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	1999, Oklahoma Screen Productions Limited Directed by Trevor Nunn Produced by Chris Hunt, Andy Picheta and Richard Price Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II  Production and Costume Design by Anthony Ward Lighting by David Hersey Choreography by Susan Stroman
Released by Universal Pictures Video. Available in PAL/VHS and DVD, Regions 1 and 2. See Media page   NB : This is a film of the London production of Oklahoma! There is no official video of the Broadway production.	click ......
	Director Trevor Nunn, in a re-imagined production for London's Royal National Theatre that opened in 1998, explores all of the complications that bring the story of these farmers and cattlemen to life....with dramatic choreography by Susan Stroman, including a stunning Dream Ballet that turns frighteningly nightmarish...... Nunn has teamed with producer Chris Hunt to re-imagine the way TV audiences will see the action. Filmed at Shepperton Studios before the production transferred to London's West End, the camera cuts in close, catching expressions that might be missed from the balcony, pulls out for unexpected angle shots to capture production numbers and then comes up behind performers to give their view of the audience. The choices are smart and bring us up-close and personal to the action, especially in the ``Poor Jud Is Daid'' number set in his creepy smokehouse. Terry Byrne, Boston Herald.com

REVIEWS :  Another straight-to-video adaptation of a recent stage musical success with Trevor Nunn re-directing his acclaimed National Theatre Company. This revival of the classic American musical won accolades for its renewal of many serious themes often overshadowed by the comedy or romance, a process repeated for this video adaptation. The cast are uniformly excellent, creating a real sense of a community on the verge of a new frontier in American history. Featuring rising star Hugh Jackman as Curly, and veteran star Maureen Lipman as the feisty Aunt Eller. The real discovery, however, is Shuler Hensley as Jud Fry. His performance is both dangerous and pathetic, symbolic of the danger and darkness that Nunn has successfully prised from beneath the musicals seemingly pristine surface. (MovieMail)

Shuler Hensley's pathetic misfit of a Jud Fry remains a memorable creation. (Broadway.com)

Shuler Hensley, too, is marvellous as Jud. He won an Olivier Award for his performance in London, but is even less well known than Hugh Jackman was! Shuler is one of those incredibly talented Americans who couldn't get work in America, so he found employment in Germany in American musicals. He married an English girl and came to a chorus audition in London. He was a big guy who could dance a bit, who might have been one of the farmhands. After a little work together, it was clear he was Jud. Look no further. He's dynamite. (Michael Coveney/Trevor Nunn, PBS Great Performances Online) 

What fans think at Internet Movie Database !

Shuler Hensley is wonderful as Jud Fry    I just love what Shuler Hensley does with Jud    Not to be outdone, Hensley's Jud (a creation which quite justly earned him a Tony Award) starts out as a somewhat sad and pitiful creature, but gradually reveals the explosive rage buried inside him    Like Laurey, the portrayal of Jud has been rethought. He is still brutal, but you feel the wretchedness, the yearning for acceptance, behind the brutality. Shuler Hensley realizes this brilliantly    Jud was great. That voice - oh my gosh! Such a rich voice, it's like "Lonely Room" was written for him    Shuler Hensley brought to the character of Jud Fry a deeper insight into his dark and menacing nature    Jud Fry was amazing    I thought Shuler Hensley was the best thing about the entire show! He took someone who I thought I would never feel sorry for and did just that    Hensley brings a great deal more depth to the Jud character than I've ever seen before. He's still a villain, but his motives are made more clear in this version, and Hensley is a powerful presence    For once the sinister Jud Fry becomes an understandable villain in the fine work by Shuler Hensley    Jud (Shuler Hensley) I thought was excellent, he stole the show whenever he appeared    Shuler Hensley (who was exceptional in Les Misérables when I saw him) gives a mesmerizing performance    Shuler Hensley was absolutely brilliant as Jud

  From an article about the PBS Great Performances telecast by John Crook for Zap2It, 16 November 2003:

That credibility also carried over into the realistic fight scenes between Jackman and co-star Shuler Hensley, an American actor who earned ecstatic notices with his dangerous yet surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of Jud Fry, Curly's rival for Laurey.

"I was in heaven, with those two big, strapping men who really knew how to move," laughs Susan Stroman, whose lusty, fight-based choreography is another highlight of the piece.

"Hugh and Shuler got to be good friends during rehearsals, so there was a level of trust that allowed them to really throw themselves into that last fight scene, which really looks dangerous," Chapin adds.

What left audiences gasping was just another source of fun for Jackman and Hensley, however.

"I know, it might be hard to believe, but Shuler Hensley is one of the funniest men I have ever met," Jackman says. "The fight scene rehearsals were like the WWF, and I enjoyed that more than any other serious theatre enterprise that I have been a part of."

PBS Great Performances Oklahoma! "Also featured are original cast members Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller and 2002 Best Supporting Actor Tony winner Shuler Hensley as the menacing yet hauntingly sympathetic Jud Fry."
London stage production.
Broadway stage production.

Photos :

More than 80 screenshots from the DVD plus official production photos in the Gallery
All production photos on this page by Michael Le Poer Trench

Articles :
Oklahoma! Behind the Scenes
Judging Jud
It's Nunn Too Soon

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