PRESS RELEASE: PLAYHOUSE STAGE COMPANY OPENS RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S OKLAHOMA! AT PARK PLAYHOUSE

PLAYHOUSE STAGE COMPANY OPENS RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S OKLAHOMA! AT PARK PLAYHOUSE

photo by Shawn Morgan

 Fast-paced, fresh take on Broadway’s original classic plays in Albany’s Washington Park throughout July, with encore weekend at Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park.

Albany, N.Y. – Playhouse Stage Company continues its 37^th Season this summer, as they officially open a new production of the Broadway classic Oklahoma! at their venerable outdoor venue at Park Playhouse in Albany’s Washington Park tonight. The production will play at the Playhouse from July 1-26, with performances Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30pm (no performance will be held tomorrow on Independence Day). The production will then play a four-performance encore weekend at GPAC in Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park from Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, August 2.  As ever, in accordance with the company’s mission, amphitheater seating at both venues will be offered for free, breaking down barriers to access to the performing arts in the Capital Region community. Premium reserved tickets for performances at Albany’s Park Playhouse are now on sale. 

“It is a thrill to bring a new production of Oklahoma! to audiences at Park Playhouse for the first time in a generation,” said Playhouse Stage Company Producing Artistic Director, Owen Smith. “It’s the definition of a timeless Broadway classic. Oklahoma! was one of the first musicals to be staged by the Park Playhouse precursor, “Live at the Lakehouse,” in Washington Park in 1987, and was later presented by the Playhouse itself in 2001.  We are really excited about this new Playhouse Stage Company production that is both faithful to the original text, while still being fast-paced and fresh in its approach,” Smith continued.

With music by Richard Rodgers, and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Oklahoma! originally opened on Broadway in 1943, and is widely considered to be the first, true piece of American musical theatre, integrating original, story-driven songs, book scenes, and dance into a cohesive whole. The duo would go on to pen seven additional full-length musicals, including another Pulitzer Prize winner in South Pacific, and their final collaboration, The Sound of Music. The show is set in the Oklahoma Territory as it advanced toward statehood, and, like much of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s cannon, it features the comical and romantic affairs of two different love triangles.

The Park Playhouse production is directed by Playhouse Stage Co. Managing Director Chuck Kraus, who previously directed productions of Spring Awakening, Heathers, Always… Patsy Cline, The Secret Garden, and others for the company. Long-time PSC Music Director Brian Axford has written all-new, bluegrass-inspired orchestrations for the production. Former Playhouse Stage Academy student and recent NYU grad Alexis Papaleo, a stand-out dancer in PSC productions for nearly a decade, choreographed the production.

The cast features another pair of Playhouse Stage Academy alums in principal roles, with JJ Razzano playing the cocky but charming cowboy Curly, and Emma Cornish as the “girl who cain’t say no,” Ado Annie. Razzano has been acclaimed for his acrobatic performances for the Playhouse in Newsies, Head Over Heels, and more, while Cornish won strong reviews as Betty Jean in last summer’s Marvelous Wonderettes. They are joined in the eighteen-member cast by a number of well-known local performers, including David Baecker as Andrew Carnes, Lancelot Douglas as the outcast Jud Fry, Ellen Cribbs as Aunt Eller, Josh Hoyt as Will Parker, and Hayden Chenette as the peddler Ali Hakim. Making her Playhouse Stage debut in the lead role of Laurey Williams is another recent graduate of the NYU Tisch School of Theatre, Callista Case.  The cast is supported by an eight-piece band of Albany Musicians Association players in the Lakehouse bandshell, under the direction of Brian Axford.

The production features scenery by Benny Pitt, with a stunning, hand-painted vista of the open country sky, melded with rough cut wood to create a simple, flexible playing space. Lighting is by David Heguy, with authentic period costumes by Playhouse Stage Academy alum Grace Fitzgerald.  Notable for this year, Oklahoma! marks the first time in fifteen years that the Park Playhouse production is presented in association with The City of Albany, with direct funding to the Playhouse to support free admission. Smith noted, “We are more grateful than we can possibly express to Mayor Kathy Sheehan and her team for re-establishing City funding for this summer theatre tradition in our Capital City.”

Reserved seats for Oklahoma! are on sale online at www.playhousestage.org, by phone at (518) 434-0776, an in person at the Box Office in Washington Park starting ninety minutes prior to each performance. Table seats at the front of the house are $40.00 per ticket, with standard center and side section tickets available for $35.00 and $30.00 respectively. Lawn seating is free and first-come, first-served. Patrons can begin placing blankets and chairs to claim their space in the amphitheater starting at noon on each performance day. The 37^th Playhouse Stage Company season continues throughout July and August with Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the historic Cohoes Music Hall. More information about Playhouse Stage Company and its productions can be found online at www.playhousestage.org.