Oklahoma

Music Circus, with its New York connections, gets the lion’s share of attention, but several smaller theater companies that draw on local talent also mount classic musicals during summer months.Runaway Stage’s current production of Oklahoma is one such, and it’s heads-up community theater on a large and rather ambitious scale. The show features an enormous cast—more than 30 names in the program—and several dance numbers that get darned near everyone hoofing it on the relatively compact stage of the 24th Street Theatre. Lots of costumes, including enough cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots to open a little Western wear boutique.

One also sees certain names repeating in different capacities—Dave Hushbeck is credited with sound and set design, and also plays guitar and banjo in the pit orchestra; there are also two actors with the last name Tvrdik, two more with the last name Null, two musicians with the last name Salamon, etc. And the cast greets you out in the lobby after the show.

Several of the leads are students or recent graduates from the drama departments of UC Davis or CSUS, including Marina Campana (Laurey) and Jordan Fann (Will Parker), both of whom are good. Timm Danska acts well as Curly, but his singing tends to pale a little when he’s matched in a duet with Campana’s more powerful voice.

There are also some seasoned community theater veterans—most notably Jamie Tvrdik, who turns in a really outstanding performance as the hired hand Jud, conveying the character’s longstanding frustration, along with Jud’s self-destructive streak. Elizabeth Henderson is also strong as Aunt Eller.

Director and choreographer Pamela Lourentzos keeps the action going, even though it’s a long show at about three hours. There’s always something to watch—onstage and in the aisles—and while some scenes sustain a bit more visual zip than others, it’s not a serious fault.

Musical/vocal director Ray Fisher gets by and large good work out of his instrumentalists and singers, and it goes without saying that the score contains some of the best numbers you could ask for in a show. There were a few minor glitches with the microphones that the actors wore during the performance I saw, but that happens at Music Circus, too.