The perennial appeal of Rogers and Hammerstein’s 1943 comedic and romantic slice of homespun Americana – incidentally the first stage musical to boast a Pulitzer Prize among its many awards – lies partly in its harking back to a time when existence seemed as simple and wholesome as apple pie, where the main worries in life were deciding who to take to the dance or how much to bid at a hamper auction.
Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society performing the musical Oklahoma! | Photo © Stewart McPherson
Around this nostalgic look back through rose-tinted specs is woven a winning combination of all-time classic songs, romantic frustrations, colourful dances and a dash of much-needed darkness to leaven the sweetness.
Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society’s sumptuous production, showing this week at the Theatre Royal, eschews the temptation to reinvent this show (as was done recently in the West End) and gives us a beautiful traditional presentation full of warmth, humour, energy and yearning.
Director Helen Halliday has created a visually stunning production, supported greatly by Chris Horseman and Peter Larter-Stow’s painterly lighting design (used to greatest effect in Laurey’s surreal dream sequence) and Julia Padfield and Jacqui Cook’s eye-catching costumes, where nothing is overstated.
The result is a beautiful show, with many moments which look like they could have stepped out of a painting.
Musical director James Finbow’s orchestra is confident and slick; from the first minute of the overture, we know we are in safe hands. And there really isn’t a weak link in the cast in this production.
Matthew Graham and Lydia McCotter as will-they-won’t-they lovers Curly and Laurey share great chemistry, needling each other throughout, with gorgeous singing voices with strong range.
Ed Corbishly and Sabrina Messer as the equally-confused couple Will and Ado Annie are a genuinely funny double act with stand-out vocals, and Messer’s “I Can’t Say No” is a force of nature.
Barbara Ingledew’s Aunt Eller is both warm and fearsome, delivering a poignantly-handled philosophy late in the show, while Tom Burge is a slippery worm-like Ali Hakim.
Perhaps the stand-out though is Andrew Grimes as the misunderstood “villain” Jud, conveying a lifetime of rejection and low self-esteem through superb physicality and phrasing.
The principals are supported by an excellent ensemble who perform Harriet Lowe’s perky choreography seamlessly, and whose vocals during the rousing title song at the finale are a particularly wondrous end to this memorable and highly-polished show. Oh, what a beautiful evenin’!
Oklahoma is showing at Theatre Royal Bath until 8th February. Box office: 01225 448844.
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Reviewer: Steve Huggins
