Oklahoma! – Drury Lane Concert

[ladidah]

Yes, but it felt shorter and seemed to move at quite a good pace.

[capybara]

Is the programme worth it?

[alece10]

Aug 20, 2024 8:42:16 GMT capybara said:

Is the programme worth it?

It's £12.50 and is quite nice but I wouldn't bother unless you really want it as not a huge amount of info in it.

[alece10]

Another great concert by Forth Wall. They do seem to be the leaders in these concert performances.
Again it was almost fully staged (just missing the sets which weren't even necessary).
The LMTO sounded glorious and so nice to hear the musical performed by a big orchestra. If you are going do stay for the exit music as it is wonderful.
I thought the cast were all excellent and unlike the other posters I enjoyed Zizi Strallens performance. I had to Google Phil Dunster when I originally booked as had no idea who he was and he really did impress me both for his acting and his singing skills. He also really looked the part. Looking at his bio in the programme this seems to be his first musical and it was Hannah Waddingham who encouraged him to do this. You could tell the look of relief and surprise on his face by the audience reaction at the end.
The other leads were just as good but I do have to mention Tosh Wanogho-Maud as Jud who I thought was superb and had the most beautiful bass voice. You felt sorry for him but also quite scared.
I was really surprised at how much dancing there was in this concert and the ensemble were excellent. For someone who asked just now, yes the ballet scene is there and was excellent. Zizi is such a great dancer and the did the ballet scene bare foot.
I was surprised that the audience reaction was not as good as I expected. It was fine but I keep thinking back to 2 weeks ago when I saw Something Rotten and I don't think I have ever been in a theatre with such an enthuastic audience (or louder audience).
Seems that after a few months with lots of concerts they seem to be coming to an end for a while as I don't have anymore booked. Hopefully there will be more to come soon.

[ladidah]

Jud was amazing wasn't he!

[capybara]

What time did it end, out of interest?

[alece10]

Aug 20, 2024 13:11:26 GMT capybara said:

What time did it end, out of interest?

About 10.30pm including listening to the exit music.

[ladidah]

Yes, it did start a little late though. A long first half then a very short 2nd half.

[Someone in a tree]

Aug 20, 2024 14:03:19 GMT ladidah said:

Yes, it did start a little late though. A long first half then a very short 2nd half.

When we did the show we the ballet at the start of the 2nd act. We also cut the overture.

[ladidah]

Joanna Riding as Aunt Eller was incredible, stole every scene.

[londonmzfitz]

I thought Joanna Riding was woefully underused.
Zizi was terrific (I was front stalls) - yes she outsung Phil Dunster but that's casting, surely - you wouldn't expect someone to tone down their performance to match their counterpart?
Phil Dunster was charm, charming, completely delightful. Diction and vocal range lacking but his performance was just so, so lovely. I'm a huge Ted Lasso fan and was delighted (and relieved) at his performance. Choreography was unexpected for a Concert and enjoyed it (always thought the ballet scene went on too long, nods to the NT / Hugh Jackman production).

Took my son who hasn't been to any of the Concert versions of anything, doesn't know Oklahoma! (*mothering failure number 1) so the comedy was all fresh to him, all the songs new to him, and he absolutely loved seeing the Orchestra on stage.

(*Mothering failure number 2 when he referred to the interval as "half time", but he did that to provoke my reaction, he always does. His wearing shorts to the theatre is all down to him).

Many young American women in the audience (almost full front row) - if you haven't seen Ted Lasso (Apple TV) I'd urge you to, it's a lovely series.

[erik24601]

How was Christina Bianco? I think she's the only principal that nobody has mentioned, which is perhaps telling - although I've always thought of her as a brilliant performer so that would shock me.

[141920grm]

IMO almost everyone went overboard with the southern accent at the expense of diction... especially noticeable during fast-paced dialogue/lines of song

[alece10]

Aug 20, 2024 16:55:37 GMT erik24601 said:

How was Christina Bianco? I think she's the only principal that nobody has mentioned, which is perhaps telling - although I've always thought of her as a brilliant performer so that would shock me.

She was good, very funny. Played the role with quite a high pitched squeaky voice.

[adamkinsey]

Enjoyed this a lot but another in the "Not so sure about Zizi in this one" camp. Phil Dunster was a far more successful casting choice than Adrian Dunbar in Kiss Me, Kate in my opinion.

[rayc]

I was initially sceptical about another Oklahoma, hot on the heels of the recent imported version at The Young Vic/Wyndhams. Although i understand why they picked it, being its 80th anniversary. But Fourth Wall always do " concert versions" well. Love Never Dies being particularly strong. And once again their production and staging was first class. Credit to The London Musical Theatre and Choir - lovely to hear the score with a 30 piece Orchestra and 20 voice Choir. Were they the original orchestrations I wonder. However, for me, despite having bundles of charm Phil Dunster was vocally lacking, especially on the title number. But he made a good fist of the role overall. Zizi Strallens voice lacked emotion and although she sung beautifully, it seemed her voice was almost too powerful at times. Hats off though [ or should I say shoes! ] to Jordan Shaw, who broke his shoe on his entrance! Of which much fun was made of, off script. And he had to do the tap routine in Kansas City with the ensemble, in his stocking feet. What a trouper. The crowd loved it. Joanna Riding was, as always, excellent and Tosh Wanogho-Maud playing Judd Fry displayed a rich and beautiful voice - which I hope we hear again in Robin Hood at The Palladium at Christmas, when he plays Little John. Interesting casting! So, overall a thoroughly enjoyable concert, without being outstanding. A shame it's not been more commercially successful,being heavily discounted on various platforms, but maybe it just lacked real stardust casting. Let's hope Fourth Wall continue to bring these annual concerts to Drury Lane, they are, in general, a treat.

[Talisman]

Conductor stated that the orchestration was the original in a radio interview.

[normasturban]

As usual, production value and sound was great but this was such a bore. The casting, while fine, didn’t have any real standouts and orchestra or not, I don’t know if I needed to see Oklahoma! in the West End quite this soon.

I suspect the weak sales reflected that. Odd choice all round.

[bigredapple]

Tonight was great!

Joanna Riding slipped and fell in act two, but seemed okay. She played it off very well between herself and Phil ad-libbing. Got a great reaction from the audience

[ladidah]

Oh goodness, glad she was okay!

We had a fly on the first night that would not leave the stage, and was visibly flitting about. I guess it added to the rural charm.

[Dr Tom]

Very much enjoyed this as well, apart from the audience deciding that Jud was a comedy figure. Excellent dancing for a concert production, including the always reliable George Beet.

It was good that there were very few cuts to the material and they played the overture and play out in full. Unfortunately, plenty of people seemed completely unaware that you do not talk at a concert when the orchestra is playing, and wanted to leave at the end before the orchestra completed (it should have been fairly obvious that the show wasn't over as the lights stayed off). I was rather irritated by someone behind me who said he was a composer, but struggled to shut up during the show, often saying things that were completely untrue (such as when Oklahoma! was first performed, when you'd think being at the 80th Anniversary Concert would be a clue).

Zizi Strallen was easily the highlight. Phil Dunster does not seem destined for a career in musical theatre. Otherwise, the leads and ensemble were all good. I still prefer the slightly darker feel of the most recent revival (if not all aspects of its presentation). The sound quality was very good (in central Stalls).

I was my usual poor self at identifying celebrities. I saw George Renshaw outside, but although he was an excellent JD, I doubt he was the person being pointed out in side Stalls. I didn't see as many obvious theatre people as normal, but they could have gone to another show. Still, all very professional, especially for such a short run, and I would have gone again had this not been the final performance.

[Talisman]

I have not attended a concert performance of a musical before. With a last minute offer of £25 for a great royal circle seat I gave it a try and enjoyed the experience very much


One bonus was that with a small number of dancers. I found it easier to focus on the choreography

[ladidah]

I found the laughter at Jud really strange too, especially as it was so perfectly played by the actor. Nothing about him was funny.

[alece10]

Aug 21, 2024 6:44:20 GMT ladidah said:

Oh goodness, glad she was okay!

We had a fly on the first night that would not leave the stage, and was visibly flitting about. I guess it added to the rural charm.

I saw the fly on the stage but I also saw a mouse run up the aisle past me in the stalls. A few people saw it but fortunately there were no screams. I don't think it was part of the show.

[Talisman]

Conductor is best known for classical music particularly opera

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