Oklahoma! Blu-ray delivers great video and decent audio in this overall recommended Blu-ray release
This vibrant new production of the classic stage musical is marvelously brought to life by a stellar cast that features the charming Hugh Jackman as Curly, vivacious Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, menacing Shuler Hensley in his Tony Award-winning role as Jud and British favorite Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller. Declared by London theater critics as the all-time best version of OKLAHOMA! ever brought to the stage, the musical was directed by Broadway great Trevor Nunn (LES MISERABLES, SUNSET BOULEVARD) and choreographed by the gifted Susan Stroman (director/choreographer of THE PRODUCERS).
The 1943 musical Oklahoma! was the first show in the long and fruitful partnership between
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Along with Showboat, Hammerstein's 1927
collaboration with Jerome Kern, Oklahoma! is the progenitor of the musical as we know it today.
Before Hammerstein, musicals tended to be plays periodically interrupted by songs. It was
Hammerstein who insisted that the songs be part of the story, that they express the character(s)
singing them, and that the performers in musical theater be actors first, singers second. Like
many innovations, Oklahoma! feels familiar now, but it was startling when it first appeared.
Despite—or rather, because of—its familiarity, Oklahoma! has never gone out of style. Its
durable score has ensured it a permanent life in revivals, both professional and amateur. At the
same time, productions in major theater centers like Broadway and the West End had largely
disappeared in the final decades of the 20th Century, for several reasons. Economics were a
major factor; Oklahoma! is an expensive show requiring a large cast. As backers watched too
many "can't miss" productions fail to return their investment, even with major stars attached,
they became wary of risk—and Oklahoma! seemed like more of a risk as time went on. Its
frontier optimism suited the national mood perfectly when the show opened to an audience
facing the prospect of World War II, but times had changed. Most Americans no longer imagined
their country in visions of "waving wheat" that "can sure smell sweet". If they did, they certainly
didn't imagine it among the dust and oil wells of Oklahoma.
Enter British director Trevor Nunn. Already acclaimed for such productions as Nicholas
Nickleby, Les Misérables and the musical of Sunset Boulevard, Nunn saw shadings in Oklahoma!
that he believed would bring it alive for contemporary audiences. When he became artistic
director of the Royal National Theatre in September 1997, where government funding allowed
him to take greater risk, Nunn approached the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization with his
ideas, where he received an enthusiastic response. The result was a successful 1998 production in
London that, among other notable elements, featured a memorable lead performance by a then-unknown but charismatic Australian actor named
Hugh Jackman.
Nunn's revival eventually made it to Broadway in 2002, although Jackman did not, because the
production was largely recast with Americans. After the West End run concluded, however, Nunn took
his cast to a London film studio, where they recreated the show on film, but with ideal lighting
conditions and camera placement. The resulting record of their performance has been shown all
over the world and was released on DVD by Image Entertainment in 2003. Image has now
released the same filmed performance on Blu-ray.
The plot of Oklahoma! is almost as corny as the fields in the farm country where it's set, which may be why the original play by Lynn
Riggs, entitled
Green Grow the Lilacs, flopped in 1931 and quickly disappeared. But Oscar Hammerstein saw potential in the play for interesting
character studies
among the cornstalks, and he gave Rodgers wonderful lyrics to set to music.
It's 1906, and Oklahoma is about to become the 46th state. The story's center of activity is the ranch inhabited by Laurey Williams (Josefina
Gabrielle) and her Aunt Eller (Maureen Lipman), a commanding figure (at least in this production) who knows how to make people listen. It's the day
of the "box social" dance, at which lunch baskets prepared by local women will be auctioned off to men eager to dine with whoever prepared the
basket. The proceeds will go to building a new schoolhouse.
Everyone assumes Laurey will be attending with Curly (Jackman), the best cowboy on the ranch, who opens the show singing its famously optimistic
anthem ("Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'"). But Curly and Laurey spend much of Oklahoma! fighting with each other ("People Will Say
We're in Love"),
and Laurey even tries to convince her friends she doesn't care about Curly ("Many a New Day"). They end up attending separately, even though
Curly has gone to the expense of renting a special carriage just for the occasion ("Surrey with the Fringe on Top").
Laurey's other admirer, Jud, is a farmhand, and he's considerably less appealing than Curly. Indeed, as played by the versatile Shuler Hensley, Jud is
only a few steps away from becoming a serial killer from a Thomas Harris novel. In this production, when Curly jokingly suggests to Jud that he
should hang himself, it's not only cruel, but reckless, because Hensley's Jud seems capable of anything. The bidding war that ensues between Curly
and Jud at the box social feels like more than just romantic rivalry; it has the flavor of actual combat. (That comes later.)
One of Oklahoma!'s famous innovations is the dream sequence that closes Act 1, where Laurey, under the influence of "smelling salts",
sorts through
her confusions about Curly and Jud. The award-winning choreography that embodies Laurey's dream is enhanced here by the fact that no dancing
doubles were needed, as is usually the case for this sequence. Jackman, Hensley and Gabrielle all did their own dancing in a lengthy interlude that
departs entirely from the country style of the rest of the show. Their skill is evident in the filmed version, which wouldn't have worked with doubles.
Paralleling Laurey's story is that of her friend Ado Annie Carnes (Vicki Simon), the formerly skinny girl who's rapturous over the attention she enjoys
from men now that she's filled out. Annie promised herself to a cowboy named Will Parker (Jimmy Johnston), who has just returned from an eye-
opening trip to Kansas City ("Kansas City"). But while Will was gone, Annie was swept off her feet by a Persian peddler named Ali Hakim (Peter
Polycarpou) for the simple reason that she can't resist flattery ("I Cain't Say No"). When Annie's father, Andrew Carnes, discovers the new
relationship, his shotgun comes out, and Ali Hakim finds himself unwillingly affianced ("It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!"). The machinations for
untangling this triangle become part of the action at the box social.
Before the end of Act 2, there's been a fight, proposals, a wedding and a trial. But don't get too caught up in those details. Listen to the songs and
look at the hopeful faces of the crowd. They're what Oklahoma! is really about.
A hallmark of this version of Oklahoma! was the curved set by production (and costume)
designer Anthony Ward, which was intended to suggest the expansive horizon of the new
territory that the characters in the story had only recently settled. The show's pastoral colors were
suggested by Hammerstein's lyrics with such phrases as the "bright golden haze on the meadow".
Director Nunn didn't attempt to improve on his success, merely to re-create it for the cameras
with the help of veteran TV cinematographer Paul Wheeler. Detailed information regarding the
shooting format was unavailable, but it is obvious from the "making of" documentary, as well as
the appearance of the finished product and the date of production, that the project was shot on
film.
The image on Image's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is film-like and detailed, with a softness
that should not be mistaken for lack of definition. Digitally sharp edges would create the wrong
impression for this production, which was lit for a gently nostalgic sensation, even when darker
themes intrude. When Nunn wanted to convey darkness, he used actual darkness. Occasions for
deep black and trailing shadows are rare, but when they occur, the Blu-ray is equal to the task.
The various lighting shifts that signal changes in mood and emotional tone are effectively
conveyed, as are the subtle changes in color palette, some of which register only subliminally.
Image has used a BD-50, allowing the compressionist plenty of room to deal with the extensive
dancing sequences, which require high bitrates and have been well accommodated here, without
artifacts.
A noticeable falloff in visual quality occurs during the end credits, which scroll over the curtain
call. This portion of the program does not appear to have been rescanned for Blu-ray, because the
image behind the credits is considerably less detailed. If nothing else, it makes you appreciate the
quality of the rest of the film.
The only soundtrack on the Blu-ray is a lossless stereo track encoded as DTS-HD MA 2.0.
Image's previous DVD of Oklahoma! offered a choice between DD 5.1 and DD 2.0. Why the
Blu-ray contains no 5.1 track is a good question, but it's one for which I have no answer. This is
not the first time we have encountered such a sonic "rollback"
in the move from DVD to Blu-ray,
and it's possible that the source materials were not available from which to create a proper
lossless 5.1 encode. However, this is pure speculation on my part.
In any case, the lossless stereo track provides a fine reproduction of the orchestra and vocals,
with clarity, wide dynamic range and a general sense of presence that fills the listening space.
The sound mixers have made the odd choice to treat the sound as if it were almost disembodied, an
effect not unlike that experienced in a typical contemporary Broadway theater, where aggressive
miking places the singers' voices throughout the listening space and diminishes the sensation that
the voices emanate from the bodies on stage. You may find this jarring at first, but you will
quickly adjust to it, as people do in the theater. (Try reducing the volume for the first ten minutes,
then raising it again.)
The Making of Oklahoma! (480i; 1.33:1; 24:10): Made in 1999, this documentary traces
the origin of the revival and features extensive interviews with Nunn and representatives
of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, including Mary Rodgers, the composer's
daughter. Shorter clips are included with Jackman, Hensley and other members of the cast
and crew.
When Nunn's production of Oklahoma! arrived on Broadway, it won acclaim and awards and
toured nationally for several years even without most of its original cast. Shuler Hensley was one
of the few holdovers, and his Jud won him the Tony award for best featured actor. Patrick Wilson
took over the part of Curly. By that point his predecessor in the role, Jackman, had other
commitments, having traded Curly's saddle for Wolverine's claws. A star had indeed been born.
Jackman would conquer Broadway a few years later headlining The Boy from Oz, and he now has
a standing invitation from theater owners to return anytime to the Great White Way. The Blu-ray
of Oklahoma! offers a chance to see Jackman performing a classic of American musicals for a
fraction of what tickets cost when he appears before the footlights today. Recommended.
Hugh Jackman's international career was launched by a 1998 London revival of the classic
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, in which Jackman starred as Curly. The
production has become legendary, and Image Entertainment has announced a Blu-ray release ...
