Tulsa PAC takes ‘Oklahoma!’ back to its Claremore roots with new production

To D, or not to D?

That was the question for Cathy Venable, the music director of Tulsa’s upcoming production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” as she studied the score to this landmark musical.

Specifically, it was a single bar in the song “Lonely Room,” the lovelorn lament of the show’s nominal villain, Jud Fry, as he envisions how life might be if he could possess the woman of his dreams. Venable was going over a piano reduction of the musical’s full score when she came upon a note she had not encountered before.

“In the score that I’ve been using for years, this one measure had arpeggios that began with D,” Venable said. “But in the score that we have for this production, they were written as D-sharp.

“I thought, ‘This can’t be right, because it makes things sound way too happy,’” she said. “So I got on Facebook and reached out to a number of Broadway conductors I really trust, and learned that the 1979 revival, which was the score I was familiar with, had got it wrong. The D-sharps were correct.”

Venable acknowledged the difference between the two notes is something even the most keen-eared audience member will likely not notice. But it speaks to the sort of profound care and intense attention to detail that has gone into this production of “Oklahoma!” that kicks off this weekend.

TPAC Produces, a program of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, will present it from July 24 to Aug. 16 in the Williams Theatre of the Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St.

This is the third major production by TPAC Produces, an effort to present Broadway-caliber musical theater created primarily by local and regional artists. Previous productions include 2024’s “Fiddler on the Roof” and 2025’s “Ragtime.”

Back to the source

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” was a huge commercial success when it debuted on Broadway in 1943. But it remains one of the most influential works in the history of American musical theater, one that effectively brought together plot, music, lyrics and dance so that all worked to advance the story and deepen the characters.

The musical has had several Broadway revivals, most recently — and most notoriously — in 2019, when director Daniel Fish created a dark, stripped-down version of the story designed to bring the violence and brutality within the story to the forefront.

“I get asked all the time, ‘Is this going to be the “Oklahoma!” we know and love?’” said Pete Otis, who is directing the TPAC Produces production. “And I tell them yes, absolutely yes. I saw the Daniel Fish revival, and while I can appreciate what they did with the show, and the messages they were trying to send, it did seem to be disconnected from the actual heart of the show and the community on which it’s based.”

Part of Otis’ work in preparing to direct “Oklahoma!” was to return to the musical’s source — the 1931 play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs.

Riggs, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Claremore native, often drew from his memories of his hometown and the people among whom he grew up to create his plays — something especially true of “Green Grow the Lilacs.”

During his research, Otis learned Riggs based characters off of people he knew well. Laurey was inspired by a cousin and Ado Annie was based on someone Riggs knew in the community.

“That really guided my approach to this show,” Otis said. “These are not stereotypical characters — these are real people, with real emotions and the situation of the story is very realistic and natural. That’s true even of what is usually presented in the broadest way, like the characters of Ado Annie and Will Parker and their love story. Yes, they may be the most comical characters in the show, but we all know people like them.”

One character that benefits the most from Otis’ approach is that of Laurey, the young farm girl who finds herself the object of the affections of two very different fellows — the brash, likable cowboy Curly and the brooding farmhand Jud.

“This is the story of Laurey through and through,” Otis said. “The whole plot revolves around her decision about which of these two men in her life is the right one for her. I wanted to look into her psyche to know what she is thinking and feeling, and why this pivotal decision is so hard for her to make.”

Not your average ‘Oklahoma princess’

Tulsa native Ruby Shadley is playing Laurey, a role she embodied a decade earlier in a Theatre Tulsa production. 

“It’s kind of funny, but for the longest time I tried to avoid ‘Oklahoma!’” Shadley said. “I guess I had this idea that it gave the rest of the world the wrong idea about Oklahoma and the people who live here, and I didn’t want to contribute to those stereotypes.

“But a lot of life happens in 10 years,” she said, laughing. “Coming into this role now — just reading through all the material again — I was able to see so much more in the text, because I’ve had these life experiences that help me understand people so much more. So I feel I understand Laurey to a much greater degree.”

As Shadley sees her character, Laurey is far from a damsel in distress. She’s not a “two-dimensional Oklahoma princess,” Shadley said.

“She is a human being who is living — and just as importantly, working — on a farm on the frontier, in a community that may be physically small, but has all the complexities and dynamics of societies everywhere,” she said. “She’s witty, she’s smart and she’s strong.”

Most of the cast for this production of “Oklahoma!” are, like Shadley, people who “know they belong to the land.” However, Chicago native Conor Jordan is making his TPAC debut as cowboy Curly.

“We had something like 500 people audition for this show, and at the start we really wanted to try and emphasize Oklahoma talent,” Otis said. “But we had already cast Ruby as Laurey, and Conor gave such a great audition, and I could tell he and Ruby would have the right chemistry to play Curly and Laurey.”

The “Oklahoma!” cast includes Thesa Loving as Aunt Eller, Kasey Dillon Yeargain as Jud Fry, Grayson Schreiber as Will Parker, Becca Worthington as Ado Annie, Hassan Nazari-Robati as Ali Hakim, John Gibson Miller as Andrew Carnes and Riley Kern as Ike Skidmore.

Dream team

One aspect of this “Oklahoma!” production Venable particularly appreciates is that, rather than using recorded tracks, she will conduct a 20-piece ensemble in the pit of the Tulsa PAC’s Williams Theatre. It features five string players, five woodwinds, five brass, along with guitar, banjo, harp and percussion.

“I’m also looking forward to the fact that we’re going to be the full ‘Dream Ballet’ with this production,” she said. “Usually, when you’re conducting the orchestra for a show, you are very conscious of not letting the orchestra overwhelm the singers. But with the ballet, we have this full 15-minute orchestral showcase where our players can really show what they can do.”

The show’s choreographer is Jen Alden, who regularly creates and performs dance works for a wide array of local performance groups and the contemporary dance company she founded, Oklahoma Movement.

Otis seeks to bring a new perspective to the “Dream Ballet” sequence, which was choreographed by Agnes de Mille in the original production. He came up with a seven-page scenario for the sequence, one that probes more deeply into the events and emotions that have made Laurey the person she is.

“I also wanted it to evoke the way dreams work, a little more impressionistic,” he said. “When I shared it with Jen, she was immediately on board, saying this was the direction we should go. Even so, I have to say I’ve been shocked at how closely Jen’s choreography captures exactly what I envisioned in my head. 

“She also has included some things designed to call to mind Agnes de Mille’s work, because we both have a great respect for her,” Otis said. “But Jen’s work has a very modern, contemporary feel to it. Working with her has been just phenomenal.”

Because the cast includes performers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds — including several citizens of Indigenous nations — costume designer Crista Patrick has worked to incorporate visual elements from each individual’s heritage into the costumes they wear on stage, Otis said.

It is all part of demonstrating the pride many Oklahomans have in the landmark musical that supplied the state with its official song.

“We take pride in this show as Oklahomans, and it’s important to us, because it’s really a part of our culture,” Otis said.

Dinner and a show

TPAC Produces is offering patrons of “Oklahoma!” the chance to enjoy a barbecue dinner and live entertainment prior to the regular performance.

The dinner will be served in the Norman Theater of the Tulsa PAC, and will be highlighted by members of the “Oklahoma!” cast performing songs that evoke the state’s cowboy heritage and celebrate the centennial of Route 66. Costs for the dinner, which can be purchased as an add-on to a show ticket, is $25 for adults and $15 for children.

In addition, items from the Claremore Museum of History relating to author Lynn Riggs and the musical “Oklahoma!” will be on display during the run of the show. 

Items include the original “Surrey with the fringe on top” used in the 1955 film version of “Oklahoma!”, a dress worn in the film by actress Shirley Jones, the boots worn by actor Ridge Bond when he played Curly on Broadway, a photo album made by a young woman when the film premiered in Claremore that includes Jones’ autograph and more.

“Actually, there were two surreys used in the film,” said Steve Robinson, chairman of the museum’s board of directors. “One is in Arizona, where they filmed ‘Oklahoma!’, and we have the other one.

“We have often loaned out items from our collection to other venues, but this is certainly the largest number of items we’ve loaned in our history,” he said. 

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