1999 Version of Oklahoma ROCKS!

I had heard very good things about the 1999 London production of Oklahoma! but hadn't had a chance to see it on DVD yet. Well it turned up on PBS today, and this is undoubtably the best version (recorded or live) of Oklahoma I have ever seen. I would love to show this to anyone who has ever claimed that musical theatre characters are not well developed enough! I would also love to show this to young performers, as an example of what they should aspire to. This production is a testament to just how good Rodgers & Hammerstein were when they created this show.

I have to say if I wasn't already a fan of Hugh Jackman I definitely would be after seeing this production. Curly is a great role, but he can easily come off as just an arrogant pretty-boy. Jackman, however, plays him with sincerity and a very natural confidence. He does not do any particularly difficult dancing in the show but what he does do is done very precisely and very naturally. I could go on and on, but I just love him! He can act, sing, dance... and he's a dreamboat!

Shuler Hensley plays Jud with an absolutely showstopping voice and handles a difficult role well. While I usually find Jud to simply creep me out, I actually found myself feeling a little sorry for this Jud - just a little.

I also enjoyed seeing Laurie played with a more earthy quality, and I was happy to see that Josefina Gabrielle did all her own dancing in the dream sequence. I hate seeing dance doubles, especially when there are so many great triple-threat performers capable of handling it.

Maureen Lipman rules the roost as Aunt Eller. When she twirls that gun around on her finger she had me rolling on the floor. Jimmy Johnston as Will is a real heart-throb, especially in the hamper scene. Although it is true that Peter Polycarpou's accent for Ali Hakim is weak, he is certainly sincere and loveable. Vicki Simon's Ado Annie was fine, but I found she didn't quite live up to the magic of the rest of the cast.

Every single role, even the small chorus one-liners, had polish and appeal. The farmer & the cowman scene, which has a very lengthy dance and can be an absolute staging nightmare, is handled BRILLIANTLY and doesn't once give your mind a chance to wander.

I thoroughly enjoyed the choreography and the dancers were superb. I am not even going to start on the technical aspects of this show because they were just so perfect I don't know where to start. I found some of the lighting effects particularly stunning, and the barn raising is incredible.

This is a DVD that abolutely has to be added to my collection.