It's a little saddening that I wasn't even into musical theatre until I signed up to be in pit orchestra for Beauty and the Beast last year. It was a lot of fun getting to be a part of a production and also really challenging when it came to learning the seemingly endless music in a short amount of time. What I gained from it was the appreciation for musical theatre and the magical power to learn to play really tough music in a week.
This year, my school did Oklahoma! and I was so psyched from the beginning of the school year to be a part of the pit orchestra again, but because of grades slipping here and there from last year, I wasn't allowed. I was allowed to see the show, though, so I went on the second night.
"Oh What a Beautiful Morning"
Ado Annie and Ali Hakeem
"Pore Jud is Daid"
From the opening scene to the end of the first act, I was in tears already. I think it's absolutely to cry tears of joy when something is really touching, but I was constantly in tears and sniffling. A little uncalled for, and to those of you who know Oklahoma, I should have been saving the tears for the second act, right? Well, you can't hold in good feelings for something, especially if it's well deserved! Not only was the acting and singing superb, (reviews here), but the tech crew did a wonderful job, too. Transitions and layout was so simplistic yet effective. I had heard about the projector idea a little bit before, but I had no idea how the crew would set it up, so when I sat down to the opening scene I was really impressed.
One thing that was unanimously agreed on was how well our school handled the dream sequence ballet. In the 1998 show with Hugh Jackman, Laurey really had to be the one to dance in her dream, and the actress who played Laurey in our production is not much of a dancer. Now I see that the cast is lucky to have a Laurey double to do the dancing for her, with an added effect of making it apparent to the audience that the dance is a mere dream of Laurey's when they see two Laureys on stage. (Pictures below.)
Curtains fall when Laurey wakes up and intermission begins and I run through the "Cast and Crew Only" door to give all my friends warm hugs! It was a lovely first act and I was waiting for more. I really didn't know what to expect other than the musical numbers, so Jud's death came as a surprise, y'know, along with the marriage proposal and the Oklahoma hello kisses (PICTURES BELOW).
I definitely felt something genuine in the second act, not that the previous wasn't either, because both were, absolutely, but I felt something stronger in the second act. Perhaps it was the drama, perhaps it's just the fact that it was the closure act. I really have no idea; I'm not one who studies musical theatre, though after this performance I may decide to in the near future! And did I say that I was in tears throughout the first act? In the second act "I was in tears" is an understatement. My sister who was sitting next to me was really embarrassed to be, I could tell. So that's that. I've got loads of photos below! Click to enlarge :]
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