Oklahoma!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I love (insert gagging sound) - I'm totally lying - Rogers and Hammerstein. However, when I was invited to attend a local high school's production of Oklahoma!, I gladly said I would attend. Mostly because I adore two of the girls who are performing.

 

So, Ronnie and I attended their opening performance last night and this is my review of the Revere Players performance of Oklahoma!

The orchestra was quite honestly the best I have heard at any high school production. After asking questions, I was told that first chairs from the high school band have the opportunity to perform and the remainder of the members are from the community. A good pit makes all the difference in a production and your orchestra was wonderful.

The set was well-designed and worked very well with their choreography and over-all performance, allowing for efficient scene changes.The lighting was perfect for this production and there were very few glitches with sound (which is amazing considering the number of mics in use).

The choreography suited their performers abilities very well. Keeping chorus numbers fairly simple allows for numbers that look tight, clean and polished. My favorite scene in this show (and by favorite, I really mean the scene I loathe the most) is the Dream Sequence, however, the great choreography and the execution of said choreography made it quite tolerable. They had 4 girls who dance Pointe and they utilized them well, especially during this sequence.

The acting was superb. Keeping high school students in character for an entire production can sometimes be a daunting task, but they did it well. And these kids have great comedic timing! The audience responded well to all of the funny moments because of their timing.

The girls chorus had beautiful, blended harmonies, so props to whoever worked ensemble vocals. The entire cast numbers were spectacular, as well. 

Curly, Aunt Eller, Jud, Ado Annie, and Will Parker - spectacular acting. It was so fun to watch you. 

And last, but certainly not least - Laurey (Brittany Sigsworth) - BRAVO! You captivated the audience from the show's beginning to the curtain call. They adored you! I bought your story - hook, line and sinker - to the point that, at intermission, even though I know how the story ends, I decided that if Laurey and Curly didn't end up together I was going to be really upset!

Revere Players, you are a special, incredibly talented group and I would just like to thank you for a very lovely, entertaining evening. You did a fabulous job!

If you didn't go last night, you still have 3 more chances to catch this show: Friday and Saturday at 7PM or Sunday at 1PM.