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A RECORD OF A PERFORMANCE
By Michael Coveney
This new film of "Oklahoma!" preserves all the freshness and vitality of the original staging at London's Royal National Theatre, the evocative designs of Anthony Ward, and the stunning choreography of Broadway's own Susan Stroman, who is also responsible for the choreography in the smash hit musical version of "The Producers."
Filming musicals, of course, is always difficult. In this instance, Trevor Nunn and his co-director, Chris Hunt, opted for preserving the stage setting and, indeed, the atmosphere in the Olivier auditorium in the National itself. We zoom into the audience as the overture strikes up, and many of the musical numbers and characters' exits are followed by "live" applause and a cutaway panning shot of the auditorium, with its mauve seats, concrete interior, and mass of palpably enthusiastic, casually dressed theatergoers.
We can see the revolving stage go around. We know that the backdrop is painted blue and the Oklahoma landscape a sandy orange. And the scene changes are clearly visible, as when the action moves from the Claremore train station to the high cornfields, where we first meet the Persian peddler, Ali Hakim, as he trundles on with his wagon of ribbons and bibelots with Ado Annie in tow.
"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," that famous opening number, with Aunt Eller churning butter and the irrepressible cowboy Curly appearing at the farmhouse in his carefree manner, dressed in a cotton shirt and leather pants, is one of the most gorgeous and most simple in musical theater history. Hugh Jackman, who plays Curly with such dynamic charm and appeal, says that the lyrics of that first song have nice big vowels, making it easy to open his mouth and let rip without feeling he has to strain for effect.
All the same, this film is very much a record of a performance, without any false attempt to "make a film," except where the camera can close right in on the actors' expressions or take a sideways view of the stage action. We therefore have a double bonus of seeing a great theater show without feeling we are watching it through a static frame. A lot of "Oklahoma!" is about dream and pretense, so when Curly boasts that he will take Laurey to the box social in a "surrey with the fringe on top," he does so while sitting astride a rusty old agricultural contraption. The ambition is rooted in the everyday life on a farm, the simplicity of theater.
Top banner photos: Josefina Gabrielle (Laurey) and Hugh Jackman (Curly); Maureen Lipman (Aunt Eller) and Hugh Jackman; Shuler Hensley (Jud Fry) and Peter Polycarpou (Ali Hakim)/photo by Simon Farrell. |
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The character of Ado Annie Carnes, played here by Vicki Simon, is introduced with the memorable song "I Cain't Say No." |
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In the role of Andrew Carnes, father of the amorous Ado Annie, is Sidney Livingstone. |
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This program is available on VHS and DVD, and the cast album is available on CD. |
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