Tony honoree for Excellence in Theatre, Gemze de Lappe – who re-created Agnes de Mille's original choreography for the 1979 Broadway revival and recent St. Louis Muny production of Oklahoma! – will repeat those duties for the Theater of the Stars production that runs June 24-29.
Norb Joerder directs the romantic frontier-set musical that features Jennifer Evans (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) as Laurey, Nicholas Rodriguez (Tarzan) as Curly, Ruth Williamson (La Cage aux Folles) as Aunt Eller, Betsy Dilellio (Light in the Piazza) as Ado Annie, Ben Crawford (Les Miserables) as Jud and Dream Jud, Dana Carter as Dream Laurey, Phillip Skaggs as Dream Curly, Glenn Rainey (Beauty and the Beast) as Andrew Carnes and Christopher Vettel (Sunset Boulevard) as Cord Elam.
The roles of Will Parker and Ali Hakim remain to be cast.
Completing the ensemble are Ryan Appleby, Chris Bouchard, Shelby Braxton-Brooks, Ellen Condon, Beth Crandall, Sandy Delonga, Adam Ray Dyer, Sara Edwards, Jenny Florkowski, Rashaan James II, Amanda Johnson, Matthew J. Kilgore, Jessica Lavin, Jeremy Leiner, Jason Ostrowski, Ryan Overberg, Shaun Parry, Amanda Paulson, Alexandra Sawyier, Chris Saunders, Jay Scovill, Deborah Stein, Becca Tobin, Rebecca Weiner and Elena Zahlmann.
The Oklahoma! creative team includes Michael Schweikardt (set design), Kirk Bookman (lighting design), Peter Fitzgerald and Erich Bechtel (sound design), Jeffrey Meek (costume design), Robert Strickland (musical director and conductor) and Bill Newberry (children's musical director). Oklahoma!, the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, was originally titled Away We Go. During out-of-town tryouts, the addition of the title "Oklahoma!" proved so rousing, it became the title of the musical as well.
In 1944 the Pulitzer Prize committee honored Rodgers and Hammerstein with a Special Award (Letters) for Oklahoma!, though this was technically not the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. They would have to wait a few years for that — for South Pacific.
The Theater of the Stars production of Oklahoma! will play Atlanta's Fox Theatre, located at 660 Peachtree Street. Tickets are available by calling (404) 817-8700 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com
For more information visit www.theaterofthestars.com.
