Oklahoma! (1998 London Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Richard Rodgers (Artist), Oscar Hammerstein II (Artist), Josefina Gabrielle (Artist), Hugh Jackman (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: First Night Records
• ASIN: B00002EPLJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,559 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Following up their landmark 1993 revival of Carousel, London's Royal National Theatre delivers another pillar of the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon with their 1998 production of Oklahoma! As on the earlier CD, Oklahoma! provides a generous amount of music (74 minutes) by including integral dance music (including Laurey's dream ballet and passages of "Kansas City") and connecting dialogue, resulting in a more complete theatrical experience than most recordings provide. It also includes two songs that were cut from the film, the grammatically incorrect but vigorous chorus number "It's a Scandal, It's a Outrage" and Jud's powerful lament, "Lonely Room." Hugh Jackman excels as Curly, while Josefina Gabrielle is an effective Laurey. Filling out the strong cast are Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller, Jimmy Johnston as Will, Vicki Simon as Ado Annie, and Shuler Hensley as Jud; and thankfully, British accents are not prevalent on this plain. The booklet includes production notes and a synopsis with photos, but no lyrics. Of course, the question in most minds might be whether you need to make room on your shelf for another recording of Oklahoma! When it's this well done, the answer is yes. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a truly "complete" recording!, November 27, 1999

By	Michael K. Halloran (USA) - See all my reviews

I never tire of defending "Oklahoma!" to those willing to dismiss it as merely musical comedy fluff. No show which changed the format of the Broadway musical can be dismissed so casually, and let us not forget that it contains issues of sexual harassment, territorial rights, and includes an onstage death at the end.

This particular recording is the first ever to include the "Dream Ballet," another important historical aspect of the show. That fact alone puts it at the front of current recordings of the show. In addition, spoken sections within numbers are included, giving the whole album a more theatrical feel than most. The only major musical segment not included is Ado Annie's encore verse of "I Cain't Say No," but this fact shouldn't deter listeners.

It also helps that the cast is excellent. Hugh Jackman is more a tenor than the high baritone the role calls for, but is engaging nonetheless, giving full rein to the character's machismo and tenderness. Jimmy Johnston and Vicki Simon are perfect as Will and Annie, utterly beguiling and believable in admittedly two-dimensional roles. The always delightful Maureen Lipman is great as Aunt Eller. Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey is a fine actress, but her head voice and chest voice seem to be two separate entities and a break is evident between them. Admittedly, Laurey is a tough role vocally, being a soprano in a very low tessitura. However, Gabrielle makes up for any vocal shortcomings with her truly winning performance.

The sound is fantastic, and this is one of the few British cast recordings of an American musical in which the accents are uniformly excellent. For devotees of Rodgers and Hammerstein, for lovers of classic musicals, and for anyone who may be curious, I highly recommend this new recording.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh new take on a wonderful classic!, June 15, 2002

By	K. Chelsen "kchelsen" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After seeing a video of the London production, I simply had to have the soundtrack. I've always been a fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein's music, and was excited to hear about the new production now on Broadway. I was not disappointed. The music is as wonderful as ever and this soundtrack includes two songs written for the show, but dropped from the original play and the film -- IT'S A SCANDAL and LONELY R0OM. The latter song gives new insight into the character of Jud, an impression reinforced by the marvelous singing by Shuler Hensley, who won both the Olivier AND Tony awards for his performance in this role.

The singing overall is simply wonderful -- aside from Mr. Hensley, Josefina Gabrielle's light soprano does justice to the role of Laurey, and Hugh Jackman is fantastic as Curly. His baritone is well suited to the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and I sincerely hope he will be doing more of their work -- and more musical theatre in general -- in the future. Maureen Lipman, Jimmy Johnston and the rest of the cast did full justice to their roles.

Truly a first class recording -- The music was running through my head for days after playing the cd.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Oklahoma is AOK!, January 2, 2000

By	Edward L. Teti "etalian2" (Milton, Delaware USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Finally, a recording that really depicts the masterpiece that this work really is. Performed by a flawless cast with new orchestrations, this is a must have disk. The score tends to drag on previous recordings. Here the tempos are bright and bouncy, yet there is an air of darkness that evolves throughout; which was always the authors intent, but camoflagued in previous productions. It is gratifying that this landmark legend of musical theatre finally got the production it deserves.