This year’s musical production of Oklahoma! left fans cheering and laughing through the last line.
With a cast consisting of juniors Grant Gadbois, Wes Dunlap, Zane Haney, Cole Becker, and Jiselle Soss, and seniors Yasmeen Vinson and Lena Crown, and an ensemble of dedicated performers, musical director Amy Moorhead captured the audience’s attention for the duration of the performance.
In the musical, Curly (Haney) is a cowboy longing for the heart of a farm girl, Laurey (Vinson), against fellow suitor and farmer, Jud (Dunlap). Meanwhile, cowboy Will Parker (Becker) raises money to ask for Ado Annie (Crown)’s hand in marriage, but is rejected because her father promises her hand to local peddler Ali Hakim (Gadbois), a notorious lady’s man.
“The raw excitement of the play parallels the same sentiments that people of Oklahoma were feeling just before statehood,” Becker said. “Like any classic production, it also involves comic relief from a Persian, a dumb cowboy, and an oddly promiscuous young frontier girl.”
Becker enjoyed being in Oklahoma! because he liked the combination of singing, dancing, and acting, which made the experience challenging but rewarding, he said.
“It is just a really fun experience from auditions to closing night,” he said.
Senior Cortney Padua is the stage manager and one of the performers in Oklahoma!.
“As a stage manager as well as a performer, it’s a constant juggling act to try to get everything I need to get done, but it’s all part of being in the show,” she said, “but I love being part of both the tech and the performance, because I get to experience it from all sides.”
Oklahoma! runs from 8-10:45 on Saturday and 7:30 to 10:15 on Sunday. It has one intermission an hour and a half in and concessions are sold in the lobby.
Becker and Padua both encourage people to go see it.
“I know Oklahoma! isn’t the most popular musical, nor best plot-wise, especially when compared to the likes of Les Miserables two years ago, but it’s incredibly fun and high-energy, and it’s got some great dancing and acting,” Padua said.
