Oklahoma!

Last year I went to the dress rehearsal of the Lewes Operatics Society’s performance of ‘HMS Pinafore’, and to my surprise, after initial misgivings, I thoroughly enjoyed it. That was a Gilbert and Sullivan number. This time up, the group are doing a Rogers and Hammerstein musical - ‘Oklahoma!’, and the American pair are known for being more ‘accessible’ (i.e. 'populist’). So I wondered, as I found my seat in the Town Hall just as the orchestra were starting the overture: am I an amateur operatics fan? Or was my enjoyment a one-off?

The trajectory of my involvement with the evening was exactly the same as before. I moved out of the ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ stage, into the, ‘isn’t it fun watching my neighbour dancing about in costume?’ stage, to the ‘did I really just laugh out loud?’ stage, to the ‘can’t resist clapping along with the chorus for the final song’ stage. And at the end, though the plot was thin (boy and girl overcome various hurdles to find true love) and, how shall I put it… some performers were better than others at singing and dancing; I realised that I was actually happier than when I went in. Oh what a wonderful evening? Well yes, I guess so. The enthusiasm and energy everyone has obviously put into the show is infectious. And there are some seriously talented people involved. Still can’t get a couple of those damn songs out of my head, though. AL