So Oklahoma!’s Curly tells her true love Laurey moments after she accepts her adorably flustered proposal. Wait, did I just write “her” for Curly? If you’re in Ashland, Ore., yes, ma’am—that’s the correct pronoun. Bill Rauch’s current staging of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic has found a new way to make the heart beat faster and the eye tear up: Curly and Laurey’s romance now blazes brightly in a nation torn between LGBTQ rights and bigoted backlash. Their pure love is echoed in the comical affair between roper Will Parker and his randy sweetheart, Ado Andy (originally Annie), now “just a boy who cain’t say no.”
2 comments:
(I’ll be focusing my response on Rausch’s production of “Oklahoma!” for length sake).
“Oklahoma!” being a classic show as it is, is a great vessel for encouraging social change. Not even so much because of the content of the show, but because of how established it is and how used to seeing it a certain way we are. Changing the status quo of such a well known piece brings more attention to the change you’re making and the reason for those changes.
That being said, I do with this was done a few years ago when the fight for gay marriage in the States was in full swing. Though the casting decision would have been more controversial back then, I think it also would have had a greater artistic impact.
However, even now the choices Rausch is making are positive ones that promote open mindedness and support for the LGBTQ+ community. I talk a lot about how important representation is, particularly in the media and in the arts because it has such a massive impact on young people. Taking something classic and changing it to keep up with the times is a wonderful way to make it appeal to a new younger audience as well as to set an example in the industry. Just because it’s been done this way in the past, doesn’t mean it fits the needs of the present.
To be honest, I really do not like “Oklahoma!”. It’s a boring story with stick-in-your-head music and an outdated message. I think that these two new versions are fresh, interesting, and exactly what “Oklahoma!” needs to stay relevant. I love the idea of being able to go into a theater and see a show you already know completely reimagined. Again, I am able to say this because I really dislike “Oklahoma!”. If this were a show that I loved, like “The Sound of Music”, then I would probably have different feelings. Still, these two versions of “Oklahoma!” are not saying that they are the best version. They’re simply re-envisioned pieces of art, and the whole point of art is to get your message across, which I believe these two are doing very well. They are able to take a traditional Broadway show and modernize it, making it relatable and showing audiences a side to the world that they might not have seen otherwise.
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