Opening Night of OKLAHOMA! at The Ahmanson

I wanted to like this new Rogers & Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA! now at the Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown LA at the Music Center, yet when Laurey says that Jud gives her the shivers when he looks at her, I got the shivers too.

Especially when I sat in my seat and looked at the stage by set designer Laura Jellinke and noticed both the side walls were lined with guns. I read in the program that there are 114 visible guns. Why that number when there are only 12 cast members?

A disclaimer states that 'The revival of Oklahoma! is the first gun-neutral production on Broadway in 2019. For every visible fun onstage, the production team donates a minimum of $100 ro 501 (c) organizations dedicated to either reducing the number of illegal weapons or investing in youth programs servicing high gun violence areas.' That is noble, but when the guns fired, they were jarringly loud and I shivered hearing the sound.

Director Daniel Fish creates a radically different story about a farm girl courted by two rival suitors eager to take her to the community dance. Fish doesn't change the original text, instead he casts a refreshingly interesting cast of actors from different races, backgrounds, sexualities, gender identities and religions.

The audience roared in applause as Ado Annie (Sis) sang "I Can't Say No", however this transgender actress, activist and Sister to the people, has such a low voice that at times I couldn't hear the words she was singing. She is funny and does provide comic relief in snaring Ali Hakim (played brilliantly by Benj Mirman) into marriage, while Will Parker (Hennessy Winkler) is also seeking her attention. Sis has a stage presence that commands the audiences attention.

Costumes by Terese Wadden are more modern with off-the-shoulder shirts, trucker hats, cut denim skirts with loose strings, and bright prairie dresses. Laurey (Sasha Hutchings Broadway Oklahoma! and Hamilton) in Act One is in jeans with a big silver buckle and a western shirt, instead of the 1940s Laurey wearing more frilly feminine attire.

I did find the lighting designer Scott Sielinski very creative during the "Pore Jud Is Daid" number. He cut all lights, so the entire theatre is pitch dark, and has both Jud (Christopher Bannow) and Curly (Sean Grandillo) sit on stools facing each other. Reciting how Jud would be more respected and admired if he died, a live camera operator with night vision captures Jud's face in larger-than-life close ups. This image is projected on the back wall of the theatre for the audience to see Jud's eyes well up with tears.

During most of the show, Sielinski dims the lights in the house for the audience to feel a shared experience with the actors onstage. He tries to achieve a sense of togetherness.

What the creative team strives to attain is to appeal to every audience member, however I noticed many older generation theater attendees talk about leaving and left during intermission, causing more empty seats in the theatre during Act Two. They missed choreographer John Higgenbotham's version of the "dream ballet" reflecting Laurey's struggle with her feelings about these two men, Curly and Jud. A barefoot dancer wearing a sequined DREAM BABY DREAM t-shirt, offers an homage to the original choreographer, the great Agnes De Mille.

Tickets for “OKLAHOMA!” are currently on sale and start at $35. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 972-4400 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012. Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.