OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL EVENIN’!
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN RIDE
AGAIN AT CARNEGIE HALL

With a full cast, full dialogue, and a glorious orchestra,
this Oklahoma! concert leans into the classic’s warmth—
exclamation point included.

Ah, the classic musical Oklahoma! It begins with the offstage cowboy character named Curly singing about nature—“There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow…”—and he soon makes his entrance. On Monday, January 12 (83 years after the musical debuted), our current Curly strolled down an aisle to approach the stage in the Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall and, while there was no scenery and no projections in this concert presentation to provide a meadow with a golden haze, the performer’s golden voice singing the opening song (“Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”) of the legendary musical from Broadway’s Golden Age was more than enough to delight the audience. The responsive crowd was already immersed in the glow of the score, thanks to the overture played by The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by the best friend of vintage musicals, Rob Berman.

Company

Billed as “Oklahoma! in Concert,” this was not one of those presentations with just the songs plus some brief narration or commentary, with the singers dressed in formal garb, in stationary positions behind music stands with their eyes too rarely leaving the sheet music. No, they did all the dialogue, were in character, in costume, and in the moment. And while they carried notebooks with the scripts, many of the performers barely used them, so the sung and spoken words Oscar Hammerstein penned and the melodies composed by Richard Rodgers were quite fully embraced. There was movement throughout—and even some dancing (choreography credited to Chase Brock) in the lively second act number “The Farmer and the Cowman.”

Emmett O’Hanlon and Micaela Diamond

While there was no dancing for the famous ballet that represents the dream of Laurey, the musical’s ingenue, the music was played with panache by the 44-piece on-stage orchestra—great to hear and watch. Oddly, the credits on the playbill’s title page and the biographies that follow prominently acknowledge original choreographer Agnes de Mille, but not the original orchestrator, Robert Russell Bennett, who was Rodgers & Hammerstein’s go-to man for that job; he worked on shaping the orchestra’s sounds for eight of their nine stage shows and the revivals.

Jasmine Amy Rogers

This was pretty much a “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach, respecting the legacy, humor (gentle and broad), pep, sentiment, sweetness, and simplicity of the landmark musical. That was good news to those who were put off by the daring and grittier version in recent years helmed by Daniel Fish. The director for Carnegie Hall was Shuler Hensley, who won acclaim for his well-remembered portrayal of the gloomy, brooding antagonist Jud Fry (Curly’s creepy rival for a date with standoffish Laurey) in the Broadway revival that opened in 2002 and the London mounting.

Jonathan Christopher

The Jud du jour’s performance was less impactful or imposing. While not vulnerable to the point of being fully sympathetic, actor Jonathan Christopher’s characterization threatened the precarious balance between black comedy and comfort in the tricky scene and song wherein Curly toys with Jud about how the townsfolk would mourn and remember him if the lonely socially rejected fellow chooses to commit suicide (“Pore Jud Is Daid”). The audience, arguably, needs to really root for Curly, not think he’s truly a psychologically manipulative, macabre monster. Messing with the mind of the misfit is not admirable if the audience takes it all too seriously.

Parvesh Cheena and Ensemble

However, the dark cloud soon gave way to the light of day recalling that bright golden haze and Emmett O’Hanlon handled Curly’s confidence and courting of Laurey (Micaela Diamond) with ease and a sturdy, robust singing voice. While she may have emphasized the harder shell of Laurey’s hard-to-get attitude, their mutual romantic attraction comes through as it should in their coy duet of denial “People Will Say We’re in Love.”

Andrew Durand and Parvesh Cheena

As Ado Annie, the lusty lass unable to resist temptation (“I Cain’t Say No”), the enormously adorable and perfectly on-target Jasmine Amy Rogers easily steals the show and the hearts of the delighted audience, a feat similar to her recent triumph on Broadway as bubbly Betty Boop. The men playing playful Ado Annie’s two suitors are well suited for funny and frustrating moments interacting with her. There’s a lot of L.O.L. moments in the plot’s “will she/won’t she” waffling about her being willing to wed Will (terrific Andrew Durand, late of Dead Outlaw) or the marriage-phobic peddler (Parvesh Cheena, increasingly hilarious with each scene).

David Hyde Pierce and Ana Gasteyer

David Hyde Pierce is a welcome, popular presence as her papa and Ana Gasteyer is a suitably sturdy Aunt Eller, despite being more reliant on holding onto and looking at the script than others. Katy Geraghty was quite the hoot, making the most of a small role of a gal with a big and shrill laugh.

Micaela Diamond

Group numbers effectively employed members of the 17-member singing ensemble. There were a few clever bits that took advantage of the presence of the huge orchestra on the stage so close to the actors: addressing the musicians as if they were the townspeople, taking the baton away from conductor Berman to halt the action, and having him be one of the folks participating in the bidding for a picnic basket.

Ensemble

Addressing the musical itself directly, one might quote its title song and declare: “You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma!” It deserves its exclamation point. This captivating Carnegie Hall revisit to the musical tale of people in the territory of Oklahoma in 1906, just before it officially became America’s 46th state, left the audience in a state of joy.

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photos by Rebecca J Michelson

Oklahoma! in Concert
Carnegie Hall — Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
881 Seventh Avenue (at 57th Street)
played January 12, 2026 at 7
part of the Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250
citywide festival, which runs through July 2026
for more shows, call 212.247.7800 or visit Carnegie Hall

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