Sequim High School’s operetta returns for another run during the Irrigation Festival, and students are bringing back the classic “Oklahoma!”
Last staged locally in 2000, students have found it to be timeless and funny with infectious songs.
“It’s a classic story,” said Emma Gilliam, a junior portraying Ado Annie in the show.
“We were thinking as an Operetta club, we’ve done contemporary shows for the past couple of years, and we decided that this was probably a good time to do a golden age show.”
Shows are set for 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 2-3, Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4 and 11. Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for students at the door or in advance at sequimschools.org.
Aason Judd, an SHS senior who plays Gilliam’s match Will Parker, said when students placed promotional posters around the area, community members shared their excitement.
“One person I was talking to said that they took their kids to it (in 2000) and just by watching one show, they had every single song memorized and they were singing all the songs,” he said.
That’s not too far off for the actors either.
Gilliam said she’s had the song “’All Er Nuthin’’ on loop in my head for the past two weeks.”
Judd heard the song in the fall and it, along with two other songs from the show, became his most played songs for 2024 from just September to December. That was months even before auditions.
“I was like, ‘I need to play Will,’ so I just studied it, and I did research,” he said.
‘Oklahoma!’ explained
As told by students, “Oklahoma!” centers on the love story of Curly, played by sophomore Boden Cowgill, and Laurey, played by senior Jovi Weller.
“It’s basically a love story about two people who love each other but don’t want to admit it,” Gilliam said.
“They’re just too proud to admit the fact that they love each other. We say that if it weren’t for their pride, there wouldn’t be a show.”
Director Anna Pederson told students that it’s a snapshot of Curley and Laurey’s love story and the people in their lives in the Oklahoma territory before it joins the union, Gilliam said.
Laurey has another suitor, Jud Fry, played by Colin McKenzie, and her Aunt Eller is played by Sophia Treece.
“She’s an incredible actress,” Gilliam said of Treece.
“Oklahoma!” was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) and considered to be the first modern musical, according to the show’s music director Mark Lorentzen.
“A lot of the music is classical in nature and iconic, and it sets the standard for shows today,” he said.
“We’re teaching the history of musical theater doing this.”
Actors agree it’s some of the most beautiful and funny music they’ve ever heard.
“I’m so excited for audiences to be able to experience it,” Gilliam said.
“We have some incredibly talented singers in this cast. Boden’s voice (Curly) sounds like an angel.”
“Oklahoma!” also features 14 local ballet dancers portraying the “Dream Ballet” sequence at the end of Act I where Laurey is conflicted about choosing between Curly and Jud.
Pederson said the dancers are a separate cast made up of dancers from The Dance Center by Erica Edwards in Sequim and the Port Angeles City Ballet Company from Port Angeles.
The sequence is staged by Kate Robbins.
Pederson and Eden Batson also choreograph dance sequences for the rest of the cast with Gilliam saying it’s the most dancing she’s done in a show and it’s a lot of fun. And even though the story is set more than 100 years ago, actors find its themes remain universally appealing.
“Falling in love is always relatable,” Weller said.
“It’s a lot funnier than you would expect from a show this old,” Gilliam said.
“There’s a lot of universal messages that still can resonate with audiences even almost 80 years (after its debut).”
“Oklahoma!” features 19 cast members, 14 dancers, eight crew members and numerous adults helping with the production. For tickets to the show, visit sequimschools.org.
“Oklahoma!” Sequim High School’s Operetta
Sequim High School Auditorium, 533 N. Sequim Ave.
Showtimes:
• 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 2-3, Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10;
• 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, 11
Tickets: $17 adults, $12 students at the door or sequimschools.org
The operetta is a partnership production between SHS Operetta Club and Ghostlight Productions.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Emma Gilliam and Aason Judd, portraying Ado Annie Carnes and Will Parker, swoon for each other during a scene in “Oklahoma!” The show runs two weeks at Sequim High School.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim High School actresses practice the song “Many a New Day” in the upcoming operetta “Oklahoma!”
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Actors from left, Charlie Medlong, Hayden Rayburn, Colin McKenzie, Reid Randall and Boden Cowgill rehearse a scene from “Oklahoma!” Where Randall’s peddler character Ali Hakim arrives.
