The Olivier Award-winning 1998 production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, starring then-newcomer Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman) as Curly, will screen in over 300 cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland from 16 July to 19 August. Tickets for the cinematic experience are available at www.oklahomaincinemas.com.
The cinema screenings are presented by Trafalgar Releasing, in partnership with Concord Originals and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the groundbreaking 1943 Broadway premiere. This 25-year-old production of Oklahoma! features some of the most delightfully hummable songs by the legendary team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist/lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, including “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “People Will Say We’re in Love” and the joyous title tune, “Oklahoma.”
Directed by theatre legend and three-time Tony Award winner Trevor Nunn (CATS, Les Misérables) with new choreography by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, Crazy for You), the film also stars Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller, Josefina Gabrielle as Laurie, Tony and Olivier Award winner Shuler Hensley as Jud Fry, Vicki Simon as Ado Annie, Jimmy Johnston as Will Parker and Peter Polycarpou as Ali Hakim. The stage production transferred to London’s West End in 1999 and won four Olivier Awards, including Outstanding Musical Production.
The creative team includes set and costume designer Anthony Ward, lighting designer David Hersey, music director John Owen Edwards and orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, with additional orchestrations by William David Brohn and new dance music arranged by David Krane. The film was produced by Richard Price and Chris Hunt and directed by Trevor Nunn and Chris Hunt. Director of photography was Paul Wheeler and editing was by Keith Palmer.