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Having been raised on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classics, most of my career goals as a child involved jobs where I’d be permitted to burst into song at any given moment, and also be required to wear fancy dresses. And while I’m insecure enough to tell you to your face that my favorite musical is The Sound of Music (what self-respecting R&H buff wouldn’t rank that first?), my heart really belongs to that yee-haw-ingest of adventures in buying and taming your territory brides, Oklahoma!

So I was thrilled to see how well the University of Central Missouri Theater Department’s production of Oklahoma! brought the 1906 territories to life in their opening night performance. The scenes of open land were effectively portrayed by a simple set adorned with a small house, a fence, a working wagon, and a beautifully lit backdrop of expansive sky that set a visual tone for the “Beautiful Morning” that begins the show.

The story revolves around the nonexistent love affair between cowboy Curly and farmer girl Laurey, who can’t stop bickering long enough to admit that they are crazy about each other. The creepily laconic farm hand Jud carries a torch for Laurey and has a tendency to burn and shoot things when he doesn’t get what he wants. Providing comic relief throughout is the flighty and flirtatious Ado Annie and her duo of potential husbands, Will Parker and Ali Hakim. There are several marriage proposals and rejections, illicit kisses, much squealing over “who’s taking whom to the box social,” and the usual amount of primitive wife-auctioning.

The UCM performance was strong throughout, and a few standout performers enhanced what was already a very tight execution. Callie Vandergrift sang the tricky soprano role of Laurey quite well, and her duets with Curly (sung in charming baritone by Bobby Cavington) were entertaining and often adorable. One of the most interesting and compelling performances was that of Alex Kolster, playing Jud Fry, the grimy psychopath obsessed with the idea that everyone thinks they are better than him. Jud sings seldomly during this show, but Kolster’s voice was beautiful, and his “Lonely Room” soliloquy was haunting and made his character almost pitiable—that is, of course, if you discount the aggressively violent nature of the song’s text.

David Le Vota played the peddler Ali Hakim—his interpretation of the character reminded me so strongly of a Manhattan pashmina street salesman that I had to laugh nearly every time he spoke, and especially when he Rex Harrison-style shouted his way through his only solo number of the show, “It’s A Scandal,” lamenting the way men find themselves trapped into marriage, along with the extremely funny male chorus. Alisha Morris as Ado Annie earned the majority of my laughs for the night, combining a knack for ditzy comic timing with a strong and vibrant alto voice, yielding a hugely entertaining performance of that ode to instant romantic gratification, “I Cain’t Say No.” The female chorus was vocally strong, achieving the harmonies that most young productions often cannot pull off.

This production was extremely faithful to the beloved 1955 movie classic version starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. It is a (somewhat pathetic) testament to the number of times that I have seen that movie that I found myself recognizing striking similarities in character and choreographic interpretation in the UCM production. My hat is off to the cast and director Julie Rae Mollenkamp for achieving this mirroring of style throughout; it certainly pleased the crowd, who whooped and clapped along with their favorite numbers.

I do, however, think that Oklahoma! is a show that lends itself to a more modern interpretation, especially in terms of character development. The 1955 movie heavily emphasizes the men as swaggering and somewhat insensitive, and the women as silly, manipulative, and coquettish. More recent productions have balanced out this dynamic a bit, especially in the case of the Curly/Laurey rapport: I would have liked to have seen a smarter, spunkier Laurey dancing her way around a Curly whose charm and knees occasionally faltered under the influence of the girl he loved.

The dancing throughout the show was consistently well organized and complemented the plot. However, some of the numbers lost a little momentum during extended dance sections; with a few tasteful cuts and shorter dance numbers, the flow of the plot would have felt much more balanced throughout.

UCM’s production of Oklahoma! was a lively night of laughter, and take it from someone who’s seen this show approximately 187 times: you haven’t experienced romantic comedy until you’ve seen it with lassoes, square dancing, and gratuitous yee-hawing. So if you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing this American classic, treat yourself to a night out.

REVIEW
UCM Theatre
Oklahoma!
Runs October 12 through 16 (Reviewed October 12)
Highlander Theatre, University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO
For more information, visit http://www.ucmo.edu/theatre/

Top Photo: Callie Vandergrift and Bobby Cavington in Oklahoma!

By Karen Hauge

Classical Contributor, Senior Editor

A native of New Jersey, Karen Hauge relocated to Kansas City in 2010 to attend UMKC in pursuit of her M.M. in flute performance. Since moving to Kansas City, Karen has been active as a performer within the Conservatory and as a music educator in the community, working with the Conservatory’s Community Academy of Music and Dance.

Karen earned a B.M. from the University of Delaware, where she studied music education with Suzanne Burton and Robert Streckfuss. During her time at Delaware, Karen was awarded several grants to fund an independent research project over the course of two years. The project and subsequent thesis, entitled “What Does It Mean To Be Musical?,” explored the ways in which people naturally interact with music in their everyday lives, and earned her a degree with distinction upon graduation. Karen has been active as a solo and chamber performer in Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. She has performed for world-renowned flute pedagogues such as Jeanne Baxtresser and Jeffrey Khaner, and has received honors for outstanding performance through her career at both the university and professional level. Her primary flute teachers have been Mardee Reed-Ulmer, Eileen Grycky, and Mary Posses.