Wednesday, January 05, 2022
'Oklahoma!’ Gets a New Kind of Exclamation Mark
Entertainment Central Pittsburgh: Theater is an act of invention, and often, reinvention. So it’s fitting that 2022 in Pittsburgh begins with a visit from the touring production of Oklahoma! This new take on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic mirrors the version that wowed Broadway three years ago, winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. It’s also a version that has stirred up artistic controversy.
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Just to start, I wanna make it clear that I have never seen Oklahoma!, and I hope that one day I'll have the chance to do so. My response to this article will as such be more on the situation surrounding it, and specifically that some people dislike this revival due to its refocusing on darker themes and moments, despite still retaining that "feel good" identity attributed to the musical in other parts. It's hard for me to understand why some people are so resistant to change, especially in regards to things like social issues and art. Time is not static, so society shouldn't be either. Values change, and the needs of society change with them. While being truer to the human experience wasn't inherently a lesser need in 1943 when Oklahoma! first opened, the circumstances of the age were very different. Society needed more of a distraction or escape from the challenges of the age, whereas today we need something that reflects the truth of the human experience and more fully depicts the reality of the world. The great thing about art is that it can meet those needs and change right alongside them, and thus it should aim to do so. Sure, I can understand the desire to keep the show the same as it was, especially if you enjoyed it as it was, but outright rejecting the benefits of a fluid expression of artistry truly makes no sense to me.
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