Copy of Oklahoma Show Notes
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W E S T O N P L A Y H O U S E T H E A T R E C O M P A N Y O K L A H O M A ! 9 1 S H O W N O T E S 0 2 A N O T E F R O M O U R D I R E C T O R Oklahoma! is a celebration of the search for dreams and love that unites us all as Americans despite the differences and barriers that so often threaten to disconnect and divide us. At our best, we are a nation that is rooted in hope - the audacity to keep striving in the face of despair and discrimination. For me, that shared determination is the core of what should define our America. That connection unites us despite differences in race, gender, sexuality, and perspectives and when recognized and respected - as we aim to do in this production - it can allow us to come together and build a community that reflects all the parts of US. In revisiting this classic musical written in the 1940’s about the early pioneer days of the 1900’s, I wanted to create a world that felt timeless - both contemporary TABLE OF CONTENTS and contextual. The goal being that we recognize that this play takes place in the past, but frame it with modern-day reference and understanding - our cast is 3 Synopsis and About the Authors wonderfully diverse in race and sexual identity, our 5 Writing Oklahoma! female characters are fully-fleshed out women with 6 An Interview with Mia Pinero burgeoning feminist ideals and identities, stereotypes 7 Designs and Renderings are stripped away, and our design is at once period 8 Reading List and forward-leaning yet the text and score remain the same. As such, this production aims to both remember and rewrite history. We grapple with both the joy and pain of our present while we collectively - and yes, this production will include you, too! - create a new future where love and light guide us as individuals, as a community, as a country. To me, this is the magical power of theater. In this sacred space, we can come together as one Weston community and reflect upon our world as it is and as we dream for it to be. Reginald Douglas SYNOPSIS O n a b e a u t i f u l m o r n i n g i n 1 9 0 6 i n O k l a h o m a T e r r i t o r y a g r o u p o f i n t r e p i d p i o n e e r s a r e s e t t i n g o u t t o f o r g e a n e w c o m m u n i t y , a n d y o u n g w o m e n a n d m e n a r e s e t t i n g o u t t o c h a r t t h e i r f u t u r e s . W h e n O k l a h o m a ! o p e n e d o n B r o a d w a y 7 5 y e a r s a g o i t p r o m p t l y r e v o l u t i o n i z e d t h e A m e r i c a n m u s i c a l . I t s s t u n n i n g m u s i c , h e a r t f e l t s t o r y t e l l i n g , a n d r i c h l y p o e t i c l y r i c s a w a k e n e d a u d i e n c e s t o a r e v e l a t o r y v i s i o n o f A m e r i c a . S y n o p s i s p r o v i d e d b y p l a y s c r i p t s . c o m ABOUT THE AUTHORS R i c h a r d R o d g e r s ' c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e m u s i c a l t h e a t r e o f h i s d a y w e r e e x t r a o r d i n a r y , a n d h i s i n f l u e n c e o n t h e m u s i c a l t h e a t r e o f t o d a y a n d t o m o r r o w i s l e g e n d a r y . H i s c a r e e r s p a n n e d m o r e t h a n s i x d e c a d e s , h i s h i t s r a n g i n g f r o m t h e s i l v e r s c r e e n s o f H o l l y w o o d t o t h e b r i g h t l i g h t s o f B r o a d w a y , L o n d o n , a n d b e y o n d . H e w a s t h e r e c i p i e n t o f c o u n t l e s s a w a r d s , i n c l u d i n g P u l i t z e r s , T o n y s , O s c a r s , G r a m m y s , a n d E m m y s . H e w r o t e m o r e t h a n 9 0 0 p u b l i s h e d s o n g s a n d f o r t y B r o a d w a y m u s i c a l s . R i c h a r d R o d g e r s ( 1 9 0 2 - 1 9 7 9 ) a n d L o r e n z H a r t ( 1 8 9 5 - 1 9 4 3 ) w r o t e t h e i r f i r s t s h o w s t o g e t h e r w h e n b o t h w e r e s t i l l s t u d e n t s a t t e n d i n g C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y . T h e i r b r e a k t h r o u g h c a m e w i t h t h e s c o r e f o r a 1 9 2 5 c h a r i t y s h o w , T h e G a r r i c k G a i t i e s . O v e r t h e n e x t f i v e y e a r s t h e y w r o t e f i f t e e n m u s i c a l c o m e d i e s f o r B r o a d w a y a n d L o n d o n ' s W e s t E n d b e f o r e r e l o c a t i n g t o H o l l y w o o d i n 1 9 3 0 , w h e r e t h e y c o n t r i b u t e d s o n g s a n d w r o t e t h e s c o r e s f o r s e v e r a l m o v i e m u s i c a l s . I n 1 9 3 5 t h e y r e t u r n e d t o N e w Y o r k t o w r i t e t h e s c o r e f o r B i l l y R o s e ' s c i r c u s m u s i c a l J u m b o , l a u n c h i n g a g o l d e n e r a t h a t i n c l u d e d O n Y o u r T o e s , B a b e s i n A r m s , I ' d R a t h e r B e R i g h t , I M a r r i e d a n A n g e l , T h e B o y s F r o m S y r a c u s e , T o o M a n y G i r l s , H i g h e r a n d H i g h e r , P a l J o e y , a n d B y J u p i t e r .