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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
‘Oklahoma!’ rolls into Fox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. Grade: B
Oh, what a beautiful mornin’ — bzzzz, bzzzz. Oh, what a beautiful day. Bzzzz, bzzzz, pop!
I’ve got a beautiful feeling everything’s going Theater of the Stars’ way, if it can just fix the sound-system glitches that jarred an otherwise glorious opening of “Oklahoma!” at the Fox Theatre.
Beautifully performed, sumptuously designed and showcasing new adaptations of Agnes de Mille’s original ballets, this handsome new production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic coincides with the rapturously received first Broadway revival of the famous duo’s “South Pacific.” If either of these celebrations of American wholesomeness ever did fade from fashion, they have returned now with the self-assured clippety-clop of a “Surrey with The Fringe on Top.”
Tuesday night at the Fox felt like 1943 again, thanks to director Norb Joerder, choreographer Gemze de Lappe (a de Mille protege) and their cast of 45.
As Laurey, Jennifer Evans sure sings purdy. (And she proved herself quite the trouper when her microphone went out for most of “Many a New Day.”) Nicholas Rodriquez’s Curly is in terrific form as the sexy cowpoke who mesmerizes the ladies and frustrates Jud Fry’s angry attempt to win the hand of Laurey.
De Mille’s ballets may not be as lurid as the dances Susan Stroman created for Trevor Nunn’s 2002 Broadway revival, but the psychosexual tension of the menage a trois is magnified by Ben Crawford’s seething, Mephistopholean approach to Jud. Crawford’s exquisite baritone and pent-up approach owes a debt to Atlanta native Shuler Hensley’s Tony Award-winnning Jud, but Crawford’s “Lonely Room” is no less electric.
As Aunt Eller, Ruth Williamson is pure, corn-pone charm. Sean Montgomery’s Will Parker has the physique of a string bean and the comedic spark of a bag of firecrackers. Betsy Dilellio makes for a cute-as-a-June-bug Ado Annie, even if her singing doesn’t quite hold up. And for all his comic flair, Gary Littman can’t transcend the predictably outsize posturing of peddlar Ali Hakim.
The homage to de Mille comes with built-in blind spots, too, as the dances felt under-rehearsed and antiquated at times. After Stoman’s more integrated approach, the use of doubles in the famous dream sequence seemed a little schizo, and the sheer size of the ensemble meant that not everyone was always in sync.
But these are minor quibbles.
Scenic designer Michael Schweikardt’s prairie homes, smokehouses and windmills are pure and authentic. Jeffrey Meeks’ costumes are paragons of feminine ruffles and masculine bulk. And Kirk Bookman’s splendid lighting makes the endless Oklahoma sky glow with pinks and purples.
There’s nothing like a little Rodgers and Hammerstein to remind us that the land we belong to is grand. And as evidenced here, so is its musical theater tradition.
THE 411: 8 p.m. tonight-Saturday. 2 p.m. Saturday. 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday. $25-$68. Theater of the Stars, Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-817-8700, ticketmaster.com
Bottom line: As much fun as a box social.
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This is your Brain. This is Your Brain on Drudge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s an interesting article in the current Atlantic magazine titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,” by Nicholas Carr.
It’s long, at times meandering, and far from conclusive. But if you don’t want to click and read the whole article, here is the nutshell I found most provocvative.
The Internet (for which Google’s logo just makes a clever magazine cover) is a medium that requires us to use our brains differently than books do. Wide, rather than deep, and skipping from thing to thing rather than pausing and reflecting. As we do this more and more, Carr argues, we lose a little of our former capacity to immerse ourselves completely in a complex book.
He cites himself and I have to admit, I feel some of the same thing. I’ve been having more trouble lately reading books all the way through unless it’s for work. I get halfway and get a bad case of “What else do I have to read?” I’ve always been a little bit this way, but I think it’s getting more pronounced.
Carr isn’t attacking the Web, nor am I. It’s a great medium. But its changes are profound, and just starting to be understood, and I wonder if this isn’t one of them.
Does this ring a bell with anyone? Are you tackling fewer tough books, or having more trouble? Do you think it’s because you’re rewiring your brain?
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