Same-sex production of “Oklahoma!” celebrates love in its many forms
Just imagine this. You settle in for a production of Roger and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! It’s one of your favorite musicals; you happen to be in Oregon and see that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is doing a production of the show.
As soon as Curly and Laurey, the central couple get kick off Oh what a beautiful morning, you realize that there are two women playing the characters. Later, when Will Parker comes on stage, you realize that his love interest is another guy, Ado Andy (changed from Ado Annie in the original production).
Wow! An LGBT+ Oklahoma! The idea for the production came to Bill Rauch, artistic director of the OSF. Rauch is, “A gay man in a committed relationship at a time when marriage equality seemed like an impossible dream,” according to The New York Times.
He had long dreamed of a production where the lovers in the musical were same-sex couples.
“He was sure that it would be revelatory,” the Times continued. “He was equally certain that he would never get the rights to stage the musical that way. For more than 20 years, he did not dare to ask.”
But two summers ago, he had gotten a “cautious go-ahead” from Ted Chapin, the longtime overseer of the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog. “As soon as the performance was over, Mr. Chapin began talking about what sounded like a future for the show,” the Times said.
“’I was like, ‘Wait a minute. We’re still allowed to do this?’’ Mr. Rauch said, late one afternoon this July in his office at the festival. ‘And he said, ‘Absolutely!’’”
The OSF’s webpage for the production says, “It’s a beautiful morning whenever Curly sees Laurey, but Laurey’s not so sure about Curly. And Will loves Ado Andy, but Andy loves . . . well, everybody. Meanwhile, in the 1906 Oklahoma Territory where they all live, farmers and ranchers lock horns in a battle over water rights and fences.
“When Oklahoma! opened on Broadway in 1943, brimming with show-stopping songs and heartfelt storytelling, it revolutionized the American musical. Bill Rauch’s 75th-Anniversary production breaks new ground with same-sex lead couples and other LGBTQ2+ casting that affirms the identity spectrum in a delightful, insightful celebration of love in its many forms.”
OSF and Rauch explain how they adapted the musical to feature same-sex lovers, inclusive language and more. The website says, “In the process of developing and conceptualizing the world of the production, we adjusted the Oklahoma! book and lyrics to reflect the spectrum of identity presented onstage. This included changing pronouns and re-writing certain words and phrases. However, the majority of the script has been left untouched to honor Rodgers and Hammerstein's and Lynn Riggs's original words.
“All of the changes included in our version of the script were made in the spirit of the original production of the musical. For example, instead of the original Farmer and Cowboy, our cast sings Farmer and Cowhand;” we feel this change is more inclusive of everyone on stage—not every rancher on stage is a cowboy.”
The production isn’t without controversy. CBN News, a Christian website is alarmed. This week they wrote about the OSF production – and they aren’t happy at all.
CBN says, “It's just the latest activist effort to twist classic American entertainment into pro-gay entertainment. For example, as CBN News reported, Netflix recently produced an adaptation of the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables, which was revised to include multiple homosexual characters.
“As CBN News reported in March, Disney, a company that was built producing family entertainment, may showcase an LGBTQ couple in the sequel to the 2013 animated film Frozen. The sequel will be released in November 2019.”
CBN says that, “We view every news story through the lens of faith.” Apparently, OSF theater goers don’t agree with that perspective. The same-sex version of Oklahoma! runs through October 27. It consistently fills a 600 seat theater.
To see more about the production, click here.
Copyright The Gayly – August 22, 2018 @ 2 p.m. CDT.