Oklahoma! (play)
"Oklahoma!" is a groundbreaking romantic musical set in the early 1900s Oklahoma Territory, centered around the love story between a cowboy named Curly McClain and a farm girl named Laurey Williams. Created by the innovative duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the musical stands out for its cohesive integration of text and music, a departure from the typical structure of earlier musicals. The narrative is based on Lynn Riggs' play "Green Grow the Lilacs," and highlights themes of romance, rivalry, and community. Notably, it introduced several artistic innovations, including starting with an empty stage and using songs to advance the plot. The choreography by Agnes de Mille, who brought her unique storytelling approach through dance, further enriched the production. Premiering at the St. James Theater in New York City on March 31, 1943, "Oklahoma!" won a Pulitzer Prize the following year, marking a significant milestone in American musical theater. Its influence continues to resonate, having paved the way for future musicals and established the tradition of original-cast recordings.
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Oklahoma! (play)
Identification Broadway musical
Creators Music by Richard Rodgers (1902-1979); book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960)
Date Premiered on March 31, 1943
The first collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, Oklahoma! broke with many of the traditions of Broadway musicals by seamlessly integrating the show’s plot, music, and dance into a cohesive whole. The formula proved a success, as the musical ran for 2,212 performances, making it the longest-running musical up to its time.
Oklahoma! is a romantic musical about a cowboy, Curly McClain, and a farm girl, Laurey Williams, in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Oklahoma Territory. This story of a bygone era appealed to the sentimental American public. Its original cast featured Alfred Drake as Curly, Joan Roberts as Laurey, John Da Silva as Jud, Betty Garde as Aunt Eller, Celeste Holm as Ado Annie, Lee Dixon as Will Parker, Ralph Riggs as Andrew Carnes, and Joseph Buloff as Ali Hakim.
The musical was the creation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who brought something new to musicals. Before Oklahoma!, the creation of musicals usually began with the composition of original musical selections, to which words were adapted and stories were added. In contrast, Rodgers and Hammerstein began Oklahoma! with text—which Hammerstein adapted from the playGreen Grow the Lilacs (1931) by Oklahoma’s Cherokee writer Lynn Riggs. By starting with the text, Rodgers and Hammerstein were able to create a work with a greater sense of musical-dramatic cohesion than was typical of most Broadway musicals. Other innovations included opening the show with an empty stage, instead of the traditional choral number; the use of songs to advance the story, and a willingness to allow characters to die.
They hired ballet choreographer Agnes de Mille to further their aesthetic and dramatic goals. De Mille had no prior experience in musical theater but was known to be talented in using dance as a mode of story telling. Stage-directed by Rouben Mamoulian, Oklahoma! opened at Broadway’s St. James Theater in New York City on March 31, 1943. The following year, Rodgers and Hammerstein were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their musical.
Impact
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s dramatic and compositional approach in Oklahoma! radically altered the path of American musical theater. Oklahoma! also initiated a long-standing collaboration between two of the musical genre’s greatest artists. In addition, the Decca Records recording of Oklahoma! inspired the tradition of creating original-cast recordings of musicals.
Bibliography
Green, Stanley. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Story. Rev. ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1980.
Kenric, John. Musical Theater: A History. New York: Continuum, 2008.
Mordden, Ethan. Beautiful Mornin’: The Broadway Musical in the 1940’s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Wilk, Max. OK! The Story of “Oklahoma!”: A Celebration of America’s Most Beloved Musicals. New York: Grove Press, 1993.