Oklahomo! The pioneering classic's LGBT makeover
A 2018 queer twist so refreshing that even "Ado Andy" couldn't say no
Shalom!
This week, The Broadway Maven looks at Oklahoma! and Kiss Me, Kate.
• On Sunday, February 5 at Noon ET and Monday, February 6 at Noon and 7 pm ET we’ll have a FREE class exploring that first-of-its-kind Golden Age of Broadway musical. Register here.
• On Tuesday, February 7 at Noon ET our class will examine the romantic battle of the sexes in Cole Porter’s hilarious Shakespearian musical Kiss Me, Kate. Register here.
• This Weekly Blast includes:
A) an ESSAY about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s queer twist on Rodgers & Hammerstein’s pioneering classic;
B) an anagram GAME about the works of puzzlemaster Stephen Sondheim;
C) a Broadway Maven YouTube GEM about why Dear Evan Hansen closed;
D) a REVIEW of the hip-hop improv show Freestyle Love Supreme;
E) a YouTube GEM in honor of Groundhog Day;
F) a survey about Shakespeare on Broadway; and
G) a LAST BLAST about Gypsy, Company, and Assassins.
Six fun facts about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2018 production of Oklahoma! with a same-sex twist:
The production was the brainchild of then-OSF artistic director Bill Rauch. He told radio station WBUR that he’s always felt attracted to Oklahoma! — but also excluded as a gay man. He was told repeatedly he could never get the rights to do a same-sex Oklahoma!.
Enter Rodgers & Hammerstein rights manager and recent Broadway Maven guest Ted Chapin. As Chapin recently shared with our ALL-ACCESS members, he found the idea fascinating and supported the idea of finding ways for the classics to speak to contemporary audiences.
Having “Ado Andy” be the personality who can’t say no further underscored the character’s promiscuity, given the reputation of gay men.
Aunt Eller was played by a trans woman. Despite a little flirting with Curly, the role is mostly of a sexless, salt-of-the-Earth matriarch, which worked well with a gender-fluid actress in this context.
The show was not campy - at all. It was played (sorry) straight, which enabled audience members (I was one) to focus on the characters, the romance, the music and the dance without constant awareness that the performance represented, for Rodgers & Hammerstein, a “brand new state.”
The show, in a way, returned Oklahoma! to its roots, since the author of the source material Green Grow the Lilacs (a 1930 play) was a gay man named Lynn Riggs.
GAME (Anagrams): Stephen Sondheim was well-known for his love of wordplay, including anagrams. The most satisfying anagrams not only scramble the word(s) but also connect to them in some way. For example:
OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN = IS A MACHER’S MENTOR
or
THERE’S A PLACE FOR US = COPULATES HER SAFER (Tony and Maria, get it?)
Here are five more Sondheim-related anagrams; answers are below the Last Blasts.
GENIAL VIBE
HORNY VOYEUR OUTFLOW (what song is sung by such a person?)
STEPHEN’S CHEAP FOOT-TALE (which Sondheim story involves a foot?)
DENCH SENT IN SLOW
EATS TIL TRIPLE
YouTube GEM: YouTuber MickeyJoTheatre recently joined The Broadway Maven to discuss Dear Evan Hansen. Included in the video below is our own music educator and co-host Mateo Chavez Lewis talking about the ways the music affects our emotions.
REVIEW: I recently attended a performance of Freestyle Love Supreme at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. The show, which finished a Broadway run last year, is an innovative combination of improvisational comedy and freestyle rap, with a touch of Broadway. (Freestyle Love Supreme is produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many of his colleagues from Hamilton have performed in it over the years.)
The version I saw was delightful, in part because of Emcee Andrew Bancroft (AKA Jelly Donut), whose openness to all kinds of ideas (in improv it’s always “Yes, and…”) made the audience eager to participate. The audience responded well to most of the performers, although a few (including guest rapper Benjamin Earl Turner) seemed to have a harder time finding the most satisfying rhymes. Because it’s all improvised, audience members who wish can see a totally different show if they return. I know I’d like to.
YouTube GEM: In honor of February 2, here’s a great song from the under-appreciated 2016 musical Groundhog Day:
On Sunday at Noon ET and Monday at Noon and 7 pm ET, we kick off Rodgers & Hammerstein month with a FREE class about the first true Golden Age musical, Oklahoma!. We’ll discuss reasons it became such a beloved classic, and examine some of its innovations. And music educator Karina Carr will be on hand at her piano to illustrate some of the musical aspects of the show.
On Tuesday at Noon ET we will dive into the classic Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate; and discuss the following important bits about the show:
- How does the show tie in with Shakespeare?
- What does Porter do specially with the music?
- What might themes of this work be?
Broadway Maven music educator Karina Carr will present from her piano some aspects of the score to the show. Tuition: $5.
For your Oklahoma! homework, watch the video below. Answer in the comments: What is the theme of Oklahoma!? Explain your answer.
For your Kiss Me, Kate homework, watch the video below. How would the show’s songs be different without any reference to Shakespearian language? Explain your answers in the comments.
Note: links to register for ALL classes are ALWAYS available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.
• Sunday, February 5 Oklahoma! (Noon ET, FREE)
• Monday, February 6 Oklahoma! (Noon and 7 pm ET, FREE)
• Tuesday, February 7 Kiss Me, Kate (Noon ET, $5)
• Sunday, February 12 Carousel (Noon ET, FREE)
• Monday, February 13 Carousel (Noon and 7 pm ET, FREE)
• Sunday, February 19 South Pacific (Noon ET, FREE)
• Monday, February 20 South Pacific (Noon and 7 pm ET, FREE)
• Sunday, February 26 The Sound of Music (Noon ET, FREE)
• Monday, February 27th The Sound of Music (Noon and 7 pm ET, FREE)
Note: Students may attend up to 12 FREE classes a year. After that it’s $5 a class.
Reminder: ALL-ACCESS Passholders do not need to sign up or pay for anything. Just show up!
LAST BLAST: Toward the end of three of Sondheim’s shows, the main characters ask a similar, plaintive question:
• In Gypsy, Madame Rose asks “What did it get me?” halfway through the powerhouse “Rose’s Turn”;
• In Company, Bobby’s final line of dialogue before he sings “Being Alive” is “What do you get?”; and
• In the Assassins song “Another National Anthem,” the rogue’s gallery of killers and would-be killers asks repeatedly, “Where’s my prize?”
ANAGRAM ANSWERS:
GENIAL VIBE = BEING ALIVE
HORNY VOYEUR OUTFLOW = UNWORTHY OF YOUR LOVE
STEPHEN’S CHEAP FOOT-TALE = ON THE STEPS OF THE PALACE
DENCH SENT IN SLOW = SEND IN THE CLOWNS
EATS TIL TRIPLE = A LITTLE PRIEST
The Broadway Maven, David Benkof, helps students further their appreciation of musical theater through his classes, his YouTube Channel, and his Weekly Blast. Contact him at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.