Oklahoma! 1998 London Stage Production on DVD

I can't believe I've gone almost a month into my Year and not yet listened to a show by the grand poobahs of American Musical Theater--Rodgers and Hammerstein. Well to make up for that lapse, I'd better choose a good show and a good production to start the discussion. And with the filmed version of the 1998 London stage production of Oklahoma!, I've met both those criteria. Stage director Trevor Nunn has been putting the exclamation point on musicals all of my adult life.

This production was Hugh Jackman's introduction to the world, I believe, and on behalf of gay men all over the world--thank you Mr. Nunn. Mr. Jackman is well cast as Curly, with a good singing voice and charming demeanor. If his acting is perhaps not as nuanced as some of the other performers, or if his Curly doesn't quite project some vulnerability to balance the bravado, well, his bare chest helps make up for it.

The real star of this production for me is Josefina Gabrielle as Laurie. Ms. Gabrielle proves herself a true triple threat, singing Laurie's rangy songs without getting tinny in her upper register, truly dancing (not just performing dance steps) in the dream ballet, and most impressively, imbuing Laurie with real inner conflict about her impending womanhood and the choices she must make. For the first time, I saw Laurie as a microcosm for the state of Oklahoma. Just as territory folks are thinking about what's to be gained and lost in becoming a state, Laurie struggles with her statehood.

If you rent this DVD through Netflix or by other means, be sure to watch the DVD extras, which are on a separate disc. Not only was it nice to here the performers talk in their usual British accents, but the "making of" part of the DVD answered some questions I had about how they filmed this in front of an audience (the brief answer is that they didn't). One beef about the extra DVD--the talking heads aren't clearly identified. The actors are obvious, Trevor Nunn is obvious, Richard Rodgers's daughter Mary and choreographer Susan Stroman--not so much, and poor Ted Chapin of the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization could be just about anyone, if you didn't know.

Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and Book by Oscar Hammerstein II
1998 Royal National Theatre Production
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Choreographed by Susan Stroman
Released on DVD in 1999 by Image Entertainment
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Josefina Gabrielle, Shuler Hensley, Peter Polycarpou, Jimmy Johnston, Vicki Simon, Maureen Lipman