Oklahoma! to begin five-show run at Rogers City Theater

Sets are up, rehearsals are finished, and the cast is primed to present the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rogers City Theater. Karl Heidemann will direct the play, which also runs Saturday, and again November 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. The final show is a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. November 14.

Based on Green Grow the Lilacs, a stage play by Lynn Riggs, Oklahoma! brought together for the first time composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II who produced the musical in 1943. The duo would go on to write nine Broadway musicals together and win 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammys, and two Emmys. The plot revolves around the question of who will take Laurey Williams to the box social–the clean-cut Curly McLain or the sinister Jud Fry.

Heather Nordenbrock portrays Laurey, Dan Gabara plays Curly, and Mike Marx is cast as Jud. Other cast members include Sally Goupell as Aunt Eller, Pennie Kelly as Ado Annie Carnes, Scott Mikkelson as Will Parker, Bob Centala as Andrew Carnes, Karl Heidemann as Ali Hakim, and Bill Halsey as Cord Elam. The cast also includes Morgan Suszek, Matt Darga, Mike Tomas, Travis Langlois, Katie Gabara, Kyla Lick, Lucy Kamyszek, Mindy Hincka, Meghan Riordan, Kathy Talaske, Alison Marx and Carol Noffze.

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mbers of the band are Ollene Nicolia on keyboards, Charlotte Heidemann on flute, Terry Habermehl on clarinet, Yvonne Brege on saxophone and Del Conley on trombone. Oklahoma! opened at the St. James Theatre on March 31, 1943 and ran for 2,212 performances. The original cast featured Joan Roberts as Laurey Williams, Alfred Drake as Curly McLain and Howard Da Silva as Jud Fry. The 1955 film version featured Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. The Rogers City Theater, owned by Heidemann, hosted Annie in May and a Rogers City Version of Grease last winter. Heidemann said tickets are still available at the box office for $8.

Crew members include lighting technician Bryan Mills, light operators Danielle Carter and Anna Kamyszek, and costume coordinator Valerie Schalk. The local production is made possible by a grant from the Huron Shores Humanities Council.