Oklahoma! - Review

Festival Theatre, Chichester


****


Music by Richard Rodgers
Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs
Directed by Jeremy Sams

Emmanuel Kojo and members of the company

With Jeremy Sams’ production of Oklahoma! Chichester Festival Theatre are back producing some of the country’s most exciting musical theatre. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic, set amongst the prairies and cattle ranches of what was known at the turn of the 20th Century as Indian Territory (the state of Oklahoma only being formed in 1907), takes a story of love, action and passion set to some of the finest tunes in the canon. But for all the genius in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s writing, Oklahoma! is a desperately dated piece. It was a time when unmarried daughters were seen as very much their fathers’ property, while the biased frontier justice that is meted out in the show’s final act makes one realise just quite how sugar-coated the Broadway audiences of 1943 needed their stories to be.

But amidst this dated glimpse of a post-Civil War America, Sams and his creative team have delivered theatrical magic. In a bold casting move the two leading roles are given to relative industry newcomers. Hyoie O’Grady plays the cowboy Curly, smitten with a (mutual) love for Amara Okereke’s Laurey. O’Grady is a vocal delight, his opening bars of Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’ stirring the Chichester audience into a foot-tapping frenzy. He needs to find a touch more gravitas to truly weight the role – but this will likely emerge during the run. As for Okereke, this blog has long followed her youthful genius and she makes a fabulous Laurey, capturing the fierce independence of the orphaned farmer alongside the fears and vulnerabilities of a young woman. Her singing is a delight – and her dance, especially in the Dream Ballet routine, sensational.

It is in the supporting roles that Sams lays on the heavyweight talent. Josie Lawrence as the matriarchal Aunt Eller brings a wryness and compassion to the role, with a raucous wit and perfect timing that captures the older woman’s wisdom, as well as some moments of cracking comedy. The biggest plaudits of the night though rest with Emmanuel Kojo’s Jud Fry, perhaps one of the most complex characters ever penned during Broadway’s Golden Age. Fry is a damaged lonely man, cruelly mocked by Curly in their duet Pore Jud Is Daid. That number however serves as but a warm up to Fry’s Lonely Room, a song in which Kojo delivers a bass baritone performance that is as moving as it is thrilling and ultimately terrifying. Daniel Evans (Chichester’s Artistic Director) unlocked Kojo’s craft in his 2015 Showboat at Sheffield (the actor’s Ol’ Man River still resonates) and it is hard to think of any other UK actor that could have delivered such a perfect interpretation of this challenging part.

Comic support was well delivered by Scott Karim as pedlar Ali Hakim. Bronté Barbé as Ado Annie can sure sing 'purdy' but her acting through song needs a little more time – her character's lines drip with carefully crafted gags, too many of which are wasted on the night. Neat work too from Isaac Gryn whose dance routine in Kansas City was flawless.

Indeed – the dance work throughout was magnificent and ingenious. Matt Cole has drilled his company immaculately with the previously mentioned big dance numbers being breathtaking in their ambition – and Cole produces further fine work in The Farmer And The Cowman.

Robert Jones’s set design makes fine work of the Festival Theatre’s deep jaws as Mark Henderson’s lighting segues seamlessly between the dustbowl of the farmlands and the vividness of Laurey’s nightmare.

This production delivers a Broadway treat that is rarely seen over here. While the show’s politics and nuances may be from a different era, its songs and commentary upon love and the human condition are timeless - and high above the stage Nigel Lilley's 15-piece band makes splendid work of Richard Rodgers' glorious melodies. Well worth a trip to the South Coast, Oklahoma! is one of the finest musicals around.

Runs until 7th September

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Show Boat - Review

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

*****

Music by Jerome Kern

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on the novel "Show Boat" by Edna Ferber

Directed by Daniel Evans

Alex Young and Danny Collins

2015 you sly old fox, you’ve saved the best for last.

The Confederate flag flutters over the stage as the opening bars of Show Boat play out. An ugly image, the flag defining so much of America's troubled history and setting a dark uncompromising tone that defines Daniel Evan's production.

This 1927 Broadway classic isn't a single-star led show such as Gypsy or Funny Girl, rather it is a company driven production that tells an interwoven story of love, despair and racial tension set, for the most part, aboard the Cotton Blossom steamboat as it plys the towns along the vast Mississippi.

Sheffield maybe famous for its steel, but Evans casts this show in platinum. Gina Beck and Michael Xavier take the leading roles of the ill-fated Magnolia Hawks and Gaylord Ravenal, with Xavier's Ravenal exuding a raffish charm as the river gambler with a murky past and whose quest for love is gorgeously defined in Where's The Mate For Me. Xavier's presence captures the romantic irresistibility of the man - with a chemistry ignited between him and Beck that offers a rarely witnessed on-stage magic.

And as for Gina Beck... This diminutive soprano who has led shows both in the West End and across the USA possesses a voice of quite simply ethereal power. One of Show Boat’s captivating charms is that aside from being a gripping yarn, its song-list feels like a whirl through the American Songbook. Beck's take on Only Make Believe and You Are Love, both gorgeously duetted with Xavier are enchanting - whilst her act 2 After The Ball is ravishingly rousing. The love between Magnolia and Gaylord is pure, challenging and ultimately heartbreakingly uplifting and in her character's arc, from young girl to mother, Beck's performance is flawless.

Emmanuel Kojo is probably a new name to most. This young talented actor with a remarkable bass range takes Ol' Man River - one of the biggest songs ever written - and crafts it into an unforgettable performance of utter beauty. Half way into the first act and the audience are in tears. Kojo, who debuted last year in The Scottsboro Boys, is no stranger to suffering the Deep South's cruelty on stage. He imbues the number with an understated pain and a vocal majesty that matches the river's underlying power, in one broad sweep capturing the humiliating misery of back-breaking work "while the white folk play". Kojo is complemented by Sandra Marvin's Queenie. Marvin wows in everything she sings, with a presence and resonance that command our attention.  

Also aboard Evan's steamboat is Rebecca Trehearn as Julie. Trehearn, who stunned last year in City of Angels (a show that also included Marvin) does it again here, with an amazing spin on Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man. She both thrills and fills the Crucible with the song, breaking our hearts in the second half as she stumbles across Magnolia reprising the number. 

And still this show is crammed with gems. Alex Young and Danny Collins are a triple-threat treasure, offering moments of sublimely choreographed comedy as Ellie and Frank Schultz – with Young’s Life Upon the Wicked Stage a particularly delicious entertainment. Allan Corduner is the Cotton Blossom's wise, weary and witty Captain Andy. Together with Lucy Briers as his wife Parthy and who has the roguish measure of Ravenal the moment she sees him, this pair capture the essence of a long lived love.

It's not just the sensational work that Evans coaxes from his company, aided and abetted by Alistair David's inspired choreography. Lez Brotherston's stunning set, all weathered timbers and a fabulously marquee-lit steamboat (even if the paddles should have been set at the vessel's stern!) create a carefully crafted illusion of early 20th century America. That the show is lit by the masterful David Hersey only seals its fidelity.

With the combination of Show Boat’s timeless score (bravo to David White's band) and ingenious staging, it feels as though Evans has created a Hollywood original, as much as re-imagining a Broadway classic. Get to Sheffield before this Show Boat slips its moorings. It's unmissable.

Runs until 23rd January 2016

Photo credit: Johan Persson