RESOURCE GUIDE “OKLAHOMA! reminds us that when we try to define who we are as a community, by creating an outsider, it can end in tragedy. Near the end of OKLAHOMA!, Laurey’s trying to make sense of great loss and Aunt Eller tells her, ‘Lots of things happen to folks. That’s how it is, cradle to grave. You gotta be hearty. You gotta be tough. Because the sweet and tender things in life happen to those who are tough.’ We are living through difficult times, but we have to be hearty and we have to be tough, because the sweet and tender things in life can happen and they’re too wonderful to miss.” – Producer Eva Price, during her Tony Award acceptance speech for Best Revival of a Musical ABOUT THE SHOW Synopsis....................................................................................3 Dear Teachers, OKLAHOMA! Fast Facts...........................................................4 Key Terms..................................................................................5 We are thrilled that you are coming to see this version of OKLAHOMA! PRE SHOW Activity: OKLAHOMA! Alphabet Relay....................................6 This guide was created specifically with you and your Activity: Compare & Contrast..................................................7 students in mind. We encourage you to utilize the ready OKLAHOMA! 2019 vs. OKLAHOMA! 1943...........................10 to implement activities and dramaturgical information Activity: Analyze the Lyrics.....................................................12 to enhance your students’ experience of seeing this powerful show. The guide is split into four sections for PROCESS you to explore, unpack and investigate the many mature Did You Know...........................................................................14 themes in the show. Lastly, we hope that you continue Actor Q&A................................................................................15 the dialogue beyond the show itself. Meet the Creatives..................................................................16 Activity: Let The Words Do The Work...................................17 Thank you. Guns and Theater....................................................................19 POST SHOW Performance Reflection.........................................................20 Activity: Dream Baby Dream..................................................21 Activity: Collage Creations.....................................................22 OKLAHOMA! Resource Guide | 2 Synopsis Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, OKLAHOMA! tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie. OKLAHOMA! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs’ 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs and was originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille. The original production, which premiered on Broadway in 1943, is largely credited with being the first musical to fully integrate its book, score, and choreography towards advancing the plot. It debuted at the St. James Theatre, New York on March 31, 1943 during WWII. Daniel Fish’s re-imagining leaves the original text and score intact while exploring them through a 21st century lens. Over 75 years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this is OKLAHOMA! as you’ve never seen or heard it before. Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the violence of the frontier that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this Oklahoma! allows the classic musical - and our country - to be seen in a whole new light. Funny and sexy, dark and terrifying, “this is the OKLAHOMA! that was there all along.” (New York Magazine) ABOUT THE SHOW OKLAHOMA! Resource Guide | 3 FAST FACTS ABOUT THE MUSICAL WHEN: 1906 WHERE: Oklahoma Territory WHO: CURLY MCLAIN A cowboy in love with Laurey JUD FRY LAUREY WILLIAMS A hired hand Aunt Eller’s niece, on Aunt Eller’s an independent ranch, a loner young woman The legacy of AUNT ELLER OKLAHOMA!... Laurey’s aunt, a respected ... ran on Broadway for community leader 5 years and 9 months (2,248 performances). ... has won a Pulitzer Prize, spawned an Oscar-winning film ADO ANNIE and launched countless high A flirtatious, school productions. gullible young woman ... debuted on Broadway during WWII bringing a sense of joy and American identity to the citizens of an anxious nation at war. ALI HAKIM WILL PARKER A Persian peddler, A simple young enamored with Ado Annie man in love with ... is known as the Ado Annie quintessential American musical. ABOUT THE SHOW OKLAHOMA! Resource Guide | 4 Key Terms: Currency equal to one eighth 121/2 cents BIT of a dollar or a fundraising event in which BOX SOCIAL box lunches are auctioned off City in Oklahoma territory where CLAREMORE the story takes place Curly’s horse DUN FASCINATOR a decorative headpiece A federal law enforcement agency within FEDERAL MARSHAL the U.S. Department of Justice that was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 a kaleidoscope with THE LITTLE WUNDER a knife hidden inside a basket with a carrying handle LUNCH HAMPER and a hinged lid, used for food, cutlery and plates a shed or room for curing food by SMOKEHOUSE exposure to smoke. Where Jud lives a light four-wheeled carriage with two SURREY seats facing forward pulled by horses ABOUT THE SHOW OKLAHOMA! Resource Guide | 5 Activity: OKLAHOMA ALPHABET RELAY E K This muscial is set in Oklahoma Territory right before it became what is now known as the state of Oklahoma. In this activity your students will be dramaturgs and learn as much as they can about the world of the show in a fast and fun way. P Materials: Markers, Poster with letters A-Z written on them (1/team) A 1. Split your class into small teams (there should be no 4. Explain that each team needs to come up with less than 4 people per team.) Start with a poster for one-word answers to the prompt OKLAHOMA each team, each lettered A - Z down the side, with 1906 from A to Z. Working from a single file line, room to write after each letter. Place the posters side the first person in the line will run to the poster and by side where students can easily reach and write on write a word that starts with the next available letter on R them. the list – starting with A, then B, and so on. The goal is to complete every word on the poster A-Z as quickly 2. Give each team 5 minutes to research as much as they as possible. Once groups have finished their list, they can about OKLAHOMA 1906. The goal is to get as are encouraged to cheer on the other groups to finish. much information about this historical time period as possible. 5. After all teams have completed their poster, the class gathers where everyone can see the posters to reflect 3. Once the 5 minutes have finished, instruct the teams on the activity and the ideas they generated. J to put everything away and stand in a line facing the prepared posters. 6. Go through each list together. Teams can challenge words that other teams wrote and the teams can explain their answer. Teachers will have ultimate say if it counts as a point. 7. The team who finished first and/or has the most points, wins! BONUS Play Alphabet Relay again using the theme of Musical S Theater or Rodgers and Hammerstein. PRE SHOW OKLAHOMA! Resource Guide | 6 Activity: Compare & Contrast 1. Split your class in half. 2. Give half the group photos from the 1943 Broadway Musical of OKLAHOMA! (on the following page) 3. Give the other half of the group photos from the 2019 Broadway Musical of OKLAHOMA! (on the following page) 4. Ask students to create a list of observations about the pictures. For example: If the group of students are looking at the 1943 Broadway Musical they could say, “I see a lot of people on stage with fancy costumes” or “the pictures are in black and white.” 5. Once everyone has written their observations, each group will share out what they wrote. REFLECT: · Based on the photos from the 2019 production, how do you think this production is going to compare to the original? • What do you expect to see? 6. After a group reflection, read the blurb below to your students: Over 75 years after Rodgers & Hammerstein reinvented the American musical, this is OKLAHOMA! as you’ve never seen or heard it before – reimagined for the 21st century. Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the violence of the frontier that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this OKLAHOMA! allows the classic musical - and our country - to be seen in a whole new light. Funny and sexy, dark and terrifying, “this is the OKLAHOMA! that was there all along.” (New York Magazine) PRE SHOW OKLAHOMA! Resource Guide | 7 1943 Broadway Musical 2019 Broadway Musical “How is it that the COOLEST NEW SHOW ON BROADWAY is a 1943 musical?” OKLAHOMA! vs. OKLAHOMA! 1943 2019 Visionary Direction Rouben Mamoulian, who directed the original production, Daniel Fish comes from a multidisciplinary background favored stylized scenes with poetic nuances over the spanning film, opera, experimental theater, and performance traditional realism of Broadway theater. Although he had studies, drawing inspiration from a broad range of forms directed plays and operas on Broadway, OKLAHOMA! and sources. He makes his Broadway debut with this was Mamoulian’s first musical theater piece. production of OKLAHOMA! . Choreography OKLAHOMA! was choreographer Agnes de Mille’s first This production of OKLAHOMA! is John Heginbotham’s Broadway show. Beforehand, she had an established career first-ever musical theater piece and Broadway show. performing and choreographing ballets for the American Like de Mille, John also comes from a non-theater, modern Ballet Theatre.