OKLAHOMA!

By Roger Pines, Dramaturg, Lyric Opera of Chicago

It all began with Lynn Riggs's play, Green Grown the Lilacs, seen on Broadway during the 1930-31 season. As produced by The Theatre Guild, it proved a decent but not overwhelming success. During the early 1940s, when the Guild badly needed a hit, it occurred to Theresa Helburn, one of the organization's co-directors, that this play could make a splendid musical. She presented the idea to Richard Rodgers, who hoped to work on it with his longtime writing partner, Lorenz Hart. Depressed, plagued by alcohol problems, and physically exhausted, Hart had neither the energy nor the desire to involve himself in the project. Rodgers brought it to a fellow Columbia University alumnus, Oscar Hammerstein II, whose many Broadway credits included the lyrics of Rose Marie and Show Boat – and thus a great collaboration was born.

The Guild struggled to find investors for the show, since Away We Go! (the original title – as in square dancing's "Do-si-do and away we go") was unlike other major musicals in its down-home lack of glamour, not to mention the creators' refusal to open with the usual big chorus/production number everyone would have expected (instead they had an irresistible baritone solo, "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning"). Once the money was raised and rehearsals began, it quickly became clear that the show could represent a significant progress for American musical theater. That was clear to audiences and critics, too, when – as Oklahoma! – it opened on Broadway on March 31, 1943.

In Hammerstein's libretto, the story is played out in the territory of Oklahoma, which has not yet become a state. Laurey runs the farm where she lives with her feisty Aunt Eller. The girl's admirer, a cowboy named Curly, hopes to take her to the Box Social, but he has a rival in Laurey's hired hand, the surly Jud. Curly professes to own a luxurious carriage with which he can drive Laurey to the dance; after he describes it with relish, she's miffed when he reveals that he made it up. When Laurey agrees to go to the dance with Jud, Curly retaliates by flirting with another girl. At the dance the men raise money for a new schoolhouse by bidding on each girl's picnic hamper. Warring with Jud over Laurey's hamper, Curly outbids him by offering both his gun and his horse to the highest bidder. Frightened by Jud's behavior when alone with her, Laurey fires him. Curly comforts her, and she accepts his marriage proposal. Their wedding is marred by Jud, who fights with Curly but falls on his own knife. In a quick trial, Curly is cleared of any wrongdoing, and the newlyweds drive off in a surrey with a fringe on top.

A subplot involves Laurey's friend Ado Annie, who loves Will but "cain't say no" to other young men. Will needs $50 before Annie's father will allow him to marry her. Meanwhile, she's getting to know the amorous peddlar Ali Hakim, who behaves so romantically toward Annie that her father orders a shotgun wedding. Will bets his $50 on Annie's hamper, but Ali counters with $51, so Annie and Will get their happy ending.

R&H termed Oklahoma! "a musical play," not "a musical comedy," and it brilliantly integrated song with story (even Show Boat, the greatest American musical prior to R&H, didn't accomplish this so skillfully). Every song reveals character and helps the plot to progress. The duets for each pair of lovers, as well as their solos, absolutely define them as human beings: "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" is the open, warm-hearted essence of Curly; Laurey's no-nonsense attitude in "Many a New Day" yields to her romantic side in "Out of My Dreams" (one of Rodgers's loveliest waltzes); "I Cain't Say No," with its sheepish introduction and jaunty verses, lets us immediately know Annie; and Will's exuberance and enthusiasm make a joyful impression in "Kansas City." The men sing with Will, the women with Laurey, and all join at the Box Social for "The Farmer and the Cowman," which culminates with an exhilarating dance sequence. Even more memorable is the innovative Dream Ballet, in which the dreaming Laurey imagines Jud carrying her off after winning a fight between himself and Curly. The dances confirmed the reputation of a gifted American choreographer, Agnes De Mille, who two years later did similarly glorious work on Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel.

A filmed Oklahoma! (1955), featuring Gordon McRae and introducing Shirley Jones – was successful, as were two Broadway revivals during the past quarter century (the second was in fact a recreation of a production first seen at London's Royal National Theatre). After more than six decades, the show remains enormously popular. No doubt it can still be seen in professional and amateur productions all over America 365 days a year!

Please read the biographies of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506