Bard SummerScape’s Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! Opens at the Young Vic in London to Rave Reviews
Patrick Vaill ’07 as Jud Fry in the Bard Fisher Center’s 2015 SummerScape production of Oklahoma!. Photo by Cory Weaver
Theater critic for WhatsOnStage Sarah Crompton calls the UK premiere of the Bard SummerScape production of Oklahoma! “a masterpiece” and “absolutely revelatory.” Directed by Daniel Fish, the Tony Award–winning revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! originated at Bard 15 years ago. Crompton writes: “It’s been in Fish’s mind, being honed and refined, ever since he first mounted a student production at Bard College in New York state in 2007. It reached Broadway in 2018, and now – finally – arrives in London with two original cast members and Arthur Darvill and Anoushka Lucas leading the British contingent as Curly and Laurey, the young wannabe lovers whose romance is at the centre of the tale.”
Original cast member Patrick Vaill ’07 reprises his role as Jud Fry in the UK premiere. “Crucially, Jud Fry, usually a sinister, threatening figure is played by Patrick Vaill (who has been with the show since its student days) as a muddled misfit, sincere in his longing for a better life, desperate to be a part of things. The sadness and pain that floods his face at his perpetual rejection and the intensity of his feelings for Laurey make him a nearly tragic figure," she writes.
The London production of Oklahoma!, codirected by Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, runs through June 25 at the Young Vic.
Post Date: 05-10-2022
Original cast member Patrick Vaill ’07 reprises his role as Jud Fry in the UK premiere. “Crucially, Jud Fry, usually a sinister, threatening figure is played by Patrick Vaill (who has been with the show since its student days) as a muddled misfit, sincere in his longing for a better life, desperate to be a part of things. The sadness and pain that floods his face at his perpetual rejection and the intensity of his feelings for Laurey make him a nearly tragic figure," she writes.
The London production of Oklahoma!, codirected by Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, runs through June 25 at the Young Vic.
Post Date: 05-10-2022