Oklahoma!

With bales of hay on each side of the proscenium arch and dances of the hoedown and square dance variety, SQUIDS effectively brought the bucolic charm of Oklahoma!’s turn-of-the-century story to life. We all knew Rodgers and Hammerstein’s score as a classic of the Broadway musical theatre, but in this production it was Hammerstein’s book adaptation which deserved the laurels.

Director Nathaniel Currie had lovingly respected the original material which resulted in the cast giving almost text-book readings of their parts. Boots, guns and gingham skirts were the order of the day.

Byron Philip’s Curly had cowboy written all over him, not shy with wooing a girl nor picking a fight and singing in clear ringing tones as cowboys are wont to do in this idealised scenario about taking his “gal” to the “box social.” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” set the tone and he sealed it with “People Will Say We’re In Love”. Courtney Underhill's Laurie was more Annie Oakley than sweet young thing, so she had no trouble capturing the wilful, independent-woman streak of the character. Vocally her head range was a bit shrill but otherwise the performance was agreeably feisty.

Josh Cathcart and Liana Hanson were the perfect Will Parker and Ado Annie. He danced with flair, particularly in “Kansas City”, whilst she milked every laugh and made a meal of “I Can’t Say No”.

Sharon Walkerden’s no-nonsense Aunt Eller, Brett Roberts’ scheming Persian peddler, and Simon Ah-Him’s menacing Jud Fry, all added immeasurably to this enjoyable production.

Musical Director guru Julie Whiting did sterling work in the pit as the chorus, young and old, sang their hearts out.

These days the show seems very long, not helped by Agnes DeMille’s dream-ballet, but the Jud Fry story thread, which in this version was staged very realistically, added the dramatic spine that helped the scenario from not bogging down. Currie’s directorial vision was the key element of the production’s success.

Peter Pinne