By J.E. Ballantyne Jr.
The old chestnuts of American musical theater don’t get produced much anymore. With the new wave of theater that has come along, the old standards have become more of a distant memory.
That is why Friday night’s opening of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” at the Youngstown Playhouse has been so eagerly anticipated since it was announced last year. And that anticipation was not wasted by any means. The near sell-out crowd got a big “Oklahoma Hello!” from a huge and energetic cast.
The plot is certainly familiar. The story takes place in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906, before Oklahoma had become a state. The romance of Laurey and Curly is complicated by farmhand Jud Fry. Along the way are some of the greatest musical numbers ever written for the musical theater.
Leading this cast are Ashlyn Young and Jonathan Beveridge as Laurey and Curly. At first glance when the curtain went up, it struck me that Young seemed almost too young for the role of Laurey.
But she soon put that fear to rest with an outstanding performance. Vocally she is in high command of her vocals and puts a sweet twist on them to easily win the audience over. Her kittenish teases and naive approach to the character made her a winner each time she appeared.
But Laurey also has a an emotional side, which Young illustrated with ease when called upon to do so. She captivates with “Many a New Day,” and “People Will Say We’re In Love.”
Beveridge is equally strong as Curly, the self-assured – if not downright braggadocio – cowboy seeking Laurey’s attentions.
With a strong voice and commanding presence, he gets the entire ball rolling in high-speed with “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.” His strong acting matches that of Young and cements the believability of the relationship between the two characters. His smooth delivery plays well and helps him slide into musical numbers without a bump or hitch.
Molly Galano adds another notch in her theatrical belt with a flawless portrayal of Aunt Eller, whom Laurey lives with. Eller is a comedy merry-go-round character with a sharp tongue and an even sharper wit. But Galano has the chops to mold the character into the central character in the territory that everyone knows, loves and respects. She is ultra relaxed in the role and makes Eller’s character jump far beyond the fourth wall and into each audience member’s heart.
Becca Campbell returns to the Playhouse after her successful Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” a few years ago, to wow audiences again as Ado Annie Carnes. This role is a laugh per line character which Campbell takes full advantage of. Her belty voice gives colossal treatment to “I Cain’t Say No,” and “All er Nothin.” Her timing and delivery are a winning combination for this naive and somewhat befuddled character.
Will Parker, played by Peter Sherman, is the romantic foil to Annie. Persistent and unwavering, Parker continues to shoot himself in the foot on each attempt to win Annie’s hand. Sherman is convincing and sharp in Parker’s undying love for Annie
Another suitor, Ali Hakim, played by Michael Allenbaugh, is constantly trying to get rid of Annie to almost no avail. Although acted well for the portrayal that Allenbaugh presented, the character fell short of its full potential. Hakim is a character that should be over the top. He is a peddler, a con man, and has more tricks up his sleeve than a magician. The comedy possibilities are endless. Allenbaugh played him too close to the vest. And with the Jewish accent, I was expecting him to break into a chorus of “If I Were a Rich Man.”
The villain in the piece is Jud Fry, played by Connor Bezeredi. Bezeredi falls into somewhat the same trap as Allenbaugh. Bezeredi’s interpretation of Fry was more of a depressed loner than an angry farmhand. Fry’s lot in life has placed him at the bottom of almost everything in existence. His anger and hate come from that meager existence. Although his anger did come through in a later scene with Laurey, for most of the show he was played as a pitiful, depressed man, which tempered the anger side of him. I feel the anger side works much better so as to provide more of a delineation between his character and Curly’s. Vocally, he was strong with “Pore Jud Is Daid.” Plus, quite frankly, he was one of the stronger points in the dream ballet scene.
Some other good character moments were Arcale Peace as Ike Skidmore, Allyson Kremm as Gertie (although the giddy laugh seemed a little bit forced), Tim Carr as Andrew Carnes, and Joe Malys as Cord Elam.
Some of the old productions of “Oklahoma!” made use of the dream ballet sequence in a way that didn’t further the story but definitely furthered the length of the show. Some cut the scene altogether.
In this production, the dream ballet was a disappointment because, at times, it slowed the fast moving show almost to a complete halt and reflected little creativity.
Unfortunately, the ballet wasn’t helped by late audience arrivals (three-fourths through Act I) with cell phones ablaze the entire time. Well, at least the ballet would still have been visible had the lights gone out with the aurora borealis coming from one row.
Kudos to the Playhouse for using live music. The twenty-five piece orchestra, which was on stage, brought the music to full and vivid life. You cannot beat live music in a live theatrical production. There is no other option. The balance between orchestra and actors was well done with neither interfering with the other.
Not enough can be said about the ensemble. These types of musicals depend on strong ensembles and the Playhouse production show bats 1.000 in that category. Both the male and female ensembles were strong, sharp and crisp with tons of unending energy.
Choreography, by Erin Morell, was passable with good moments here and there but others that were not well executed and of little interest.
Lighting design by Ellen Licitra was colorful and bright and added excitement to many scenes. Costumes by Sam Martin were also well executed and accurate to the period. Follow spots needed a lot of work. They repeatedly could not keep up with even the most minor movement by an actor.
Director Tyler Stouffer has put together an amazing production, despite the few hiccups noted herein. His set design worked well and moved on and off adequately.
I was amazed at intermission at the numbers of people saying things like, “Now I know what that song is from.” There is an audience for the old chestnuts. There are vast generations that have never seen them. They need to be done more. In the meantime, catch this one at the Playhouse. You will be dancing your way out of the theater when it is over.
“Oklahoma!” will continue May 10, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m.; and May 11 and 18 at 2:30 p.m.
Pictured at top: Ashlyn Young and Jonathan Beveridge play the roles of Laurey and Curly in the Youngstown Playhouse’s production of “Oklahoma!”