Redefining a beloved Broadway staple is a slippery slope, especially when the resulting production shares little semblance of the original. This Oklahoma, a vision of experimental director Daniel Fish, is raw and completely exposed, stripped to the music and drama. It fully explores the themes and conflicts while bravely confronting questionable aspects of the story and characters. Though boasting the prestigious Tony Award for Best Musical Revival of 2019, the show has been critically polarizing with the biggest debate being whether Fish’s upheaval of the untouchable was warranted. Admittedly, some of the standalone creative decisions were less than agreeable. However, what is undeniable is that this revival is cohesive and effective in its impact.
True to the production’s branding, Oklahoma is functionally minimalistic. The cast has been culled to its key players. The show features minimal sets consisting of wooden picnic tables. Our only visual indication of the setting is a black and white rending of farmland and pastures that serves as a backdrop for the show. The auditorium is plain and designed to look like an average community assembly hall with colorful, gaudy paper banners and prop guns eerily lining the wall. Although the time period is ambiguous, costumes and props indicate that the story is modernized. The cast dons plaid shirts, skinny jeans, and cowboy boots while packing meals into Little Playmate ice coolers. All in all, the muted palate, sparsity, and contemporary styling do not make for a visually attractive experience, but one that feels starkly real.
Fish also removes barriers between the cast and audience in hopes that the intimacy better conveys the drama. The show is staged in the round where we physically and metaphorically see the characters from all angle. Furthermore, the drama is fully exposed to both the audience and the characters, who are kept onstage as passive bystanders to much of the action. Fish also makes use of live projections throughout the musical, often zooming in on expressions and faces to confront the audience with the characters’ inner emotions. The modest size of the Circle in the Square theater also helps bridge the physical distance between actors and viewers.
The music is also stripped down and re-orchestrated for a seven-piece band. Though the new arrangement is nowhere near as magnificent as the lush orchestrations and beautiful emotive phrases of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s original score, it works in the context of Fish’s production. The music is much sparser given the decreased size of the band and takes on a bit more of a colloquial, country twang due to its updated instrumentation.
Overall, the cast and musicians did an excellent job bringing to life Fish’s vision. Damon Duanno is the perfect contemporary Curley with a unique and versatile voice and plenty of charisma. He is a feast for the eyes and holds the entire ensemble together, leading many of the numbers with his guitar. Sasha Hutchings is a bit bland as Laurey, which is likely more to the fault of Fish’s interpretation than her ability. However, her well-balanced voice works well with the new arrangements of the score. Patrick Vaill was a standout as the “antagonist” Jud Fry. His subdued presence and awkwardness make his character sympathetic and complicate the audience’s feelings towards him.
Whether you fall into the camp that sees classics as the untouchable gold standard or those who see it as timeless material that can be redone in endless ways, one can appreciate the careful choices made in Fish’s production. I was hesitant about the Oklahoma revival when I first heard of it. However, walking into the show with tempered expectations and an open mind, I found it to be a memorable and moving piece of theater that challenged my view on revivals. There can be a place for both the old Oklahoma in all its feel-good glory and this novel production. They serve different purposes and speak to difference audiences. There is no reason why we need to choose one over the other when both can be valid interpretations we can come to love and enjoy.
Catch Oklahoma at Circle in the Square until January 19.