Oklahoma! - Revolutionizing Musical Theater
Contributions to Musical Theater
Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1955 film adaptation of Oklahoma! served as an iconic musical that revolutionized the musical theater realm. The way stories were told through the utilization of song an dance revolutionized the genre, and its influence and impacts can still be seen and felt in musicals today.Oklahoma! serves as a revolutionary piece because of its innovative use of dance to advance the plot and reveal emotions of the characters. In addition to this, Oklahoma! is also remembered for the exploration of themes such as the American Dream, sense of community, and personal identity. These themes are able to be explored through the use of a diverse cast of characters, each with their own unique struggles and aspirations.
Laurey and Ado Annie's Character Development
Laurey Williams played by Shirley Jones is, subjectively, one of the most well-developed characters in the musical. Laurey's relationship with Curly McLain, played by Gordon MacRae, is a central focus of the story, and their relationship is developed and told through a number of memorable songs and dance numbers. One song that stands out as an aid in developing her character is "Many a New Day," which is performed early in the musical. In this song, Laurey sings about progressing past previous loves and embracing new opportunities and experiences. Her performance of the song is full of optimism as well as being very energetic. This performance helps to establish Laurey as a strong and independent character unafraid of taking risks in order to pursue her own wishful endeavors and happiness.
Laurey's character and the exploration of her experiences with relationships and how she navigates overcoming the past in order to focus on the new is a testament to the uniqueness that Oklahoma! adds to the musical theater world at this time. The idea of women taking risks and exploring somewhat taboo aspects of life revolutionizes the genre as a whole.
A compelling character in the musical is Ado Annie. Ado Annie is played by Gloria Grahame. She is a young woman who struggles with her own inclusiveness and her tendency to be a people pleaser. Her song "I Can't Say No" is a humorous and lighthearted exploration if her inner conflict. It serves to highlight the challenges faced by young women in a society that expects them to conform to traditional gender roles presented at the time.
I personally really enjoyed Ado Annie's character development and her contribution to the exploration of gender norm related themes as well as her performance of "I Can't Say No". I feel like a lot of the themes prevalent in Oklahoma! are still relevant, in some way, today which makes the musical and the characters still attractive to modern audiences.
Hi Allison! I like your blog post a lot. I also said in my blog post that I felt that Laurey's character was one of the most well-developed characters in the musical, and I also used the song "Many a New Day" to explain this. I felt that Ado Annie was a compelling character too, and I wonder if Hammerstein and Rodgers intended for "I Can't Say No" to show how women were expected to be at the time, or if it was simply a lightheared song with ideas that they weren't criticizing, but promoting. However, I think it's interesting to think about how a song like that could be seen nowadays.
ReplyDeleteHi Allison! Great post. You explore the characters of Ado Annie and Laurey really well. I also love how you highlight the themes that are prevalent in the musical in your "Contributions to Musical Theater" section. I really wanted to read a post from someone who explored a different character (I chose Jud) and you did an awesome job at talking about the uniqueness of Ado Annie's and Laurey's characters and how their willingness to go against the grain regarding their role as women stood out at the time that this musical was made. I do wonder what Oscar and Hammerstein were trying to convey in regards to these two characters. It seems like they could have been trying to convey lightheartedness, or perhaps make a bigger statement?
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