REVIEW
SODS present
Oklahoma!
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
1st-4th October 2025
SODS present
Oklahoma!
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
1st-4th October 2025
There’s pretty much one word to sum up Southend Operatic’s latest production of Oklahoma! - and that’s EPIC!
Like a lot of musicals from the era that Oklahoma! comes from this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, despite all its fancy costumes and breezy tunes, has an underlying dark theme running below the fancy farmyard antics that go on in this tale. It’s all actually a little frustrating - in these modern times anyway - that farm girl, Laurey, doesn’t just admit straight up that she has feelings for cowboy, Curly; but turns him down to go to the Box Social as she thinks he’s a bit of a show off with his talk of a Surrey with a Fringe on Top, and allows the loner, slightly creepy farmhand, Jud, to take her instead. A whole ton of problems would never have arisen if the pair had just not been so stubborn but then, of course, there wouldn’t be a show. And, of course, many a great story has been told through characters' misunderstandings of each other (thank you Mr Shakespeare) and so the drama ensues.
So, while Laurey and Curly are making their minds up about each other, in a lovely little sub plot we have Ado Annie, who can’t keep her hands off the boys and who has designs for travelling Persian peddler, Ali Hakim, who is only really after one thing and definitely doesn’t want to marry Annie. And then there's cowboy, Will Parker, who has managed to raise $50 to give to Annie’s father, in order for him to agree to Annie marrying him, except he’s spent it all on presents for Annie instead.
There are some wonderful performances in this SODS’ production and from the get go we have a lovely portrayal of Aunt Eller from Ashleigh-Marie Stone, full of heart and compassion, also sporting a great sense of humour and proving that she can hold herself up pretty well against the men of the community.
SODS’ newcomer, Matt Bacon, takes on the role of Curly McClain with a great amount of assurance and delivers a lovely vocal performance throughout. Likewise, Eleasha Hammond who plays love interest, Laurey Williams, immediately displays beautiful vocals from the moment she steps on to the Palace Theatre stage It’s a strong introduction to the production and the singing from the leads as well as the ensemble is bold and confident from beginning to end. This is the Southend Operatic of old shining through with some truly beautiful operatic performances.
Eleasha Hammond is also the choreographer of the show and her and the cast have excelled here with some really impressive dance numbers. The energy of the cast is constantly high and this is maintained throughout the show giving audiences some great visuals. The costumes all look fabulous thanks to Wardrobe mistresses, Tammy Brown and Tammy Pitts - and there’s A LOT of them.
Katie Flaherty looks like she’s in her element playing the man mad, Ado Annie, and attacks the role with zeal, although I couldn’t help thinking that her costume was a little more ‘Shirley Temple with a cleavage’ than something a good time gal would wear. Despite this, Katie really puts in a great performance here and really ekes out every comedic moment in this fun part. It’s also great to see Les Cannon, playing Annie’s father, back on stage after some time.
Ali Akim, the Persian peddler, is played by Jonny Buxton also displaying some confident comedic tones in this performance working nicely alongside Katie’s Ado Annie.
The show takes a bleak turn when Curly decides to confront Jud at the smokehouse where he lives with pictures of naked women on the walls, and basically hints at him hanging himself and suggesting that if he did, then he’d know how popular he was by how many people would come to his funeral - which obviously he wouldn’t, because he’d be dead. Anyhoo…. As you can imagine this doesn’t really go down well and Jud is just even more angry at how everyone treats him.
Josh Handley as Jud is exceptionally mesmerising as he is unnervingly terrifying and has created a character here that although disconcerting, also displays vulnerability and anguish. I feel as though director, Simon Lambert, wants the audience to be drawn into this character more than you would normally and has almost given the character more impetus than the leads. The ‘Dream Scene’ where Laurey dreams of what may happen in the future, certainly leaves you feeling that this version of Oklahoma! has taken the audience into rather a dark place and it’s almost a relief when the curtain comes down for the interval. Also, not escaping the fact that Act 1 is a full One Hour and 45 minutes and that’s a lot of numb bums in the auditorium needing an interval wiggle.
Act 2 is just One Hour long and the tension created by Jud is very much underlying, although there’s a bit of friendly(ish) cowboy/farmer banter in The Farmer and The Cowman number and a reprise of Curly and Laurey’s People Will Say We’re in Love duet and a rousing chorus of Oklahoma! Sung by the Company leaving everyone in good spirits - kind of - again Jud seems to get the last word at the end.
Overall, Oklahoma! has given stalwart SODS fans the old fashioned, traditional show that they’ve been yearning for and the cast and crew have delivered in abundance. It has been well directed and choreographed and every member of the ensemble have given it their all. As a side note, I’m not entirely sure why there needed to be children in the show as they seemed to be just padding out the numbers, which are pretty high anyway. That said, each and every one of the children on stage on opening night performed professionally and with gusto. I also liked the touch of having the violinist playing on stage at the top of Act 2 for the Box Social.
Huge kudos must go to MD and Conductor, James Green, who has clearly put in an (I’ll use that word again) EPIC amount of time and effort to help produce such amazing vocals from this cast; there are some outstanding singers in this cast providing the most gorgeous harmonies. Songs such as Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, The Surrey With the Fringe on Top, I Cain’t Say No, and of course the title song, Oklahoma! are the ones that audiences want to hear and you won’t be disappointed. The orchestra sounded fabulous - those strings - perfect.
SODS’ production of Oklahoma! is epically long, and I don’t think it would have done any harm to cut down some of the dance numbers perhaps. That said, try not to let that put you off - it’s a show that is hugely watchable and a definite delight for the eyes and ears. This production has certainly put the ‘operatic’ and ‘dramatic’ back into the Society.
Review: Kim Tobin
Like a lot of musicals from the era that Oklahoma! comes from this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, despite all its fancy costumes and breezy tunes, has an underlying dark theme running below the fancy farmyard antics that go on in this tale. It’s all actually a little frustrating - in these modern times anyway - that farm girl, Laurey, doesn’t just admit straight up that she has feelings for cowboy, Curly; but turns him down to go to the Box Social as she thinks he’s a bit of a show off with his talk of a Surrey with a Fringe on Top, and allows the loner, slightly creepy farmhand, Jud, to take her instead. A whole ton of problems would never have arisen if the pair had just not been so stubborn but then, of course, there wouldn’t be a show. And, of course, many a great story has been told through characters' misunderstandings of each other (thank you Mr Shakespeare) and so the drama ensues.
So, while Laurey and Curly are making their minds up about each other, in a lovely little sub plot we have Ado Annie, who can’t keep her hands off the boys and who has designs for travelling Persian peddler, Ali Hakim, who is only really after one thing and definitely doesn’t want to marry Annie. And then there's cowboy, Will Parker, who has managed to raise $50 to give to Annie’s father, in order for him to agree to Annie marrying him, except he’s spent it all on presents for Annie instead.
There are some wonderful performances in this SODS’ production and from the get go we have a lovely portrayal of Aunt Eller from Ashleigh-Marie Stone, full of heart and compassion, also sporting a great sense of humour and proving that she can hold herself up pretty well against the men of the community.
SODS’ newcomer, Matt Bacon, takes on the role of Curly McClain with a great amount of assurance and delivers a lovely vocal performance throughout. Likewise, Eleasha Hammond who plays love interest, Laurey Williams, immediately displays beautiful vocals from the moment she steps on to the Palace Theatre stage It’s a strong introduction to the production and the singing from the leads as well as the ensemble is bold and confident from beginning to end. This is the Southend Operatic of old shining through with some truly beautiful operatic performances.
Eleasha Hammond is also the choreographer of the show and her and the cast have excelled here with some really impressive dance numbers. The energy of the cast is constantly high and this is maintained throughout the show giving audiences some great visuals. The costumes all look fabulous thanks to Wardrobe mistresses, Tammy Brown and Tammy Pitts - and there’s A LOT of them.
Katie Flaherty looks like she’s in her element playing the man mad, Ado Annie, and attacks the role with zeal, although I couldn’t help thinking that her costume was a little more ‘Shirley Temple with a cleavage’ than something a good time gal would wear. Despite this, Katie really puts in a great performance here and really ekes out every comedic moment in this fun part. It’s also great to see Les Cannon, playing Annie’s father, back on stage after some time.
Ali Akim, the Persian peddler, is played by Jonny Buxton also displaying some confident comedic tones in this performance working nicely alongside Katie’s Ado Annie.
The show takes a bleak turn when Curly decides to confront Jud at the smokehouse where he lives with pictures of naked women on the walls, and basically hints at him hanging himself and suggesting that if he did, then he’d know how popular he was by how many people would come to his funeral - which obviously he wouldn’t, because he’d be dead. Anyhoo…. As you can imagine this doesn’t really go down well and Jud is just even more angry at how everyone treats him.
Josh Handley as Jud is exceptionally mesmerising as he is unnervingly terrifying and has created a character here that although disconcerting, also displays vulnerability and anguish. I feel as though director, Simon Lambert, wants the audience to be drawn into this character more than you would normally and has almost given the character more impetus than the leads. The ‘Dream Scene’ where Laurey dreams of what may happen in the future, certainly leaves you feeling that this version of Oklahoma! has taken the audience into rather a dark place and it’s almost a relief when the curtain comes down for the interval. Also, not escaping the fact that Act 1 is a full One Hour and 45 minutes and that’s a lot of numb bums in the auditorium needing an interval wiggle.
Act 2 is just One Hour long and the tension created by Jud is very much underlying, although there’s a bit of friendly(ish) cowboy/farmer banter in The Farmer and The Cowman number and a reprise of Curly and Laurey’s People Will Say We’re in Love duet and a rousing chorus of Oklahoma! Sung by the Company leaving everyone in good spirits - kind of - again Jud seems to get the last word at the end.
Overall, Oklahoma! has given stalwart SODS fans the old fashioned, traditional show that they’ve been yearning for and the cast and crew have delivered in abundance. It has been well directed and choreographed and every member of the ensemble have given it their all. As a side note, I’m not entirely sure why there needed to be children in the show as they seemed to be just padding out the numbers, which are pretty high anyway. That said, each and every one of the children on stage on opening night performed professionally and with gusto. I also liked the touch of having the violinist playing on stage at the top of Act 2 for the Box Social.
Huge kudos must go to MD and Conductor, James Green, who has clearly put in an (I’ll use that word again) EPIC amount of time and effort to help produce such amazing vocals from this cast; there are some outstanding singers in this cast providing the most gorgeous harmonies. Songs such as Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, The Surrey With the Fringe on Top, I Cain’t Say No, and of course the title song, Oklahoma! are the ones that audiences want to hear and you won’t be disappointed. The orchestra sounded fabulous - those strings - perfect.
SODS’ production of Oklahoma! is epically long, and I don’t think it would have done any harm to cut down some of the dance numbers perhaps. That said, try not to let that put you off - it’s a show that is hugely watchable and a definite delight for the eyes and ears. This production has certainly put the ‘operatic’ and ‘dramatic’ back into the Society.
Review: Kim Tobin
SOUTHEND Operatic and Dramatic Society will be celebrating a milestone when it presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Oklahoma! next week.
The production comes almost 50 years to the month that SODS first performed the show at the Cliffs Pavilion, with the 2025 production running at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff, from October 1-4.
“We also presented Oklahoma in 1987 at the Cliffs, and it proved just as popular with theatre-goers as the 1975 production, with both productions attracting more than 8,000-strong audiences,” said SODS general secretary Paul Alton.
“We’re delighted that the current production marks the golden anniversary of the first time SODS performed the show, and can’t wait to bring it to life once again.
"Oklahoma! is often regarded as setting the blueprint for the modern musical, and is filled with great characters, memorable songs that have become standards, a dream ballet and high-energy company numbers.”
The show was the first product of the successful Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II partnership, which also spawned hits such as South Pacific, Carousel and The Sound of Music.
It opened on Broadway in March 1943 and ran for 2,212 performances, before a West End production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in April 1947. Following rave reviews, it ran for 1,543 performances. The film version of the show arrived in 1955 and won two Oscars.
Oklahoma tells the romantic journey of cowboy Curly and feisty farm girl Laurey in a territory in the American West just after the turn of the 20th century. Their bumpy love story is a complete contrast to the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and her hapless suitor Will Parker.
Curley and Laurey’s relationship is also complicated by farmhand Jud Fry, who is also attracted to Laurey.
The story is played out against the high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys in a musical adventure that embraces hope, determination and the promise of a land. Oklahoma! features well known Rodgers and Hammerstein favourites such as Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Surrey with the Fringe on Top, I Cain’t Say No, People Will Say We’re in Love and Oklahoma! itself.
SODS' production features Matt Bacon in his first show with the society as Curly, with Eleasha Hammond as Laurey. Eleasha has had her hands full, because she has also choreographed the production.
Danny Mitchell is also making his SODS debut in the role of Will, while Katey Flaherty is playing Ado Annie. Josh Handley is also appearing with SODS for the first time, playing troubled farmhand Jud Fry.
Fresh from his portrayal of Juan Péron in SODS’ production of Evita earlier this year, Simon Lambert has directed Oklahoma!, with James Green returning as music director.
Oklahoma! runs at the Palace Theatre, in London Road, Westcliff, nightly at 7.30pm from Wednesday, October 1 to Saturday, October 4, with 2.30pm matinees on Thursday, October 2 and the Saturday. For more information go to https://trafalgartickets.com/palace-theatre-southend/en-GB or call 0343 310 0030.
The production comes almost 50 years to the month that SODS first performed the show at the Cliffs Pavilion, with the 2025 production running at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff, from October 1-4.
“We also presented Oklahoma in 1987 at the Cliffs, and it proved just as popular with theatre-goers as the 1975 production, with both productions attracting more than 8,000-strong audiences,” said SODS general secretary Paul Alton.
“We’re delighted that the current production marks the golden anniversary of the first time SODS performed the show, and can’t wait to bring it to life once again.
"Oklahoma! is often regarded as setting the blueprint for the modern musical, and is filled with great characters, memorable songs that have become standards, a dream ballet and high-energy company numbers.”
The show was the first product of the successful Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II partnership, which also spawned hits such as South Pacific, Carousel and The Sound of Music.
It opened on Broadway in March 1943 and ran for 2,212 performances, before a West End production opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in April 1947. Following rave reviews, it ran for 1,543 performances. The film version of the show arrived in 1955 and won two Oscars.
Oklahoma tells the romantic journey of cowboy Curly and feisty farm girl Laurey in a territory in the American West just after the turn of the 20th century. Their bumpy love story is a complete contrast to the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and her hapless suitor Will Parker.
Curley and Laurey’s relationship is also complicated by farmhand Jud Fry, who is also attracted to Laurey.
The story is played out against the high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys in a musical adventure that embraces hope, determination and the promise of a land. Oklahoma! features well known Rodgers and Hammerstein favourites such as Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Surrey with the Fringe on Top, I Cain’t Say No, People Will Say We’re in Love and Oklahoma! itself.
SODS' production features Matt Bacon in his first show with the society as Curly, with Eleasha Hammond as Laurey. Eleasha has had her hands full, because she has also choreographed the production.
Danny Mitchell is also making his SODS debut in the role of Will, while Katey Flaherty is playing Ado Annie. Josh Handley is also appearing with SODS for the first time, playing troubled farmhand Jud Fry.
Fresh from his portrayal of Juan Péron in SODS’ production of Evita earlier this year, Simon Lambert has directed Oklahoma!, with James Green returning as music director.
Oklahoma! runs at the Palace Theatre, in London Road, Westcliff, nightly at 7.30pm from Wednesday, October 1 to Saturday, October 4, with 2.30pm matinees on Thursday, October 2 and the Saturday. For more information go to https://trafalgartickets.com/palace-theatre-southend/en-GB or call 0343 310 0030.