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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 |
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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.
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click ......
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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 |
| CAST : |
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| Hugh Jackman |
Curly McLain |
| Josefina Gabrielle |
Laurey Williams |
| Shuler
Hensley |
Jud
Fry |
| Maureen Lipman |
Aunt Eller |
| Jimmy Johnston |
Will Parker |
| Peter Polycarpou |
Ali Hakim |
| Vicki Simon |
Ado Annie |
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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)
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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)
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Shuler with Peter Polycarpou
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(Ali Hakim) Photo by Simon Farrell |
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 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."
LINKS :
 More than 80 screenshots from the DVD
plus official production photos in the Gallery
London stage production.
Broadway stage production.
Internet
Movie Database
PBS
Great Performances Oklahoma!
Articles :
Oklahoma!
Behind the Scenes
Judging
Jud
It's
Nunn Too Soon
Production photos by Michael Le
Poer Trench
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