The new OKLAHOMA! Revival Is Not For Everyone

Director Daniel Fish’s touring company of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” marks the first time an Equity production of “Oklahoma!” has toured North America in more than 40 years. I was excited to attend the opening night of the Los Angeles premiere to see this Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Wendy Malik at OKLAHOMA Opening Night. Photo by Jill Weinlein

While picking up my tickets at the Center Theatre Group / Ahmanson Theatre, I snapped a photo of actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Wendie Malick posing together on the red carpet. Many of the theater attendees were dressed in denim, farm and western attire with red bandanas for a pop of extra color.

While taking our seat, I remarked how Laura Jellinek’s set design looked a little bit like a high school gym decorated for an upcoming dance. There were shiny fringe banners strung across the entire stage and tables and chairs strategically placed for actors to sit in-between scenes. In the back a 7 member band complete with an upright bass (Dominic Lamorte), mandolin and electric guitar (Rick Snell), banjo (Justin Hiltner), pedal steel/ acoustic guitar, and electric guitar (Josh Kahler), violin (Olivia Breidenthal), cello (Caleb Vaughn-Jones) performed.

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

What disturbed me on the light wood walls, were way too many guns in wood racks. I read in the program there are actually 114 visible guns. A disclaimer states that ‘The revival of Oklahoma! is the first gun-neutral production on Broadway in 2019. For every visible fun onstage, the production team donates a minimum of $100 ro 501 (c) organizations dedicated to either reducing the number of illegal weapons or investing in youth programs servicing high gun violence areas.’ That is noble, but still displaying over 100 guns, when there are only 12 characters in this revival sent shivers down my spine. When the guns are fired, they were jarringly loud and made me wince.

Jud and Curly. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Lighting designer Scott Zielinski dims the lights, but doesn’t fade the house lights to black during many scenes in the musical. He seeks to create a shared experience between the actors and the audience. One of the most creative lighting scene is during ‘Pore Jud Is Daid’ when Curly McLain (Sean Grandillo) strums his guitar and Jud Fry (Christopher Bannow Oklahoma! Broadway) sit on stools on a completely dark stage. This effect forces the audience to hear each word spoken without any distractions. Projection Designer Joshua Thorson has a live video camera with night vision join the pair onstage. A huge close-up of Jud shedding a tear or two, and singing with Curly is eerily interesting to watch.

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade” width=”600″ height=”952″> Laurey (Sasha Hutchings) Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Costume designer Terese Wadden dresses the 12 actors of different races, gender identities, backgrounds and religions in clothing of today, not the 1940s. Laurey (Sasha Hutchings) is dressed in denim jeans with a silver belt buckle and boots. The audience applauds this star of “Oklahoma!’ Broadway and also “Hamilton”, when she walks onstage, and when singing “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top.”

Her suitor Curly is dressed as a singing cowboy with a guitar, strolling around the stage trying to woo her. When Ado Annie (Sis) dressed in what teenage girls wear to school performs, “I Can’t Say No” the audience roars in admiration. She has quite a stage presence, while singing in her low almost baritone voice and displaying some sassy movements. The tables onstage have cans of Bud Light beer and reusable silver water bottles for the cast to consume throughout the show. My eyes widened as I watched Ado Annie (Sis) open her beer can with her teeth. She is one tough cookie.

Hennessy Winkler and Sis.Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

One of my favorite numbers was ‘Kansas City” performed by the talented Will Parker (Hennessy Winkler). The choreography by John Heginbotham was engaging to watch, inspiring my toes to tap to this classic Oklahoma musical with a twist.

The producer of Oklahoma! Eva Price said, “Every element of this production looks, sounds and feels like America today — and we’re delighted to announce a cast of remarkable storytellers that represent the rich, diverse community of our country.”

After intermission not everyone felt this way and we noticed there were more empty seats in the theatre during Act Two. This experimental revival, may not appeal to some, especially the older generation who fondly remembers the original musical and movie starring Shirley Jones, Gordon MacRae, Rod Steiger, and Eddie Albert. Their applause didn’t seem to be as enthusiastic as the younger generation.

Tickets for “OKLAHOMA!” are currently on sale and start at $35. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 972-4400 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012. Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.