OK! 'Oklahoma'

    Energetic, raucous, frenzied, frequently touching and always interesting, “Oklahoma,â€� TriArts’ last major show of the summer, is terrific. Director Mark Robinson has made this most classic American musical fresh with a talented cast of young actors, many of whose parents were not even born in 1943 when the musical opened its 10-year run on Broadway.

   “Oklahomaâ€� opened a new epoch in musical theater because for the first time song and dance were tied to the dramatic purpose. They moved the story along and revealed character. Oscar Hammerstein II wrote both book and lyrics before Richard Rodgers composed his ravishing score. But like most icons of the theater, “Oklahomaâ€� can be interpreted in many different ways.

   The story is both simple and complicated. Curly loves Laurey, but she appears to pay him no mind; Will loves Ado Annie, who loves anyone she’s with. And Jud, the paranoid hired hand on Laurey and Aunt Eller’s ranch, longs for Laurey from his lonely room. All this as the Oklahoma territory prepares for statehood. Rodgers and Hammerstein filled the show with memorable songs, and Agnes de Mille, a ballet choreographer, made two extended dances that—unlike the usual divertissements—furthered the drama.

   The movie of the musical — which I suspect is what most people remember — was a sunny, “aw- shucksâ€� version with the ever-virginal Shirley Jones and dimpled Gordon McCrae doing their usual coy romantic routines. Rod Steiger’s Jud was more menacing than disturbed.  

   But “Oklahomaâ€� is much more than a “feel goodâ€� show. The tensions of first love, sexual need and unrequited longing can be palpable. Certainly Trevor Nunn’s English National Theatre’s production seen on Broadway in 2002 was all about sex.

   Robinson has let the high hormonal load of his young cast speak for itself. If the chemistry between Laurey (Caitlyn Caughell) and Curly (Ryan Speakman) is often weak, that between Will (Jeffrey Wright III) and Ado Annie (Aubrey Flick) and between Ali the “Persian Peddlerâ€� (Shane Quinn) and Ado Annie is electric. And there is real chemistry between Jud (Dane Agnostics) and Laurey, too, even if it both frightens and disgusts her.

   But “Oklahomaâ€� rests squarely on its music and dances, and Robinson’s carefully selected cast sings beautifully and executes Bethany Elkins’ splendid choreography to near perfection. The difficult “Dream Balletâ€� in which Laurey dreams of both Curly and Jud is especially well performed by Amber Cameron and Johnny Napolitano. The great “The Farmer and the Cowmanâ€� hoedown that opens Act II brings the house down.

   From the moment Curly, blond and good looking, walks forward on a still, early morning stage bathed in soft, golden light and opens the show with “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,â€� you are ravished with wonderful voices and musical sensibilities. Speakman’s tenor can be both meaty and light, and he uses it well. Caughell is wonderfully artful.  Both Flick and Quinn give their numbers musical integrity and comic effect without tipping into caricature. Jeffrey Wright III is a handsome bundle of testosterone, whose cheerful, non-stop pursuit of Ado Annie is vocally just right.

   Local Glenda Lauten is perfect as the substantial — in figure and wisdom — Aunt Eller, who lives with Laurey; and Bill Morris (Andrew Carnes) leads the lively “Farmer and Cowmanâ€� with authority. Darcy Boynton, another local resident, doesn’t sing, but her hyena laugh surely qualifies as dystopian music.

   However it is Agnostics’ Jud who almost steals the show. Blessed with a brooding presence and a powerful speaking and singing baritone, he is wonderful in the “Pore Jud is Daidâ€� duet with an equally good Speakman. But his “Lonely Roomâ€� musical monologue is something apart:  tortured, mentally ill, deeply moving. You will wish him a better fate than the one he receives.

   Erik Diaz’s sets are good, Chris Dallos’ lighting especially atmospheric, and the sound is mercifully balanced and at the right levels. Michael Berkeley conducts a seven-piece ensemble that plays well but often sounds thin for this big score.  

     “Oklahomaâ€� plays through Aug. 22 at TriArts’ Sharon Playhouse.

   For tickets, call 860-364-7469.

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