1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodger Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+ for Sale

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1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodger Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+ For Sale

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1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodger Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+:
$6.97

1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodgers & Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+
Record Grade per Goldmine Standard: VG+
OKLAHOMA!Music byRichard RodgersBOOK and LYRICS byOscar Hammerstein IIFeaturing Members of theOriginal New York ProductionALFRED DRAKEJOAN ROBERTSCELESTE HOLMHOWARD DA SILVALEE DIXONOklahoma Orchestra and Chorusdirected by Jay BlacktonOKLAHOMA OVERTURE OrchestraAct 1—Scene 1OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNIN\' . .THE SURREY WITH THE FRINGE ON TOPKANSAS CITY....................I CAIN\'T SAY NO....................MANY A NEW DAY.....................PEOPLE WILL SAY WE\'RE IN LOVE . .................__ . Alfred Drake................... Alfred DrakeComedian—Lee Dixon and Male Chorus. . . . Comedienne—Celeste Holm. . . Joan Roberts and Girl Chorus. . . Alfred Drake and Joan RobertsAct 1—Scene 2PORE JUD IS Drake and Howard da SilvaAct 1—Scene 3OUT OF MY Roberts and Girl ChorusAct 2—Scene 1ALL ER NOTHIN\' .... Comedy Duet—Celeste Holm and Lee Dixon, Alfred Drake and ChorusAct 2—Scene 2OKLAHOMA Drake, Joan Roberts and ChorusFINALE jWhen the idea for ‘\"Oklahoma!” was first broached, no one wasaware that an American classic was in the making. Everythingabout it was uncertain. It was the first time that Richard Rodgersand Oscar Kammerstein II had collaborated. Rodgers had sup-plied many brilliant melodies for Lorenz Hart\'s equally brilliantwords, but the essentially bucolic nature of “Oklahoma!” pre-sented a new challenge. Kammerstein had written dozens ofsuccessful librettos, but it was questioned whether his unaffectedlysimple lyrics could please a public brought up on Hart’s nimbleand sophisticated light verse. The very title was considered tooplain—it took some time before its creators decided to relinquishthe fancier “Away We Go” in favor of a bare state name.It was a cold night outside—the last night of March in 1943—when “Oklahoma!” opened on Broadway. But inside, the Okla-homa&sun shone with ever-increasing radiance. The gay overtureglowed with warmth, and the opening tune, “Oh, What A Beauti-ful Mornin\',” made everyone recognize that a new folk-song hadbeen added to our native lore and that the combination ofRodgers and Kammerstein would give a new lustre to musicalAmericana.Founded on Lynn Riggs’ “Green Grow the Lilacs,\" a playabout the feud between the ranchers who had staked out theterritory for cattie-grazing and the farmers who wanted the landfor their crops, “Oklahoma!” retained the spirit of the original.It was bright and fresh and “folksy.” Its chief quality was itsunity. Most musical comedies were composed of a thin plot,irrelevant dances, feeble humor, and more or less appropriatesongs. “Oklahoma!” presented an absorbing story from whicheverything flowed naturally — logical lyrics, simple but unfor-gettable music, imaginative ballets, colors and costumes of theperiod, all blended into one magic-making unit.Certain changes were made in the development of the story.The part of Ado Annie, delightfully interpreted by Celeste Holm,was built up considerably.- So was the role of Jud, played byHoward da Sylva. Curly (Alfred Drake) and Laurey (JoanRoberts) were left alone —they were perfect as young lovers.“Then,” said Kammerstein, “we had a first draft of the book,but no music and lyrics. Before I did anything else, I wrote thelyric for the first song in the first act. It was strictly for Dick andme—to set the mood of the show for us.” When it came to settingthe words, Rodgers said, “I just put the lyric on the piano andthe music wrote itself.”After the play began to assume shape, other artists enteredthe picture. Agnes de Mille took over the problem of integratingthe dances with the drama, for “Oklahoma!” was not to be donein the conventional manner. “I got a group of girls and men,”said Miss de Mille, “who could also act. We didn’t want a ‘chorusline’. We wanted people—boys and girls you’d remember whenthe show was over, friends you’d hope to meet again sometime.”Next Rouben Mamoulian arrived to take charge of tfie produc-tion. “It has always been my conviction,” he explained^ “that theideal theater should combine drama and music interwoven tocompose one rhythmic pattern. That was the guiding principle—the principle that the show itself is the star.”The feel and color of “Oklahoma!” survived countless presen-tations— the strong sun of the southwest, the vigor of the freshen-ing wind, the good smell of the earth had been steadily main-tained. Its original production established a run of five yearswith some twenty-two hundred performances. Road companiesrotated about the country — they played in England and NewYork’s City Center to equally enthusiastic audiences. In 1956, amotion picture version featured such stars as Gordon McRae,Shirley Jones, Gloria Graham, Gene Nelson, and Rod Steiger.It is a long way back to 1931, when Lynn Riggs started thewhole thing by. writing a play that seemed to be purely regional.Its earthy humor, however, was translated with such commonhumanity and such uncommon music, that its appeal becamenational and then universal. Far from being a merely skillfuladaptation or just another musical comedy, “Oklahoma!” is thekind of opera that only America could produce.Louis Untermeyer
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1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodger Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+ For Sale

1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodger Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+: $6.97

1955 Oklahoma Theatre Guild Original Cast Rodger Hammerstein Vinyl LP Record VG+:
$6.97