"Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!!!!"
With that tuneful, hopeful, opening song, Oklahoma! burst on to the Broadway stage on March 31, 1943. It was a box office hit and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration was groundbreaking. It is considered to be the single most influential work in the American musical theatre. It is the first fully integrated musical play and its blending of song, character, plot, and even dance would serve as the model for Broadway shows for decades. Oklahoma! was greeted by critics and audiences alike as a watershed — the first successful truly unified musical, in which all creative elements worked together to support the story.
The Hamilton of its day, the show elevated the art form of musical theatre and kicked off a Golden Age of American musicals that lasted for several decades. The production was stunningly choreographed by Agnes de Mille (her first time choreographing a musical on Broadway), who provided one of the show's most notable and enduring features: a 15-minute first-act ballet finale (often referred to as the dream ballet).
Oklahoma! won numerous awards, from a special Pulitzer Prize to the 2019 Tony Award for its innovative Broadway revival. The 1955 film version is in the National Film Registry. And in 1998, a little known actor named Hugh Jackman became a star when he played Curly in the National Theatre's revival in London's West End.
At its heart, Oklahoma! is a love story between confident cowboy Curly and feisty farmer Laurey. As the road to romance and the road to statehood converge, Curly and Laurey are poised to carve out a life together in a brand-new state. But the road to love is as bumpy and fraught with all the dangers and excitement of the time. The unforgettable score includes: "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," "People Will Say We're in Love," "I Cain't Say No!" and the exhilarating title song, "Oklahoma!" This high-energy show has a jubilant score, easily relatable characters, and is just pure fun!
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