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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: Fasslercom 10:00 am EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Ncassidine 08:20 am EDT 04/05/23

Well written, fascinating and important account of how this "Oklahoma!" was received on its tour. As for advertising it, I'm sure it was billed as the Tony Award winning production for Best Revival, which it was. I'm sure many or most had no idea it had been tweaked (even though not a word of dialogue was changed), but in no way could this be construed as false advertising.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: AlanScott 06:26 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Fasslercom 10:00 am EDT 04/05/23

I didn't see the production, but according to friends who did see it, several important lines were cut. So perhaps literally speaking on a word of dialogue was changed, but several lines were gone, and that is a change to the dialogue, if not literally a change of the dialogue.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!)
Last Edit: WaymanWong 07:29 pm EDT 04/05/23
Posted by: WaymanWong 07:26 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - AlanScott 06:26 pm EDT 04/05/23

Fish's idiosyncratic direction goes beyond some changes in the dialogue.

Spoilers ahead! ... Curly and Jud sing ''Poor Jud Is Daid'' in pitch darkness as a live camera shows giant closeups of their faces on the wall.

Laurey's dream ballet has been turned into a solo where a dancer races around the stage, accompanied by a screaming rock guitar.

And Jud comes to the wedding and gifts Curly a gun. Curly directly shoots him, and Curly and Laurey are splattered with Jud's blood.

Needless to say, quite a departure from the original where Curly and Jud get into a knife fight, and Jud dies after falling on his knife.

There's no way road audiences could've been prepared for this. ... Yup, this ain't your parents' ''Oklahoma!'' Nor mine.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!)
Posted by: AlanScott 07:38 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!) - WaymanWong 07:26 pm EDT 04/05/23

Thanks, Wayman. I know about all of those. I was just referring to the actual dialogue, not divergences from the stage directions in the published script that Hammerstein approved, since that is what Fasslercom mentioned.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!)
Posted by: WaymanWong 07:52 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!) - AlanScott 07:38 pm EDT 04/05/23

And for the record, I never voted for the guy who became the 45th President and was the co-producer of the 1970 flop play ''Paris Is Out.'' ;)
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!)
Posted by: AlanScott 12:52 am EDT 04/06/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!) - WaymanWong 07:52 pm EDT 04/05/23

I would be shocked if you told me you did. :)
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re: “Oklahoma!”: The best revival I've ever seen
Posted by: WaymanWong 05:03 pm EDT 04/06/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road (with Spoilers!) - AlanScott 12:52 am EDT 04/06/23

In 2010, Arena Stage in D.C. did an amazing ''Oklahoma!'' in the round with a marvelous, multiracial cast, directed by Molly Smith.

It starred a Latino Curly (Nicholas Rodriguez, who won the Helen Hayes Award) and an African-American Laurey (Eleasha Gamble).

I wish that joyous revival had moved to Broadway and played the Circle in the Square (instead of the Daniel Fish version that did).
Link 'Oklahoma!' at Arena Stage (trailer from 2010)
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re: “Oklahoma!”: The best revival I've ever seen
Posted by: AlanScott 05:28 pm EDT 04/06/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: The best revival I've ever seen - WaymanWong 05:03 pm EDT 04/06/23

It would have been nice to see that. I have to admit to being a traditionalist where Rodgers and Hammerstein are concerned, but I would have been happy to see the Oregon Shakespeare Festival gay Oklahoma! come to New York. It looked like fun. Clearly, it was set in an alternate universe.

The show is funny. It's meant to be funny. Serious, too, but there is so much comedy in the show.

Personally, I would be happy if we got productions of the classic musicals regularly in New York.

For a more fully traditional production, I would have been happy if New York could have seen the Lyric Opera of Chicago production, with a full orchestra and de Mille's choreography. There was a radio broadcast, and it's my second-favorite Oklahoma! recording, after the OBCR.

Anyway, soon there will finally be a complete Oklahoma! recording (or so we are told). Let's hope it's good.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: The best revival I've ever seen/ what new recording?
Posted by: bmc 12:13 pm EDT 04/09/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: The best revival I've ever seen - AlanScott 05:28 pm EDT 04/06/23

what recording? WHO?When?
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Last Edit: WaymanWong 01:46 pm EDT 04/05/23
Posted by: WaymanWong 01:45 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Fasslercom 10:00 am EDT 04/05/23

I saw this overrated revival on Broadway. I gave it a second try when it played S.F. Other than Sean Grandillo's Curly, it was disappointing all over.

What Daniel Fish did went far beyond ''tweaking.'' Should've been billed ''Daniel Fish's 'Oklahoma!''' because it sure wasn't Rodgers & Hammerstein's.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: Singapore/Fling 10:41 am EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Fasslercom 10:00 am EDT 04/05/23

Not false advertising, but misleading advertising. Presenters sold the show in the way that would sell the most tickets, even if that meant that a good deal of their audience would hate it (which is counterintuitive, because then the audiences turn against the presenter). Sending this show to giant road houses was always a bad idea, because it wasn't created to appeal to that large of an audience.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: Ncassidine 10:49 am EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Singapore/Fling 10:41 am EDT 04/05/23

Agreed with this. Even advertising it as R&H's Oklahoma was a bad choice.
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: Chromolume 11:52 am EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Ncassidine 10:49 am EDT 04/05/23

Not as bad as "R + H 's Oklahoma" would have been. :-)
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: Ann 02:52 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Chromolume 11:52 am EDT 04/05/23

Could be R + H - Oklahoma
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re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road.
Posted by: Chromolume 06:51 pm EDT 04/05/23
In reply to: re: “Oklahoma!”: Audience Rejection On the Road. - Ann 02:52 pm EDT 04/05/23

Or, Oklahoma - R+H?
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