The Mornin' Ain't So Beautiful For This Dark 'Oklahoma!' Production

NPR: Oklahoma! was the first musical that the celebrated team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote together. On the surface, it tells the story of a young woman (Laurey) deciding whether to go to a party with a dangerous, lonely farmhand (Jud) or a nice, young cowboy (Curly). But the show also has a dark undercurrent: It's set at the turn of the 20th century before Oklahoma became a state, when the territory was in social and political upheaval. Now a new, experimental production at the Bard SummerScape festival in upstate New York is asking audiences to focus on the darker story behind the musical's well-known songs.