Cinnaminson High School Drama Club’s spring production of “Oklahoma!” debuted in late February and ran for two weekends. Comprised of two casts, the drama club’s rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first musical was performed six times over the weekends of February 23 and March 1. 

“Oklahoma!” is a musical about a farm girl named Laurey, who is desired by Curly, a cowboy, and Jud, the family’s farmhand; both men want to take her to the box social. In the opening cast, Laurey is played by Kim Mason (sophomore) and Timothy O’Connor (junior) is Curly. Junior Addie Evans was Laurey in the closing cast along with senior Bentley Bramhall as Curley. Sophomore Ethan Schrier played Jud in both casts.  

Laurey’s friend, Ado Annie, is a boy-crazy girl who is unsure of which man to marry: Ali Hakim or Will Parker. Ado Annie is played by Rhyan Weick (freshman) in the opening cast and by Abby Fried (sophomore) in the closing cast. Robert Jacobs (sophomore) and Warren Berenbrok (senior) share the role of Will Parker, with Jacobs performing in the opening cast and Berenbrok in the closing. Fan-favorite character Ali Hakim was brought to life through his witty lines and funny appearance. Zach Bohn (sophomore/opening) and Daniel Evans (freshman/closing) were cast in this role. 

The play is set in Oklahoma territory after the turn of the century. It opens with a scene of Aunt Eller churning butter and Curly coming up to talk to her. He wants to take Laurey to the box social that night, but he does not want Laurey to know he fancies her. Laurey is unsure of her feelings for Curly, though he wants to marry her. Yet, he is not the only one, with Jud Fry as his competition. Though Jud does not stand a chance with Laurey, he will do anything it takes to claim her as his bride. The subplot of the play involves Ado Annie, Laurey’s friend, who is unsure of her choices with men as well. She swoons over a Persian peddler, Ali Hakim, who doesn’t want to marry her. Her past love, Will Parker, comes back from Kansas City with $50, which Annie’s mother says he needs in order to obtain her hand in marriage. He is desperate for her to be his bride. Unfortunately, he spends all the money he made buying presents for Ado Annie. These scenes take place during the day, and by the time Act 1 is over, the evening’s box social is ready to begin. 

At the beginning of Act 2, Ali Hakim and Will Parker talk about Ado Annie. Ali Hakim tricks Will Parker and pays for all of the presents he bought for Ado Annie. With this, Will gains $45.50. He then gets his $50 back with one more purchase from Ali Hakim and another purchase from Jud Fry, who takes the blade disguised as “The Little Wonder” he was talking about earlier.  During the auction scene, the girls’ hampers are sold to the highest bidders. Ali Hakim pays $51 for Ado Annie’s basket, after a bidding war with Parker. Parker realizes that if Ali Hakim ends the bidding, he can keep his money and take Ado Annie’s hand in marriage. When it comes time for Laurey’s basket, all of the men bid while Jud keeps raising each of their bids. Curly leaves to retrieve his saddle so he can sell it and get more money to bid for Laurey. Jud and Curly have an aggressive showdown of bidding. After the selling his saddle was not enough, Curly sold his horse and gun, thereby getting enough money to beat Jud and win Laurey, as well as her hamper.

In the next scene, Jud can sense that Laurey is uncomfortable with him and grows angry, beginning to threaten her. She kicks him out of the territory and tells him to leave right away. She then finds Curly and they express their love for each other.  Three weeks later everyone celebrates the marriage of Laurey and Curly. Jud surprises everyone by showing up and claims he has a gift for the groom but says he needs to kiss the bride first. Curly stops him, and they begin to fight. Jud pulls out the blade that was hidden in his new purchase and threatens Curly with it. They continue to fight until Jud falls on his own blade and dies, scaring and shocking everyone. Cord, one of the sheriffs, says Curly needs to turn himself in. Everyone opposes this idea and agrees to have a court hearing on the spot since Mrs. Carnes, Ado Annie’s mom, is a judge. They rule that Curly is not guilty and continue on with their party. The play ends with the townspeople waving goodbye to Laurey and Curly, who are taking off in their surrey to go on their honeymoon. 

Overall, it was an amazing show in every aspect. Each set’s unique details helped to bring the play alive. From the golf cart replicating the “surrey with the fringe on top” to Jud’s dwelling in the barn with the uncomfortable details that reflect his character, the cast and stage crew did an excellent job making the audience feel as if they were in Oklahoma attending the auction and dance. The characters were perfectly cast in their roles, evoking both laughter and singing from the audience. The songs were very catchy, so catchy that you would feel the need to sing along – even after the play ended. The stand-out songs, in my opinion, were: “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,’” “The Surrey With The Fringe on Top,” “I Cain’t Say No!” and “Oklahoma.”