Bethany’s director Talashia Keim-Yoder has done it again! The musical Oklahoma! was a huge success, selling out every night except for opening night on Thursday. The 2013 seniors in particular ended their final theatrical season with a diverse mix of roles.
Lucas Morgan (’13) looks deep into Sadie Gustafson-Zook’s (’13) eyes in character.
Taking place in the Oklahoma Territory, Curly McLain (Lucas Morgan ‘13), a stubborn cowhand, has his eye set on the equally stubborn Laurey Williams (Sadie Gustafson-Zook ‘13). Conflict arises when Judd Fry (Parth Patel ‘14), the farmhand on Laurey’s farm, asks Laurey to the same dance Curly had previously invited her to. In her fear of Judd, Laurey accepts his proposition and dismisses Curly. Judd senses that Curly and Laurey have mutual feelings for each other and makes a goal to get rid of Curly once and for all.
The musical is filled with love and courtship especially from the sleazy traveling salesman, Ali Hakim (Joe Kreider ‘13) who inadvertently gets engaged to the already promised Ado Annie (Erin Bontrager ‘15). Her impulsiveness leads her to break the promise of marriage she made to Will Parker (Jesse Bontreger ‘13), a naive, yet caring man who is looked down upon by Ado Annie’s father. Ali Hakim, who wants nothing to do with Ado Annie or marriage, makes several attempts to get her and Will back together.
The music was catchy and the lighting brought an excellent atmosphere to the set. There was a good balance between the strong soloists and the bold chorus, bringing out the tenacity of the western setting. The cast’s accents at times were a bit shaky but that is to be expected when none of the cast members grew up speaking in a southern accent.
The full cast sings the finale towards the end of the performance.
The main drawback of the musical was the act length. The first act seemed to drag on and on whereas the second act was put into full throttle and went by so fast the audience was recovering from the g-force. This is not to say it wasn’t a good performance; in fact it was a marvelous show. The cast filled their roles well and the music was pleasing to the ear.
Congratulations to the seniors on going out with a bang and best of luck in college and beyond.
~Josh Helmuth