- Year
- 2004
- When
- May 2004
- Venue
- Dormston Mill Theatre, Sedgley
- Type
- Musical
Synopsis
The show tells the story of a group of people, farmers and cowmen, trying to co-exist and maintain their conflicting lifestyles against a backdrop of an emerging new state, Oklahoma. Laurey, the niece of Aunt Eller, is in love with Curly, a cowboy. She is herself the subject of the attentions of Jud Fry, a hired hand on Aunt Eller's farm. Jud, a rather shady character, is vying with Curly for the chance to take Laurey to the Box Social. Laurey has a dream and in the dream ballet sees herself being carried off by Jud during a tragic wedding scene. At the Box Social each girl's supper hamper is auctioned off to the highest bidder who has the hamper and the girl for the evening. Curly outbids Jud for the right to take Laurey to the Box Social at the expense of selling all of his worldly goods including his gun and his horse. Laurey now consents to marry Curly. Ado Annie, who can't say no to any man, has become involved with Ali Hakim an itinerant pedlar, although she's promised to Will Parker who has arrived hotfoot from Kansas with a load of presents for her. After Laurey's wedding, Jud emerges from hiding to challenge Curly. A fight ensues and Jud falls on his knife, fatally injured. An impromptu court finds Curly not guilty but only after the timely intervention of Aunt Eller.
From the company’s records
A musical play by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd on behalf of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatre Library.
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Lynn Riggs' Green Grow the Lilacs.
The company's third production of Oklahoma, after 1955 and 1992.
The 2004 website gave the run as Tuesday 11 May to Saturday 15 May 2004 at the Mill Theatre, Dormston School, Sedgley, and billed it as the company's 75th anniversary production.
The cast, chorus, dancers and production team recorded here are taken from the company's own website of 2004, as preserved by the Internet Archive.
Recovered from the Internet Archive's copy of willop.co.uk.
Who made it
Production team
- Producer
- Tim Jones
- Musical Director
- Tim Harding
- Choreographer
- Colette Edwards
- Rehearsal Accompanist
- Alan Wolverson
- Stage Manager
- Alan Crowther
- Assistant Stage Manager
- Theresa Starkey
- Backstage Staff
- Derek Painter
- Backstage Staff
- Tom Bradley
- Backstage Staff
- Adam Nicklin
- Backstage Staff
- Andrew Starkey
- Backstage Staff
- Matt Arnold
- Backstage Staff
- Sara Friedl
- Lighting Director
- Terry Corbett
- Lighting Assistant
- Graham Tarbuck
- Lighting Assistant
- Robert Smith
- Sound Engineer
- Peter Revell (Cygnet Sound)
- Costumes
- Lisa's Stageworld, Wolverhampton
- Costume Committee
- Colin Hunt
- Costume Committee
- Marina Bray
- Costume Committee
- Caroline Hammond
- Scenery
- Albemarle, London
- Milliner / Florist
- Beryl Andrews
- Props Staff
- Christine Hunt
- Props Staff
- Catherine Hammond
- Props Staff
- Peter Crowther
- House Manager
- Brian White
- Prompt
- Chris Wiley
- Photographs
- Paul Hunt
- Programme Compilation
- Mac Hammond
- Programme co-ordination
- Catherine Hammond
- Advertising
- Tom Bradley
Cast
- Curly
- Julian Richards
- Laurey
- Jade Spilsbury
- Will Parker
- Simon Goff
- Ado Annie Carnes
- Lydia Simpkiss
- Jud Fry
- Callum Mac Arthur
- Ali Hakim
- Greg Yates
- Aunt Eller
- Dorothy Copson
- Cord Elam
- John Arnold
- Slim
- Stephen Bickley
- Ike Skidmore
- Colin Hunt
- Fred
- Alf Rai
- Andrew Carnes
- John Wiley
- Gertie Cummings
- Nikki Rai
Everybody else
The rest of the names the company’s records carry for this production, on stage and off it.
Chorus and company39
John Arnold, Stephen Bickley, Chris Eastup, Mac Hammond, Colin Hunt, Trevor Law, Dean Lord, Jamie Picken, Andy Poulton, Jonathan Pountney, Alf Rai, Stan Till, Marina Bray, Jayne Crowther, Caroline Hammond, Kate Osborne, Nikki Rai, Jenni Rullan, Val Simpkiss, Pat Small, Eileen Southall, Christine Spittle, Renee Till, Sarah Aldridge, Sarah Bickley, Sharnie Billingsley, Emma Bond, Laura Bray, Jade Brown, Philippa Chapman, Kay Daren, Aimee Holder, Chloe Kitson, Paige Larkin, Laura Morgan, Lucy Morgans, Bethany North, Felicity North, Amy Raybould
The month is corrected from April on that evidence5
the page states May twice, the day names match the 2004 calendar (11 May was a Tuesday, 15 May a Saturday, whereas 11 April was a Sunday), and the page's link to the BBC's write-up carries 2004/05 in its path
Were you in it?
We would like to know more about Oklahoma.
The record for this production is thinner than the show deserves. If you were in it, or you were in the audience, you may have something the archive does not.
Programmes, photographs, cuttings from the local paper, a cast list in somebody’s handwriting: all of it helps, and we will add it here.
Tell us about OklahomaSay “Oklahoma, 2004” in your message and it will reach whoever looks after the archive.