In this, the 80th anniversary year of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic show, the cast of Phoenix Youth brings Oklahoma! to the stage with all the musicality and talent we’ve come to expect from this young company.
From the opening bars of Oh What a Beautiful Morning!, we knew the evening was in good hands, with Matthew Cranfield bringing real star quality to the central role of cowboy Curly, singing through the score with ease and making Surrey With The Fringe On The Top and People Will Say We’re In Love as fresh as the day they were written.
As his feisty love interest, Laurey, Nicole Stuart proves just why she’s heading to theatre school in London after the summer, her beautiful soprano voice providing the perfect sound for this old Broadway classic, completely captivating the audience with her songs Many A New Day and Out Of My Dreams.
Oklahoma! in Aberdeen is a show that has it all
Oklahoma! is a show that has it all – great score, great characters and a whole lot of humour, and while Curly and Laurey handle the love story in style, Aunt Eller, Ado Annie, Will Parker and Ali Hakim serve up lots of humour.
As the girl who ‘cain’t say no’, Anya Tullock is hilarious, while Adam Huckle and Finlay Gray, as Will and Ali, enjoy laughs aplenty as they vie for her attention. Jess McWilliam excels as Aunt Eller, becoming the voice of reason and with a comic one-liner or put-down for every occasion.
There’s also a dark side to Oklahoma!, with Jud Fry, a brooding predator, lying in wait for Laurey in his dingy woodshed. Gregor Watson takes on this role with a maturity beyond his years, proving a scary presence as this damaged character.
As always with Phoenix Youth, there is a large chorus of youngsters to get their time in the spotlight, and with two casts sharing the performances between them, they fill the stage in song and dance in the huge and energetic numbers Farmer and the Cowman and, of course, Oklahoma! itself.
With a production as fresh and youthful as this one, Oklahoma really is OK – for another 80 years at least.
Catch it while you can at Aberdeen Arts Centre at 7.30pm nightly until Saturday.