5 On Friday - Oh What A Beautiful Musical

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There was something musical happening on April 1 but it was the sad death of Marvin Gaye and since something absolutely remarkable that changed musical theater forever happened on March 31, I'm cheating a bit.

Based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs, the first title given to the work was Away We Go! which opened for out-of-town-tryouts in Connecticut on March 11, 1943. Expectations for the show were very low, the composer had just broken up with his alcoholic if brilliant lyricist and the new writer and lyricist had had six flops in a row. The producer, Mike Todd is supposed to have walked out after the first act during the tryout and wisecracked “No legs, no jokes, no chance", which was quoted by Walter Winchell in his New York column. The cast was so depressed that there is an apocryphal story that Celeste Holm was supposed to have asked, "Who do you have to lay (euphemism) to get out of this thing?"

And then the curtain went up March 31, 1943 on Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!", and musical theater has never been the same since. It ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances. For more than 65 years now it has been in almost constant award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Academy Award winning 1955 film as well as a popular choice for school and community productions.

The selections below are all from the wonderful 1998 London revival. The international cast included Hugh Jackman as Curly, Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller, Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, and Shuler Hensley as Jud Fry. This production was filmed and issued on DVD, as well as being broadcast on U.S. Public in November 2003.

Surrey With The Fringe On Top



People Will Say We're In Love



I Can't Say No (Vicki Simon as Ado Annie)



Poor Jud Is Dead



Oklahoma