I haven't been around for a while, and due to the pandemic, nor to the theatre, London or Newcastle. A return to London, and the note that the main daily newspapers give this performance five stars, forced me to write an alternative review on the new interpretation of Oklahoma at the Wyndham Theatre on Charing Cross Road.
From a feel good western musical by Rogers and Hammerstein to a dark, sombre concluding piece of treachery to tradition. This sums up our visit to the revival of this famous work at the Wyndham Theatre on Friday 24 February, 2023.
All seemed right as a first half of almost yee hah normality prevailed, with a good cast giving it their all (Ado Annie and Jud especially, although the traditional dirty and ugly cowhand, Jud, was played by a clean and very handsome actor, according to my wife, “a young Brad Pitt!”). However, a bizarre finale up to the interval, with the stage in total darkness, and then Jud being projected onto the back wall by a cowboy dressed cameraman, as Jud and Curly “had a few words”, didn’t bode well for the coming denouement. Further spells of total darkness and the dosey doeing, camera-wielding crew member, together with an, albeit well choreographed, dance scene, accompanied by music more akin to Tommy than Oklahoma, left an uneasy feeling in the gut. The final shoot out and solemn activity, left one feeling down in the dumps rather than the feel good factor expected, and this dark moment went straight into a rollicking rendition of “Oklahoma “. Bizarre, indeed!
From a feel good western musical by Rogers and Hammerstein to a dark, sombre concluding piece of treachery to tradition. This sums up our visit to the revival of this famous work at the Wyndham Theatre on Friday 24 February, 2023.
All seemed right as a first half of almost yee hah normality prevailed, with a good cast giving it their all (Ado Annie and Jud especially, although the traditional dirty and ugly cowhand, Jud, was played by a clean and very handsome actor, according to my wife, “a young Brad Pitt!”). However, a bizarre finale up to the interval, with the stage in total darkness, and then Jud being projected onto the back wall by a cowboy dressed cameraman, as Jud and Curly “had a few words”, didn’t bode well for the coming denouement. Further spells of total darkness and the dosey doeing, camera-wielding crew member, together with an, albeit well choreographed, dance scene, accompanied by music more akin to Tommy than Oklahoma, left an uneasy feeling in the gut. The final shoot out and solemn activity, left one feeling down in the dumps rather than the feel good factor expected, and this dark moment went straight into a rollicking rendition of “Oklahoma “. Bizarre, indeed!