Houghton College Lyric Theatre is excited to announce that this year’s spring 2018 production will be Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! The classic Tony Award-winning American musical is full of fabulous music, plenty of singing, lively dancing, and a large cast. The musical will be accompanied by the orchestra lead by Prof. Armenio Suzano, and is anticipated to be one of the largest productions ever staged by the Lyric Theatre ensemble.
Many students were confused when an all-campus email announced auditions for Oklahoma! since Fiddler On The Roof had been announced last year as the spring musical for 2018. The change was necessary due to the upcoming national tour of the Fiddler On The Roof production and resulting licensing issues. Lyric Theatre Director Prof. Amanda Cox commented, “Any time there is a national tour of a show, it freezes the rights for anyone else who might want to perform it. As much as we were hoping to do Fiddler, I learned from Music Theatre International that because of the upcoming national tour we wouldn’t be able to.” No schools or amateur productions will have performance rights to Fiddler on the Roof until the national tour has ended.
That being said, Oklahoma! may be a perfect fit for Houghton based on the criteria Professor Cox looked for when selecting the new musical. “It’s a fantastic show!” she said. “What I was looking for was a really bright, colorful, large cast, large ensemble show that would be really lively. I wanted something that had a well-known name that would bring in an audience.” So far, the announcement has done just that. “Even since we’ve announced it, I’ve heard so many people–students and faculty–say ‘Oklahoma!? That’s my favorite musical!’” Cox said. Many people signed up for auditions, and it looks like it is going to be a large production.
Oklahoma! opened on Broadway in 1943 and was instantly a smash success. Unlike other shows produced in New York during the early years of World War II, Oklahoma! didn’t directly delve into the issues of the war or get involved in the politics that filled every American’s mind at the time. Rather, it presented a charming, classically American, cowboy musical that filled its audience with a nostalgic, patriotic spirit. The show appeals to a wide audience, and has been received since its first production as a heart-warming story. Critics throughout the century celebrated Oklahoma! as one of the most influential American musicals ever created. Theater historian Ethan Mordden praised the musical in one of his books, Broadway Babies: The People Who Made the American Musical, for the way in which it captured the American spirit on the stage: “Oklahoma! was the first American musical with an ethnic sound, words and music entirely in the folk idiom.”
The show revolves around the lives of a group of young people living in the Oklahoma territory in 1906. The characters navigate love, marriage, violence, hard work, and life in the wild west and all the drama that comes with it. The audience is introduced to feisty Aunt Eller and her independent niece, Laurey, who is secretly in love with rugged Curly. Curly loves Laurey, too, but won’t admit it. Meanwhile, farmhand Jud Fry loves Laurey and is ready to do something about it. Will Parker loves the flirtatious Ado Annie, who’s going around with Ali Hakim, who really doesn’t want much to do with her. Oklahoma! is filled with characters to care about and characters to fear. Audience members should expect both comedy and raw, emotional moments too.
Open auditions were held last week for Houghton students, faculty, and community members, but it’s not too late to join. Students interested in joining Lyric Theatre on stage and being a part of Oklahoma! can email Professor Cox to get involved.