There's seldom a wish for true locations as the pace picks up and we move into the claustrophobic company of Judd Fry in his riveting encounter with the cowboy Curly. The close-up camera work affords an experience the theatre can't bring and also pays handsome dividends in appreciating Susan Stroman's intricate and lively choreography. Her dancers are a fine team, notably Jimmy Johnston who is outstanding as Will Parker leading the Kansas City ensemble. Hugh Jackman (X-Men) as Curly matches him in vocal prowess and looks, and Shuler Hensley sings the tricky role of Judd Fry very well. It's harder to place Peter Polycarpou's Pedlar, a considerably larger role than in the film version, whose accent strays from London's East End to the plains of Europe. Maureen Lipman, rightly deemed the lynchpin of the musical by Nunn, is a joy to watch as Aunt Eller. Laurey (Josefina Gabrielle) and Ado Annie (Vicki Simon) are good but not special. Aside from an abrupt start to Act Two and the occasional voice off microphone, the production sounds good with a larger orchestra present than in the theatre. An Oklahoma! on an epic scale. --Adrian Edwards

That is not to say that this 1999 London Stage Revival of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is not impressive. Director Trevor Nunn restores the full text and you can see why Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were both interested in turning Lynn Riggs' play "Green Grow the Lilacs" into a musical. It might seem strange to say so, but one of the strengths of this production is that the acting is so solid. The comic relief characters like Will Parker (Jimmy Johnston), Ado Annie (Vicki Simon), and Ali Hakim (Peter Polycarpou), are given more gravity without sacrificing the humor. Of course, part of this is because the show was not really filmed before a live audience, even though there are applause and shots of the audience from the stage at the end of most of the musical numbers. So never is heard a laugh from the audience during the proceedings, which necessarily gives more weight to the characters and the action.

Hugh Jackman is the main attraction as Curly McLain, mostly because fans have problems believing this is the guy who plays Wolverine in the "X-Men" movies, although having just won the 2004 Theater Wings Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award for portraying singer Peter Allen in the Broadway version of "The Boy From Oz" should establish his bona fides in this regard. Josefina Gabrielle plays Laurey Williams as more of a tomboy, and if her singing is solid but unspectacular, her acting and dancing bring some new dimensions to the character as well. The dream ballet has the novelty of being the first major production in which Curly and Laurey do their own dancing. There are those who do not care for the sequence on principle, but having it here as the end of the first act makes for effective foreshadowing.

It is hard to think there could ever be a bad Aunt Eller, and Maureen Lipman shows how well the role can work when it is underplayed. But I think the standout performer here has to be Shuler Hensley as Jud Fry (Hensley played the Frankenstein Monster to Jackman's vampire hunter in "Van Helsing" this summer). The character is the villain and he never seems to quite work in most of the version of "Oklahoma!" I have seen. But Hensley brings a subtlety to the role that really makes it work. You get a sense of how he is dangerous without him being overtly threatening; in other words, you can understand why Laurie would consider him, even if only for a moment. Having such a strong performer in that role really elevates the show.

"Oklahoma!" holds up really well, provided you are open to what we would not consider to be an old-fashioned musical (anything by Rodgers & Hammerstein and/or before Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber), and Nunn deserves a lot of the credit for crafting this production. The only serious complaint with the DVD is that all we have on the Bonus Disc is a 24-minute featurette on the production. While that has its moments (the Rodgers & Hammerstein people are actually puzzled as to why Nunn wants to do the show, as if the British have no understanding or respect for the classics) it is hard to believe they could not fit it on the other disc. In comparison, the "Mystic River: Bonus Disc" has 189 minutes of material.


A new "OKLAHOMA!"   August 18, 2003
 33 out of 36 found this review helpful

Having seen the movie version of this landmark musical a long time ago, it was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise for me to see the stage treatment of the show's revival in London a few years ago. What I saw was a more dramatic, a more engaging, and a more sophisticated version of this first of Rodgers and Hammerstein many stage musical hits. The characters had more depth to them, the songs more robustly sung, and the dancing as energetic as ever.

Part of the success is due to the masterful direction from Trevor Nunn and his decision to engage non-star actors like the Australian find Hugh Jackman, dancer/singer Josefina Gabrielle and Shuler Hensley, and of course veteran Maureen Lipman. Hugh's stage presence and singing ability is a wonderful surprise - presaging the star quality that now has him ready to open the 2003 Broadway season's most awaited show " The Boy from Oz" as well as the fine acting and magnetic presence which have launched him to superstardom in films... It was not surprising that Hugh was chosen to re-enact the role of Billy Bigelow from the second Rodgers and Hammerstein musical hit "CAROUSEL" when it was presented in concert at Carnegie Hall on the centennary of Richard Rodgers in 2002. Long before he became Wolverine or the Duke of Albany, Mr. Jackman belonged to the musical theatre stage!

I have the DVD- Region 2 of this filmed stage version -- and I have practically worn it out from much use. The show is fairly long ( 3 hours or so) but it captures other scenes and songs not seen in the movie version. There is a good documentary on how the show and the filmed stage version came into being, which is very useful in appreciating this stage classic.

The daughter of Richard Rodgers was all praises for this version of OKLAHOMA! ... I can only say AMEN to that!


A Oklahoman says....WOW!!   November 23, 2003
 30 out of 34 found this review helpful

I have seen many, many, many productions of "Oklahoma" over the last fifteen years. If you live in this state, it's pretty much a given that if one of your younger relatives (or a close friend's relative) has any musical talent at all, they will appear in a junior high or high school production of this musical. I've also enjoyed the summer performance at Discoveryland, which is the official "National Home" of the musical. And, of course, the 1955 film with Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae has been an often-watched favorite on my VHS/DVD shelf for many years.

Frankly, I bought this DVD for one reason--I was curious to hear if Hugh Jackman could sing. Let's face it--he's gorgeous to watch (and my husband gets jealous every time I say that, LOL), but I had a great deal of trouble imagining him in this rough-and-tumble cowboy role. In fact, the thought of "Oklahoma" on the London stage was a concept I had trouble accepting intellectually.

Boy, was I wrong.... :)

I agree 100% with Mary Rodgers. If you only have the chance to see one performance of "Oklahoma" in your lifetime, THIS is the one to see.

Shuler Hensley is magnificent as Jud Fry, and well deserving of all the awards he received. Jimmy Johnson and Vicki Simon make a delightful pair as Will Parker and the "I can't say no" Ado Annie. Maureen Lipman provides the heart of the family with her performance as Aunt Eller.

But Jackman and Josefina Gabrielle...well, there are no words. They weren't the typical clean-and-polished Curly and Laurey that we're so used to seeing. Laurey was barefoot and wearing pants! Curly *looked* like a cowhand who had just come off the range. They were...well, real. Genuine. Laurey had doubts about marrying a cowboy; Curly had doubts about giving up his life in the saddle and settling down as a farmer. Curly was *nervous* when he stumbled through his proposal...and Laurey *still* had doubts about accepting.

Again, the only word that comes to mind...real. Human. True human emotions. And, amazingly, not a British/Australian accent anywhere to mar the perfection.

Oh, and did I mention that Hugh Jackman was gorgeous?? :)

Yes, some of the set changes are a bit confusing when they cut in the audience reactions. But I was so caught up with the presentation that the distraction was a minor inconvenience at worst.

If you're trying to make a choice between this version and the 1955 movie...get both. But get this one first :)

Yes...Hugh Jackman can most definitely sing. And did I mention that he's...well, you get the idea :)


Wow   April 3, 2007
 25 out of 25 found this review helpful

I just watched this on PBS and ran immediately to the computer to order the DVD. I grew up working in local summer stock and community theatre--went on to major in theatre in undergrad before going to grad school for something more consistent with regular work. I worked on or was in a couple of productions of Oklahoma, and have seen several--some great, some not. I have always appreciated the wonderful music and the nearly operatic tone of the show. But before tonight, I had never seen this theatrical classic ACTED. It was spellbinding. Who knew what a great piece of drama this show could be? And for icing on the dramatic cake, the dancing was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers quality, and the vocal performances were the best, in aggregate, I've ever even heard ABOUT. The character of Jud Fry worked in ways I never new it could, due to inspired direction and a tour de force performance. Laurie and Curly actually dancing the dream ballet themselves removed a perenial speed bump in the show. Everything--just EVERYTHING works in this production. For me this is the definitive Oklahoma, and therefore the definitive musical theatre piece. If this wasn't what R and H intended, it should have been. It is a different show than the one I thought I knew. What a production! I can't wait for the DVD to get here so I can watch it again. Wow!