Oklahoma! - The Road to Success

[jo]

Remember this ?

http://instagram.com/p/BmpDFtnh-T9

Rehearsing for the revival of OKLAHOMA! at the Royal National Theatre in London!

[jo]

The filmed version of the RNT OKLAHOMA! is making its way back to the big screen ( wasn't there some previous cinematic release?) -- this time in Sedona, AZ.


www.sedona.biz/arts-and-entertainment/sedona-film-festival/rodgers-and-hammersteins-oklahoma-encore-aug-26/

[jo]

Hugh Jackman and Gordon McRae --









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[jo]

The dream ballet -- with Gordon and Shirley's understudy dancers









The Hugh and Josefina part starts at 4'02"

[jo]

A retrospective on the making of a star!

decider.com/2018/08/27/hugh-jackman-oklahoma/

‘Oklahoma!’: Watch The Unlikely Moment That Made Hugh Jackman A Star!

By Meghan O'Keefe @megsokay
Aug 27, 2018 at 2:30pm


All this week Decider is celebrating the most polarizing punctuation in pop culture: the exclamation point! More spirited than a period and more decisive than a question mark, the exclamation point is as divisive as it is volatile. Invigorating sentences with enthusiasm and gusto since the 15th century, this renegade maverick of grammatical anarchy has irrevocably disrupted the status quo of the punctuation game. Love it or hate it, Decider commemorates the imitable mischief-maker known as the exclamation point.

Usually it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment someone becomes a star, but Hugh Jackman is different. We know exactly when he became a star, and it has nothing to do with adamantium claws and a mutant gene. It’s the moment he stepped onto the stage in the opening moments of The Royal National Theatre’s 1998 production of Oklahoma! and breathed new, sensuous life into a tired Rodgers and Hammerstein standard.

Yes, Hugh Jackman became a star on the stage.

I can understand if you missed Jackman’s Olivier-winning performance 20 years ago. After all, I didn’t see I can even understand if you didn’t realize that a high-quality live recording of the production was sitting in PBS’s free-to-stream Great Performances library until very recently. That’s why I’m pleased to share that you can still watch a few of his show-stopping numbers on PBS’s YouTube page. Specifically, you can watch him strut onto the stage with a lazy smile to sing “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin.'”





Okay, so this single three minute clip is important for two reasons. One, it’s fucking hot. I said it and I know what I’m saying. Most suburban kids like myself got their Rodgers and Hammerstein fixes from the mid-century Hollywood film adaptations or squeaky-clean (and super-cheesy) local dinner theater productions. But if you listen to the scores, or consider the stories in context of a deeper American mythology, you soon realize that these stories aren’t as pure as our pious music teachers would have us believe. Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote catchy pop operas about the triumphs and tragedies of human life — and sensuality was part of that.


Maybe because it was British, or maybe because it was directed by theater great Trevor Nunn, but the 1998 production of Oklahoma! got the darker side of the story. It understood that the characters were hot-blooded people. Luring us into this was a young Australian actor named Hugh Jackman. We hear his voice first, clear as a clarion and bright with optimism. Then, he saunters onto the stage, exuberantly enjoying the day, and ecstatically enjoying himself. Jackman’s Curly has all the earnest optimism we’re conditioned to expect from a Rodgers and Hammerstein hero, but he’s also got a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Maybe it’s in his devilish grin, or the way he spreads himself back over a ladder, but we know from the get-go that he’s not just singing about the glory of nature.

Jackman more than commands the stage; he owns it. It’s a captivating turn that bridges old school Broadway technique with something exciting and new. His star power oozes through the lens and you can see that he is meant for movies.
Which leads us to the second reason why this scene, and this specific performance, is so important. Without his celebrated turn as Curly, Jackman would never have landed on a last minute shortlist to replace Dougray Scott as Wolverine in Bryan Singer’s first X-Men movie. Wolverine made Hugh Jackman a movie star, but Oklahoma! made Hugh Jackman Wolverine.

Someone saw Hugh in Oklahoma! in London that long time ago. She was producing a new movie franchise. Her name : Lauren Shuler Donner, Lead producer of "X-Men" and erstwhile boss of Kevin Feige ( Marvel Studio President)!


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

There is a new revival of OKLAHOMA! in Texas.

www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Slideshow-Get-A-First-Look-at-Priscilla-Lopez-and-More-in-TUTS-OKLAHOMA-20180911


Somehow, it looks old-fashioned when compared to the RNT Oklahoma! revival. And Hugh Jackman makes every past and subsequent Curly look less appealing


Jo

[jo]

Here's their version of OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING --

www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/VIDEO-Watch-Oh-What-a-Beautiful-Mornin-From-TUTS-OKLAHOMA-20180919

[jo]

[jo]

It looks like this iconic song from OKLAHOMA! has become another signature song for Hugh Jackman!

[jo]

The filmed version is being shown in a cinema in MT ( Montana?) --

www.theroxytheater.org/films/oklahoma/


Hope the rest of America re-discovers this filmed revival of the landmark American musical. The songs are still catchy and have a delightful appeal, even if one is not a theatre nerd, the dancing is fantastic, and the acting compares very well with film acting. And of course...to see Hugh Jackman when he was still in his late 20's is also an unexpected delight! Singing and dancing and boastful-but-charmer Curly


Jo

[alma]

This is interesting.
I’m ambivalent, because I don’t want anyone messing with my (possibly) favorite musical, particularly Trevor Nunn’s/ HJ’s version.
The author of this article is comparing THIS version with “...the way it is usually played.” I think she is comparing it to any of a number of stagings, but it certainly doesn’t sound like she’s comparing the Curly here to Hugh’s portrayal.
Helen, you are our expert on all things Broadway (even off-Broadway, too! ). Have you seen this yet? I’m really interested in hearing your point of view.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/22/daniel-fishs-dark-take-on-oklahoma

Alma

P.S. Posting also on the Theatre thread.

[jo]

Jeremy Jordan has recorded a revisionist ( supposedly a contemporary tone) version -- and both ATC and BWW are NOT approving it! I saw it but did not finish watching it -- as it was very disappointing for this Rodgers& Hammerstein fan! Jeremy has a nice voice but the melody was left out in this interpretation ( sacrilege ) and the seaside setting does not do justice to the lyrics ( "cows and corn")





But -- the discussions led me to find this version. The original Curly, Alfred Drake, reprised his OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING on a TV show hosted by Andy Williams. What a find!


It may not have the dramatic undertones of Hugh's Curly ( as if it is foreboding that not everyday will be a beautiful morning in the Trevor Nunn's interpretation of the landmark musical) as well as Hugh acting out the lyrics... but his beautiful voice and cheerful take is certainly a winner!




In a way it reminds me of Howard Keel's version. Howard was the original Curly when the show opened in London.

Let's listen --




Jo

[jo]

Will this be the song from OKLAHOMA! that we might see in his World Tour





Hugh sang it first on a London stage ( and will likely feature it in his UK shows)...but this song was the opener in what has become known as the American landmark musical which opened on Broadway in 1943)...so hopefully it will also feature in a big way at Madison Square Garden ( because of the song's Broadway connection) and other USA shows.


Jo

[jo]

A new TV series contemporized for audiences today for OKLAHOMA!

deadline.com/2019/04/oklahoma-tv-adaptation-1202596602/

The series will be set in America’s heartland and include music by the legendary team of Rodgers & Hammerstein as well new tunes as it is reimagined for a contemporary audience.

Will they depart from the musical's central theme of unification of a nation...or will they actually be inspired by that underlying theme in the stories of Curly and Laurey, of the farmers and the cowmen, and the rest of the characters who first occupied an untamed land ?


Jo

[jo]

We thought he had forgotten OKLAHOMA!

No, he didn't!

He was just waiting for the opportunity to bring back the original cast with him


His booming baritone is back

http://instagram.com/p/ByWNyhYA9Og

[jo]

From the person with the video ( entire Oklahoma! segment)


www.facebook.com/sylke.wohlschiess/videos/2122049031237537/

Hugh is looking not too different from the Curly then, except for the perm


Jo

[jo]

Through a former co-cast member/understudy in Oklahoma! ( who joined in the one-time Oklahoma! reunion on stage as part of #tmtmts in London )-- Hugh sends his best wishes to an arts centre at an English school. BBC reports.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-50347922?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[jo]

Oklahoma! title song ( with most of the original cast) - 2019

Oklahoma! title song ( with the original cast) - 1998

[jo]

Is this from his "Curly' days - photo unearthed for TBT

[ruby]

Nov 27, 2019 22:11:59 GMT -5 jo said:

Is this from his "Curly' days - photo unearthed for TBT

That’s a still from Someone LikeYou.

[jo]

Was his hair that curly in Someone Like You?

My memory cells are not working efficiently

Jo

[ruby]

Nov 28, 2019 0:27:30 GMT -5 jo said:

Was his hair that curly in Someone Like You?

My memory cells are not working efficiently

Jo

Not really curly. His hair was longer in the reshoot scenes.

[njr]

Nov 28, 2019 0:27:30 GMT -5 jo said:

Was his hair that curly in Someone Like You?

My memory cells are not working efficiently

Jo

His hair is not curly in that pic - just messy and wind blown.

Nancy

[jo]

Posted by The National Theatre ( formerly the Royal National Theatre) --

It looks like it is a response to this tweet re Trevor Nunn --