Oklahoma!

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Oklahoma! (1943), a musical play by Oscar Hammerstein (book, lyrics), Richard Rodgers (music). [St. James Theatre, 2,212 perf.] When the handsome young cowboy Curly ( Alfred Drake) comes to ask Laurey ( Joan Roberts) to ride with him to a local box social, the pair tease each other then quarrel, so Laurey agrees to be escorted by Jud Fry ( Howard da Silva), a brooding farmhand who works for her Aunt Eller ( Betty Garde). Laurey immediately regrets her decision, even dreaming that Curly and Jud have a fight over her and that Curly is bested. At the social Curly outbids Jud for Laurey's box lunch, so Jud stalks off, muttering threats and Laurey and Curly make up and agree to marry. But at the wedding a drunken Jud shows up, gets into a fight with Curly, then dies when he falls on his knife. Curly is acquitted in time for Laurey and him to ride off on their honeymoon. In the subplot, the flirtatious, oversexed Ado Annie ( Celeste Holm) gives Will Parker ( Lee Dixon) a hard time before agreeing to marry him and try not to look at other men, particularly the peddler Ali Hakim ( Joseph Bulof). Notable songs: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'; The Surrey with the Fringe on Top; People Will Say We're in Love; Oklahoma; Out of My Dreams; I Cain't Say No; Many a New Day; Pore Jud; Kansas City. Based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs, this breakaway musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein's first professional collaboration, revolutionized the American musical. It set new high standards for integration of song and story, and also was one of the first musicals to integrate narrative, dramatic ballet into the action. Agnes de Mille's ballet, depicting Laurey's dream, played a part in advancing the narrative far more than any other earlier ballet in musical theatre. The show began not only a vogue for ballet, but also for musicals unfolding in historic American settings. The Theatre Guild production was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and boasted stylized scenery by Lemuel Ayers and costumes by Miles White. When it closed, it was the longest‐running musical in Broadway history. To distinguish this and subsequent American operettas from the Viennese school, the term “musical play” came into fashion. Frequently revived by every kind of theatre group, Oklahoma! saw exceptional Broadway mountings in 1979 and 2002.

Oklahoma!, see Green Grow the Lilacs.