Northwest Florida State College’s summer musical is a thoroughly enjoyable, visually glorious and oh-what-a-beautiful production.
Under Clint Mahlie’s deft direction, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” assumes a lively freshness yet remains faithful to the 1943 Broadway classic.
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Audiences already have expectations of what they want to see and hear from the American musical theatre milestone. But Mahlie teases us, wrenching us out of that complacency and giving something exciting and, well, fresh.
“Oklahoma!” is a show that needs to be lassoed, wrangled and spurred along because, on closer examination, it’s a simple boy-loves-girl story that could easily go tepid.
In the many productions of “Oklahoma!” I’ve attended — including a couple that seemed endless — I have never seen a better pairing for that boy and girl than Tristan Allen’s Curley and Katie Pickler’s Laurey.
NOT GRANDMA’S ‘OKLAHOMA!’
After Tristan’s soaring performance of the opening number, “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” any expectations of an Alfred Drake-Gordon MacRae-Hugh Jackman reboot are forgotten and the audience is jolted into a wonderfully new experience.
Gretchen Erickson’s wise Aunt Eller, Sean Royal’s fresh-faced Will Parker, Megan Garofalo’s boy-crazy Ado Annie and Jason Mueller’s girl-smitten Ali Hakim, the Persian peddler, bring life and personality to their characters.
An unexpected standout is Baker’s Daniel Thornton as the brooding, troubled Jud Fry, the farmhand with a collection of, ahem, “educational” French postcards, some serious personal issues and — uh oh — an eye for winsome Laurey.
Those expecting a lighthearted Rodgers and Hammerstein fluff piece will find the dynamics between Jud and Curly, and Jud and Laurey, troubling, shading the colorful show’s otherwise robust pace.
But every good Broadway show needs a bad guy, and Jud is an American musical theatre icon that Thornton thoughtfully, deliberately, menacingly personifies.
TECHNICAL PERFECTION
Technically, the production is as masterful as its cast is talented.
The 12-piece orchestra under Guy Heath and Carolyn Schlatter's direction fills the Mainstage with sound grand enough to rival the Northwest Florida Symphony.
Joseph Taylor and Kelly Murdock beautifully adapt Agnes De Mille’s original Broadway choreography, particularly the sumptuous “Out of My Dreams” Act I ballet closer featuring Joleigh Jarvis’ seemingly effortless dancing.
Mahlie’s sets are gorgeous works of stagecraft. Spin the main section one way and it’s Aunt Eller’s farmhouse. A quick twist and its Jud Fry’s hovel. Turn it completely around and it’s an old barn just perfect for a hamper picnic.
Details such as the farmhouse's shingles, the forced perspective in the windmill and water tower and the chirp of birds and night bugs ground the musical in reality.
VISUAL APPEAL
Contributing to the show’s visual appeal is Bob Whittaker’s lighting. The stage is his canvas and his banks of Fresnels, lekos and floods are his brushes and oils, painting the production in a brilliant palette of rich hues. His delicate opening sunrise is a joy.
Jennifer Boudette’s original costumes clothe the 27-member cast in nice, earthy period garb yet allow appropriate frippery as needed: Ali Hakim’s checkerboard trousers jump to mind.
NWFSC’s “Oklahoma!” is a luscious, appealing and visually stunning piece of traditional American theatre, a respectful homage to its legendary composers, yet as vibrant as anything the Great White Way has produced in recent years.
It’s good old-fashioned Broadway storytelling with music and dance that propel its tale without need of crashing chandeliers, flying super heroes and helicopters handing on the stage.
Take a summer escape from the heat of Florida to the fresh, wind-swept plains of this “Oklahoma!”
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma”
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
WHERE: Mattie Kelly Arts Center Mainstage, Northwest Florida State College
COST: $25 adult; $20, ages 18 and under
NOTES: Tickets from the box office, 729-6000 and www.MattieKellyArtsCenter.org. The Mattie Kelly Arts Center’s art galleries open 90 minutes before each performance; admission is free.
NWFSC Humanities and Film professor David Simmons presents a 25-minute talk about “Oklahoma!’s” cultural and moral issues at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the center’s Tyler Recital Hall.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at brianh@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Oh, what a beautiful evening at NWFSC's 'Oklahoma!' (PHOTOS, VIDEO)