Critical Review at Hennepin Arts

An Unexpected Yet Thought-Provoking Revival People often prefer to gloss over and ignore what disturbs them, instead latching onto comedy to keep themselves satisfied. In the 2021 touring production of Oklahoma , this is no longer possible. This production uses the same script as the original Oklahoma , but makes much different production and technical choices that highlight just how horrifying many parts of the show truly are and should have been to audiences. It takes the sweet love story of Curly McLain (Sean Grandillo), and Laurey Williams (Sasha Hutchings), complicated by a sinister second suiter, Jud Fry (Christopher Bannow), and strips away any gilding added to the story in order to highlight its shadows. The set, appearing to be made almost entirely of unfinished plywood, consists of a single room community center, functioning as the few locations that the show would normally take place in. This, combined with the consistently bright lighting, truly invited me into the show, ...

 Turned inside-out and upside-down, Oklahoma! becomes not just the light show of the past, but a commentary on the complexity of love and mental health. Through the double love triangles of beloved characters reimagined, the musical led the November 9th audience on a whirling, dramatic descent into barely-concealed insanity! Oklahoma! follows local cowboy Curly McLain (Sean Grandillo) as he vies for the attentions of Laurey Williams (Sasha Hutchings), despite her chilly response to his advances. However, Jud Fry (Christopher Bannow), the mysterious hired hand, sets his sights on Laurey and vows that Curly won’t get in his way. Though it is surrounded by a myriad of colorful, oddball characters such as Ado Annie (Sis), Ali Hakim (Benj Mirman) and Will Parker (Hennessy Winkler), at the center of the show lurks a dark love triangle. When Jud confesses his feelings to Laurey, she sees the depth of his unhealthy mental state and runs to Curly. The curtain closes on a murder as the cast ...