Full cast announced for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in concert
Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'! 🤠
Further casting has been announced for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in Concert, which returns to its original West End home, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, on Monday 19th August and Tuesday 20th August.
Joining the previously announced Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso) as Curly and Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins) as Laurey are Christina Bianco (The Rise and Fall of Little Voice) as Ado Annie, Jordan Shaw (Les Misérables) as Will Parker, five-time Olivier Award nominee and two-time Olivier Award winner Joanna Riding (Sondheim’s Old Friends and Carousel) as Aunt Eller, Tosh Wanogho-Maud (The Drifters Girl) as Jud Fry, Irvine Iqbal (The Witches) as Ali Hakim, Nicole-Lily Baisden (Anything Goes) as Gertie and Sebastien Torkia (Guys & Dolls) as Andrew. The cast is completed by George Beet (Assistant Choreographer), Ashleigh Graham (Assistant Choreographer), David McIntosh, Amonik Melaco, Carrie Willis, David Winters, Jessica Wright and the London Musical Theatre Chorus.
The production is directed and choreographed by Olivier Award-winner Bill Deamer, and features Robert Russell Bennett’s full original 28-piece orchestrations performed by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Ben Glassberg, with sound design by Tom Marshall, set & costume design by Rebecca Brower, lighting design by Tim Deiling, casting by Sarah-Jane Price, production management by Pete Kramer and company stage management by Peter Barnett.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! opened on Broadway in 1943 and later transferred to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for its West End premiere in 1947. Oklahoma! was Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration, and features some of their most loved songs, including ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’’, ‘The Surrey with the Fringe on Top’ and the titular title song ‘Oklahoma!’.
WATCH: Arthur Darvill perform 'The Surrey with the Fringe on Top’
Have a look at more Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals:
Oklahoma!
The first musical the legendary writing duo worked on was Oklahoma! which was based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. The musical first opened on 31st October 1943 at the St. James Theatre and went on for 2,212 performances which was unprecedented at the time.
Oklahoma! continues to be revived to this day with the most recent UK revival being the 2022 revival at the Young Vic.
Carousel
The second musical that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote was Carousel. The musical was based on the 1909 play Liliom by Ferenc Molnár and told the story of carousel barker Billy Bigelow 's romance with millworker Julie Jordan. Carousel premiered at the Majestic Theatre on 19th April 1945.
Carousel features the song 'You'll Never Walk Alone' which has become a football anthem with Liverpool F.C. fans since the 1960s.
The most recent UK production of Carousel was Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's revival which ran in the summer of 2021. Their version of the show moved the story's setting from the American state of Maine in the 1870s to the UK in the mid-20th century.
South Pacific
Based on James A. Michener Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'Tales of the South Pacific', South Pacific opened at the Majestic Theatre on 7th April 1949.
The most recent revival seen in the UK was the Chichester Festival Theatre's 2021 production which returns in 2022 for a West End run and UK tour.
The King and I
Based on Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam, The King and I tells the story originally inspired by Anna Leonowens' memoirs of her time as the governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam (now Thailand) in the 1860s.
The musical first opened on Broadway in 1951 at the St James Theatre and first arrived in the West End two years later with a run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
The musical hit the big screen in 1956 with Deborah Kerr as Anna and Yul Brynner reprised his role as King Mongkut of Siam which he originated on Broadway.
Cinderella
Rodgers and Hammerstein took on the classic fairy tale of Cinderella for a musical that first went to the small screen instead of the stage. Cinderella was originally broadcast live on CBS in the United States in 1957 and starred Julie Andrews in the titular role.
Two more television films were made in 1965 and 1997 with the latter starring Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother.
The musical finally got the Broadway treatment decades later when it ran at The Broadway Theatre in 2013 with an updated book by Douglas Carter Beane. The production is set to get its UK premiere in late 2022 when it runs at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester.
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is one of the most beloved musicals written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Based on Maria Von Trapp's memoirs The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.
The musical opened at the Shubert Theatre with Mary Martin as Maria, the musical opened in London two year later at the Palace Theatre.
The 1965 film adaptation starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer is regarded as one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time.
Oscar Hammerstein II passed away nine months after the musical premiered on Broadway making The Sound of Musical the last musical written by the pair.
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