Hugh Jackman, Josefina Gabrielle, Shuler Hensley

When Mary Rodgers, daughter of the composer Richard Rodgers, was reported as saying she never wanted to see another Oklahoma!, it was her way of paying the highest tribute to Trevor Nunn's prod...( read more  read more... )uction at the Royal National Theatre which was subsequently taken into the studio and filmed. The camera follows the playgoers into the auditorium of the Olivier where in their company we watch the show and applaud the numbers as the real thing. Nunn treats Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaboration with the utmost seriousness, restoring the full text so that it comes across as a drama indebted to Eugene O'Neill. Although Oklahoma! unfolds at a leisurely pace, it is extraordinary how one is drawn into the drama under Nunn's direction.

There's seldom a wish for true locations as the pace picks up and we move into the claustrophobic company of Judd Fry in his riveting encounter with the cowboy Curly. The close-up camera work affords an experience the theatre can't bring and also pays handsome dividends in appreciating Susan Stroman's intricate and lively choreography. Her dancers are a fine team, notably Jimmy Johnston who is outstanding as Will Parker leading the Kansas City ensemble. Hugh Jackman (X-Men) as Curly matches him in vocal prowess and looks, and Shuler Hensley sings the tricky role of Judd Fry very well. It's harder to place Peter Polycarpou's Pedlar, a considerably larger role than in the film version, whose accent strays from London's East End to the plains of Europe. Maureen Lipman, rightly deemed the lynchpin of the musical by Nunn, is a joy to watch as Aunt Eller. Laurey (Josefina Gabrielle) and Ado Annie (Vicki Simon) are good but not special. Aside from an abrupt start to Act Two and the occasional voice off microphone, the production sounds good with a larger orchestra present than in the theatre. An Oklahoma! on an epic scale. --Adrian Edwards

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80% liked it

7,145 ratings

Unrated, 180 min.

Directed by: Trevor Nunn

Release Date: January 1, 1999

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DVD Release Date: November 18, 2003

Stats: 351 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (351)


  • November 19, 2006
    Theeeeeeere's a bright golden haze on the meadowwww. Theeeere's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The corns is as high as an elephant's eeeeeeeeye, aaaaaand it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the skYYYyyyyYyy!
  • July 31, 2007
    Hugh is just FABULOUS in this!!
  • July 27, 2009
    i love oklahoma im young but still i love a good old classic and i have seen a few diffrent oklahoma films and hugh jackman is the man you go boy
  • July 23, 2009
    hugh jackman did a great job
  • July 12, 2009
    This is Hugh Jackman's broadway musical..Really good for a musical..:)
  • February 15, 2009
    A very good stage adaptation which I saw before Hugh Jackman became famous- it's weird now though to think he's a great singer
  • December 21, 2008
    As far as musicals go, the story is pretty ridiculous and the songs not very original. This filmed version of the London west end play lacks visual depth and exciting cinematography, but the dance numbers work and Hugh Jackman is fantastic as the lead. I wish he'd sing and dance ...( read more)more in his movies.
  • December 14, 2008
    i was surprised that even though i like hugh jackman that i liked this. he's an amazing singer!

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