Chichester: Oklahoma!

Just caught the production of Oklahoma at Chichester Festival Theatre.

A few notable things about the production:

1. Not much of a set. Or "minimal", to be proper about it. A roundish wooden floor and two plain sheets draped at the back. There's just the one entrance/exit between the sheets. Chairs, a barrel, a box and horse-carts are brought on by the actors as and when required. Oh, and a big rope swing that descends from above the stage. Various characters sit and stand and swing on it throughout Act I, at the end of which, it ascends. Of course, no change of scenery means quicker scene changes. The whole thing moves along nice and swiftly, sometimes not even bothering with applause-getting at the end of a song. In a longish show, that's much appreciated. Problem is that, at times, we don't know where we are.

2. Chorus hangs around a lot. In the scenes with only two or three characters the chorus members loiter, either sitting on the edge of the stage or a-standin' like statues staring into space. Not sure why. Maybe they're supposed to be a Greek chorus or a visible reminder of the Hammersteinian "community" theme. But they do tend to get in the way. Also tends to take away from the more intimate moments.

3. Lights occassionally get dimmer. Pale, ghostly light and shadows bring out the darker moments. This works well in Act II when, after the auction, Jud almost manages to stick a knife into the unwitting Curly. The chorus slowly freezes, the lighting dims. It's a genuinely tense moment.

4. Things get thrown on the floor. All sorts of things: leaves, petals, Jud's risquee picture postcards, coins. At the start, Jud rolls a basket-load of apples across the stage and then repeats the action at the very end of the end of the show (um, after he's been killed). The leaves and petals are fine but the pictures, coins and apples all have to be picked up again by the chorus members, which is a bit cumbersome.

5. Moving from sad to happy at the end. The end is tricky, no two ways about it. Basically the villain, Jud, interrupts the wedding of the hero, Curly, who accidently kills him in a fight. Not so happy. After a hasty, vaguely comical, impromptu trial Curly is aquitted and is soon getting cheerily waved off on his honeymoon. Everybody happy! This move from sad to happy isn't easy to pull off in any credible way. I think the only way to do it is by slowing things right down. There needs to be enough time for the horror of the killing to sink in and for everyone to get over the shock. Not easy when you're pushing towards the final curtain.

These are not intended as criticisms or a review. As it happens, I enjoyed the production very much. But it's a reminder that staging a piece of theatre, especially a musical, is a very practical art. Simply getting everything on and off stage in a reasonably fluid and orderly way is a challenge in itself. And this isn't just down to the director; it stems from the writing. The original concept and the structure of the story need to consider how one scene flows into the next. Most people think that the reason why "classic" musicals such as Oklahoma are done so often is the wonderful and well-known songs. That's undeniably true, but it's because they're also so do-able.