Oklahoma! – 7/15/08

For box office information, click on the title of this review.

I am always wary of “reinventions”. If you don’t like a show enough to do it straight, don’t do it. So dark clouds of critical foreboding drifted overhead while waiting for Theatre-on-the-Hill’s Oklahoma! to begin. I love older musicals. And TOTH (Theatre-on-the-Hill) was fucking with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s music. It’s heresy. It’s bullshit.

And it worked like a charm. So I was wrong. Sue me.

Instead of a bulky orchestra of local high school students, there are five pros:
John Summers on acoustic bass
Katarina Schmitt on fiddle
Gary Patterson on banjo and guitar
Sharon Hand vocal and percussion (washboard)
Michael A. Fudala on guitar.

Along with the pit for Wheaton Drama’s Little Shop of Horrors, this is the best community theatre band I’ve heard in years.

Lorrisa Julianus’ direction is clear, concise and occasionally daring. People forget that Oklahoma! is hardly a “sweetness and light” show. Here, Ado Annie straddles Will Parker – and bounces. The Act Two Laurey/Jud scene is truly harrowing. Nice work.

Kate McCombs is a terrifically frisky Ado Annie. She doesn’t need to nod and shake her head quite so much, but too much energy in Annie is better than not enough. It’s a huge stage and McCombs fills it with energy. And she can play the laughs.

Susan O’Byrne as Laurey has solid acting chops and a clear, strong, beautiful voice. Even in the unfortunate overalls somebody plopped her into (weird choice and not in a good way), she lights up the stage. She is really effective in the role, especially considering that in most scenes she is working alone. More on that later.

Ken Schaefer is the best Jud I’ve seen. Picture Bob Hoskins in the part and you have a good image. Schaefer is menacing, pathetic and real. My only quarrel with Julianus’ direction involved the complete murder of Pore Jud is Daid – bad, horrible, wrong and unfunny. The number depends on Jud getting completely wrapped up in the sorrow of his own funeral. Here, they apparently said, “It’s a comedy song! Let’s throw in the kitchen sink!” Bad, bad, wrong and bad.

Ali Hakim is annoying, but I blame the writing more than Michael Stassus, who gives it his all. It’s a pretty impossible part to pull off – great jokes with a stupid accent sewn onto them. The actor playing Will Parker might be good, but I’ll never know. His diction is so non-existent that I couldn’t understand a word he said. And that’s a director issue. The director is the surrogate audience and needs to say, “Hey, marblemouth. Work on the diction.” If you don’t say it to the actor in rehearsal, a bitch like me says it in print. Dave Lichty is funny as Carnes (Ado Annie’s father).

The last time I saw Oklahoma! the chorus sang and danced as if they were in a hostage situation – begrudgingly and without any life. The TOTH chorus is exuberant, sunny and fully committed to what they are doing. That is so crucial in a large cast musical and it’s usually the most ignored aspect.

The one major fly in the ointment is Charles Jonathan Kay as Curly. There is zero emotional commitment from the actor. Laurey has better chemistry with Jud. At the end of the song Oklahoma, when the principals and chorus all have their fists punching the sky on the final “Yow!”, Kay’s fist is tapping a very low ceiling. This typifies his lack of commitment throughout the song (and show). Curly should be leading everybody in exuberance, not outshined by them. His comic ability is nil. Hammerstein wrote the show in dialect, which Kay disdains to use. He “corrects” the pronunciations. One doesn't wish to sound uncouth when assaying the role of a cowboy, does one?

Kay’s voice is slightly nasal and seemingly allergic to anything longer than a quarter note: “I’ve got a beautiful feeling” – “feel--” has three different quarter notes instead of one dotted half note. His vibrato reminds one of the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz: “Ev’rything’s goin’ my way-ay-ay-ay-ay… put ‘em up, put ‘em uhhhhhp!”

Fortunately, Curly is not the whole show. Overall, TOTH does a terrific job with Oklahoma! Is it of professional caliber? With the exception of the band, of course not. But it is very entertaining community theatre. Go for the band, the exuberant chorus, Laurey, Ado Annie and Jud. Ignore the fact that Curly doesn’t love Laurey as much as he loves Curly.