Oklahoma is the story of a specific place, the turn-of-the-century Midwest territory shortly before statehood, and two people trying to find their love with the help and the hindrance of those around them. It is a noble quest, but both Curly and Laurey are too proud to admit that they want something better for themselves. They have to overcome both themselves, the conflicts within their community, and an encounter with evil to reach the greater good. While we can see the story as a typical boy-meets-girl, girl-falls-in-love, boy-relents-bachelorhood, couple-lives-happily-ever-after story, the play says something more. The meta-story is found in the musicial's setting in a geographic place and the community of people who define that place.
The signature song of the musical ("Ooooklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain") occurs not at the beginning of the play, where it might be used to define the setting of a generic love story, but rather at the end of the play, where the song, perhaps the greatest celebration of place of any broadway show tune, serves as the culmination of all the events that have gone before it. Yes, we are happy that Curly has given up his cowboy life to settle down with Laurey on the farm, but we are also so in love with this specific place, this territory about to become a state, that we shout out its name with an exclamation point. We thrust our fist in the air with "A-Yipio-ee-ay" and sing along "we know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is grand." (See Hugh Jackman leading the song here )
We often think of musicals as pollyanna views of life, and while Oklahoma! has lots of feel good moments, the story contains several conflicts and a very dark strain. Yes, we feel good when the play starts out with "Oh what a beautiful morning" on the farm, but soon we are thinking of the advantages of big city life when we are told that "Everything is Up to Date in Kansas City." Simple Ado Annie is more intrigued with the exotic traveling salesman than her hometown beau. Then, we see the conflict between fenced-in farmers and free-roaming ranchers. Maybe life in our little town is not so great after all. Still, we go along with Curly and Laurey as they come to accept their inevitable romance. Just as we are ready to retreat to happy-ever-after, the troubled character of Judd dances darkly onto stage. If they are going to achieve something significant, they will have to face evil and overcome it. The second act forces us to worry that circumstances, conflict, and evil will doom our young lovers. (Spoiler alert!) Of course it doesn't, but that makes the triumph of Oklahoma more complete. As Aunt Eller says at the end of the play, "You can't deserve the sweet and tender in life unless'n you're tough."
Go see Oklahoma! by the Owosso Community Players. This rich story is done well by, and done right by, the acting, singing and the set in this particular production. Enjoy real people putting on a real play in a real place with real, live music. And pay attention to the story, and see what it tells us about creating a special sense of place in Owosso as well as Oklahoma.
Very nice review Tom; hope the papers pick-up on the idea. The OCP, again, did a great job with this turn-of-the-century classic! mhe
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