Oklahoma by Rodgers & Hammerstein
Congress Theatre
Eastbourne
Production by Royal & Derngate Northampton.
From the wonderfully evocative opening sequence this is a properly perfect production of Oklahoma. Ashley Days’ big creamy voice rings out across the theatre and we all knew we were in for a wonderful journey across the Midwest and into the lives of these finely written characters.
The set from Francis O’Connor ( also costumes) is all faded fixed-up planks and suggestions of prairies, moon and various barns and outhouses, it works well as it is subtly morphed into the various locations demanded by the musical and for a touring set it produced some charming ‘ohhhhhh’ moments too.
The chorography from Drew McOnie is spot on with plenty of energy and precise movements to keep the narrative energy pumping and moving the story along, the dream sequence is a great piece of planning, mixing modern, ballet and some seriously fast high kicking cowboys and girls swirling in smoke and movement and the audience loved it.
Ashley Day as Curley sings just perfect, he’s all teeth and unsure devotion and is convincing from the off. Charlotte Wakefield’s Laurey suits and matches perfectly, she’s feisty and full of longing and again is charming as her hearts melts and she allows Curley to woo her. Belinda Langs’ Aunt Eller is gaunt and windswept with prairie dust in her blood and sinews as tight as a cat gut strung banjo and also is a reservoir of wisdom and love, it felt as if she had her beady eye on all of us all through the show; a warm touch perfect performance from Lang.
The chorus and dancers were wonderful too, with some very sexy cowboys, all jumping, leaping, twisting and dancing their hearts out, the ensemble singing was a delight, it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a consistently good production of Oklahoma. This is a good looking bunch of dancers, dressed in well detailed costumes that highlight their taught muscly bodies. My companion swooned quite a lot as the male dancers in their clinging shirts and chaps did their barn dance, he was quite captivated by them. We decided Slim played by Simon Antony was the cutest one of them all, such a captivating smile and perfect butt and… anyway, back to the review.
The actors – both men and women- were energetic and engaging as a group and really brought the stage to life effortlessly blending singing and dancing into one hugely entertaining night, the light tight harmonies of the female singers brought a sweetness to balance the thick macho thread of the storyline.
For more info on this wonderful tour see the website here:
With Nic Greenshields as a sonorous and majestically flawed Jed brought the character to sympathetic life as a confused and misunderstood man consumed with bitterness and anger, and Gary Wilmot as oddly unsexy peddler Ali Hakim this is a good crew and well balanced cast with not a duff note. The production sticks faithfully to the original while allowing some fiercely modern moments to shine out. The comedy is spot on, Lucy May Barker’s Ado Annie gets the ‘Girl who can’t say no’ with just right amount of naive knowing charm and enjoyment of the wonderfully clever and silly rhymes and Wilmot’s timing is simply perfect, he judged the Eastbourne audience just right.
It’s lovely to sit back and know you’re in the safe hands of a director who can get the best out of the actors and singers on stage and Rachel Kavanaugh has a fine eye for the details that bring the whole to convincing life, supported with some good lightning and decent special effects too – the gun shots were actually loud enough to startle, which they ought to do – this is a clever production bringing this most loved musical to a less than accommodating stage. The band is live and keeps the music trotting along at a good old pace with some fun backing percussion and everything is as authentically original as you could darn want. No surprises, but plenty of well-loved and carefully presented classic tunes in this show and oh the lovely Simon Anthony….
The Congress Theatre is a great night out, with free parking right outside, easy to find, an astonishingly cheap theatre bar, reasonable ticket pricecs and fully accessible modern auditorium with very comfortable seats with plenty of leg room.
This production of Oklahoma is delightful and I’d recommend you book now and trot along and bath in the glory of Pulitzer Prize-winning and one of the finest Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musicals; Oklahoma!; done in a way which would make the writers proud.
Recommended:
Until April 11th
Matinee Thu and Sat
To book tickets for this production of Oklahoma see the Congress theatre website here:
Or call them up on the telephone and talk to a real person and book. Box Office : 01323 412000