DC Metro Theater Arts: The iconic musical Oklahoma! was overdue for an overhaul, but who could have foreseen what Director Daniel Fish would conceive as the gloriously edgy production now in town at Kennedy Center? The 80-year-old book and lyrics are the same, the melodies are the same — Rogers & Hammerstein are in the house — but their horse-and-buggy of a show has been stripped down and rebuilt as a zippy electric vehicle for zeitgeist sex and politics. And what an exciting ride it is.
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For the first time, I agree with a critic’s opinion of the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's iconic “Oklahoma!”. I had the pleasure of seeing it on Broadway back in 2019. I wish I had a greater understanding of the original plot before seeing the revival because as I was reading this article, I learned so many things about the show! The only thing I knew, fun fact, was that Hammerstein wrote the lyrics about “The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, An' it looks like it's climbing clear up in the sky” while looking at the corn fields of Bucks County, PA. This area was a haven for many in the New York City theatre and art community, including Oscar Hammerstein II, Moss Hart, and Stephen Sondheim.
Something I am grateful for is the author’s critique on the famous dream sequence. In the revival the dance made absolutely no sense in the plot and the bizarre modern style was awful. The dancer exits the stage at the end of the number, scooting on her butt. Agnes de Mille must be rolling over in her grave.
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