“Oklahoma” ( 2.0)

Somewhat Recommended ** If you are planning to visit the CBIC Theatre ( formerly the Shubert Theatre) to see one of history’s most famous musicals, “Oklahoma”, be prepared! This is not the Rodgers & Hammerstein  Musical that changed the world in the 1940’s, but instead a version that is called “Oklahoma” version 2.0. Let me tell you why!

When you walk into the CBIC Theatre, you will not see a curtain, but, in fact, a stage filled with tables, benches and chairs. The lights are bright and one will notice that there is a place for the musicians on stage ( yes, the pit and orchestra are not there). There are pots and buckets filled with corn cobs and one gets the feeling that we are at a hoedown, not a Broadway Musical! The lights dim, actors emerge from the myriad of doors on the backdrop and Curly ( Sean Grandillo, who seemed like he was not truly a cowboy) starts the usual “Oh What A Beautiful Morning”. The pictures on the backdrop have a sun and a farmhouse and a barn and of course since the entire cast ( a very small, and youthful one) is onstage, they all end up as part of the number.

We begin to meet the characters as we learn that tonight is the big “Box Social” and Curly will be taking Laurey ( Sasha Hutchings has tremendous range and is quite the dancer) in his made-up  “Surrey With The fringe On Top”. This is the story- their romance, the outsider Judd Fry ( a powerful Christopher Bannow) and his desire to be accepted, the country growing, just as it was written by Rodgers & Hammerstein over 70 years ago. The characters are pretty much the same and while they tell us they have brought  it to modern day, I have a feeling that the majority of opening night’s audience would have preferred the old fashioned version.

This production went against the type casting that one expects in a standard such as this. Will, the rodeo cowboy (Hennessy Winkler) must raise $50 so he can marry his true love, Ado Annie ( played by SIS) and he does, but spends it all, leaving him with nothing. They do some cute songs and I noticed that “All Er Nothin”, their love song was cut short as were some of the other classics. There is also a peddler/traveling salesman in town. Ali Hakim ( played to perfection by Hunter Hoffman) who has been wooing Ado during Will’s Kansas City trip. This love triangle follows the original script pretty well.

There are no set changes in this production ( two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission) so for the most part we need to focus on what is being said in order to know where we are. The “Poor Judd is Dead” scene ( one of my favorites) had a spell where the two characters were on a black stage ( no lights) and then we saw them on the back wall -projected. I am not sure what  Director Daniel Fish was looking for in this moment, but I have a feeling he lost some of the patrons at this juncture. ( I counted 76 empty seats on the main floor as Act Two began). This was also done in the second act. To be honest, I thought there was a tech problem as it made no sense to have scenes in a play where the audience could not see the action ( my opinion!).

Speaking on the second act. I have always loved the dream ballet that kind of sums up where  we are in the storyline. You will not believe what they did here! It is now a dancer (Gabrielle Hamilton) who does a modern jazz-like dance. She is dressed in white and her t-shirt says “Dream Baby Dream”. The music is jazzier than the original and while it may have some meaning to the  director and choreographer (John Heginbotham ), I was unimpressed with how it fit the storyline. I missed the actual ballet as created by Agnes DeMille. I also missed the dance numbers that were part of the original “Oklahoma”.

The positives to the production are of course the actual story and music and while this is more of a staged concert than an actual full blown production, there are some wonderful moments and a few sparkling numbers. Bannow brings a special flavor to his Judd Fry. One almost feels that he is the guy that is being bullied and that Curly is indeed a bad guy who thinks that he  is special and that Fry is beneath him. SIS is a powerful Ado Annie ( as you have never seen before) and I am happy that they kept the Ali Hakim song in the show ( often deleted, and BTW, Hoffman nailed it along with his Persian “goodbye”). Barbara Walsh is a young Aunt Eller but handles the role with ease. As I said earlier Hutchings is a delight to watch onstage. The cast of 18 and the 8 musicians fill the stage with great energy and work hard to make this a true theatrical experience, but in my opinion , the overall production is not what most true theater patrons want or expect .

“Oklahoma” will continue at the CBIC Theatre located at 30 West Monroe thru January 23rd with performances as follows:

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays   2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

Tickets range from $27 and can be purchased at any of the Broadway In Chicago theatres or at www.BroadwayInChicago.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Oklahoma”.

Covid protocol is followed 100%. All patrons MUST show proof of vac and ID at door. Masks are to be UP at all times during your visit to the theater. The theater is cleaned between shows to protect us all.