Oklahoma! Reviews

K Ross from Washington, District of Columbia

BELOW PAR IN ALMOST EVERY WAY

Our group was shocked at how poorly this version of Oklahoma was done. The set design (or lack thereof) has been beat several times by my child’s middle school drama group and the costumes were not much better. The interpretive dance/dream scene was ridiculously long and unnecessary—we get it, she’s dreaming. The actors who played Laurie and Curly were great and some of the music was performed at a high level. I would not recommend this production to anyone.

Gerald from Columbia , Missouri

CAST REPLACED

5/13/22 a large part of cast replaced because of illness??? Not going to refer to anyone by name only character because so many changes not sure who was preforming what. Ado Annie made it worth seeing. Jud fry wonderful. Loved the first projection on wall with jud saw no point in act two with lead dancer. Ali Hakim another plus. I don’t mind dark or edgy or modern but like consistency. Characters dress and use of cans with pop tops and iglo coolers so go traditional or modern but decide which not a mix. Act 2 started like rock opera not dream would have been nice if act 1 had started that way.

ToscasKiss from Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

EXPERIMENTAL CONVERSATION WITH THE ORIGINAL

I wish that everyone seeing this OKLAHOMA! had already seen an excellent ‘traditional’ production. This one is somewhat interesting as an odd experiment on the original. Lots of high level talent involved, in the excellent band & the cast. I had read & heard much about this interpretation since before it was on Broadway, so wasn’t shocked, as many audience members seem to be. As others have mentioned, there are sound problems, with a fair bit of unintelligible dialogue. Not sure how presenters could forewarn ticket buyers about what they’re getting into, without scaring most of them away. But I do hate to think of people who have no idea, coming to this with hopes of a mostly joyful, fun show. To be fair, there is more than a bit of darkness inherent in the show, as written & originally interpreted, even midst all the jokes, glorious music, dance & folksiness. This version is just a really odd, dour affair; somehow, much of the humor still lands within that unsmiling frame. Strange….

George Parsons from Pinole, California

TRIED SO HARD TO LOVE THE PRODUCTION

Was looking forward to seeing one of the great Rogers and Hammerstein musicals but left very disappointed...the cast tried very hard to bring it to life but it was so dark and ended with confusion and very little joy...strange and unsatisfying!

Ben Boquist from Los Angeles, California

GREAT CONCEPT, BADLY ADAPTED FOR TOUR

Saw preview night of Oklahoma at the ahmanson, a 3K seat theater in LA. Been wanting to see this production since it opened in NY a few years ago. It was designed for an intimate, immersive space. And I’m sure in that context it works great. But from the balcony it was hard to connect. The lighting design, beige set and awkward staging (like a staged reading more than a full production) were extremely frustrating and fought with the text/ music. There’s not a lot of movement, the stage is dominated by tables in lines that the actors sit at most of the time. It was terribly boring to look at. Great cast, great band, timely interp. Just badly adapted to a big room, which is a shame. It was a sparsely attended tonight so we hustled down to the front row after intermission. From there it was powerful! It’s probably worth a watch if you can sit in the first 8 rows. Not sure it is from anywhere else though. All the political commentary probably lands differently if you’re able to connect with the performers. Since I wasn’t for the first half, it felt cynical and pretentious. The direction bends the text into a pretzel to make it say what it’s not saying in some places (especially the final scene) as a piece of studio performance art that’s interesting. But it’s not very fun. And feels pretty isolating if you’re already a fan of the show

L. Watkins from Los Angeles, California

WOKE, RE-IMAGINED, DARK, AND FEW SMILES

The unimaginative stage setting was 6 saw-horse tables and about 15 chairs. When the scene was supposed to change, the lights were turned off and the audience is supposed to imagine what’s going on. The scenery was upstaged by the glittery party fringe banners that looked like they came from Party City. The cast was caught between the orchestra at the back of the stage and the speakers in front. Only when the music got quiet could the cast sound like they had any projection to their voices. Curly could yell on key while just about everyone else could find the notes. The tempo of the musical was like inadvertently watching a movie at ¾ speed which turned into a round table reading of the script. There was a talented solo dancer for the dream scene, but the choreography could have just as well been applicable to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” or “What’s New Pussycat”. Someone said “dark”. What they forgot to say was that this is a re-imagined woke musical designed to refute anyone thinking they can make America Great Again. Yes the cast has talent, but if you loved the movie, you won’t recognize this musical as a good time.

from Los Angeles, California

INTERESTING CONCEPT BOGGED DOWN BY SELF INDULGENT MEANDERING DIRECTION

The cast was talented, and had some good singers and solid character actors. However…. it was at its best when it was closest to the original which only seemed to happen when the director couldn’t think of some way to fuck with it. I get what they were trying to do, but honestly, the original book has enough undertones of darkness, and the original setting in place and time has enough sexism, that an audience member capable of critical thinking doesn’t need a bag of heavy handed art school tricks to get the idea that while the characters are charming, Oklahoma hasn’t always been historically rosy. Give me dancing! Give me a set! Let me see the characters act! I truly believe you can deliver those things AND a complex, thoughtprovoking, and multifaceted musical- Rodgers and Hammerstein did it the first time.

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