly essentially murders Jud instead of Jud dying accidentally by falling on his knife? |
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| re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 07:28 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 07:19 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL - BroadwayTonyJ 05:26 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| Butler was wonderful as Aunt Eller, and in fact, she and Gamble were both nominated for Helen Hayes Awards for their performances. Another Hayes nominee was Cody Williams, who played Will. He's gone on to appear on Broadway in ''Memphis'' and ''On the Town.'' This ''Oklahoma!'' won 4 Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Resident Musical, Choreography and Actor in a Musical (for Nicholas Rodriguez). As for LeKae, she was announced to play Laurey, but 10 days before the opening, she withdrew due to ''pressing personal matters.'' Gamble took over after that. ... In 2013, I saw LeKae in ''Motown the Musical,'' which earned her a Tony nomination and a Theatre World Award. As for the ending, I'm pretty sure it was the traditional one (with Curly falling on his knife). I'd recall if they had vastly changed it. |
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| Link | Behind the scenes of Arena Stage's 'Oklahoma!' (Includes rehearsal footage of LeKae and an interview with Butler) |
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| re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:34 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL - WaymanWong 07:19 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| As for the ending, I'm pretty sure it was the traditional one (with Curly falling on his knife). That would be a radical change indeed. :-) |
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| re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:06 am EST 01/18/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL - Chromolume 11:34 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| That could work with the right casting. I have seen at least two productions of Oklahoma!, in which the actor playing Jud was better looking and more sexually interesting than the actor playing Curly. That could make the waving wheat smell even sweeter when the wind comes right behind the rain. Just sayin'. | |
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| re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 02:47 pm EST 01/18/22 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:43 pm EST 01/18/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL - BroadwayTonyJ 08:06 am EST 01/18/22 | |
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| ''As for the ending, I'm pretty sure it was the traditional one (with Curly falling on his knife).'' Oops. I blew it. Obviously, I meant ''Jud falling on his knife.'' For the record, Molly Smith cast two sexy leading men to play Curly and Jud in her ''Oklahoma!'' at Arena Stage, and Rodriguez commented: ''Molly’s incredible. She wanted it to be a viable love triangle. Jud is often portrayed as slovenly and dirty. But she wanted him to be a bad boy and sometimes, women are attracted to them. She wanted Curly to have to work harder to win Laurey. Luckily, Aaron and I get along very well and have each other’s back. If we didn’t, it could be dangerous because of our fight scenes. That’s a lot of testosterone.'' (Laughs.) |
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| re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:44 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL - WaymanWong 07:19 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| Oh, I see. I read the BWW article about LeKae being in the show, but it must have been written before she dropped out. I agree that based on the clip you posted and others that I saw on YouTube, the Arena revival must have been fantastic. Thanks for the information. I definitely liked the diverse casting because, after all, that is how America most likely looked post-Civil War. |
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| Nicholas Rodriguez on 'Oklahoma!' and being ethnic and openly gay | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 11:56 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:52 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Arena Stage 2010-11 "OKLAHOMA!" -- Big Spoiler Request -- DON"T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE OKLAHOMA! REVIVAL - BroadwayTonyJ 08:44 pm EST 01/17/22 | |
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| In 2011, I interviewed Rodriguez and asked him about the racial diversity in his ''Oklahoma!'' He said: ''My father’s Mexican-American, and my mom’s Cherokee and Welsh. But even though our Laurey and Aunt Eller (E. Faye Keller) are portrayed by African-Americans, we’re not playing race. We’ve all done a lot of historical research; although all these ethnic groups [blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans] existed at that time in Oklahoma, they didn’t co-exist. So our modern take is that they’re all co-mingling, like our country is now. But I’m not playing Curly as a Latino; I’m just Curly.'' And speaking of diversity, Rodriguez also dished about being a Broadway leading man of color who's also openly gay. |
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| Link | NewNowNext: Nicholas Rodriguez Talks Life, Love and 'Oklahoma!' |
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