Oklahoma!
The Players Theatre Company
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
3rd to 6th October 2018
The Players Theatre Company
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
3rd to 6th October 2018
The Players Theatre Company return to the Palace Theatre next week with an Old Favourite, 'Oklahoma!'. Set in 1906 in mid west America this story of humble Farmers and Cowmen celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and is often cited as the first modern Broadway musical. Weaving song, dance and drama effortlessly into a show it broke the mould on its release and has been playing somewhere around the world ever since.
The Players have not been to the Westcliff venue for almost a year, following their recent outing to Basildon's Towngate Theatre where they presented 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' to packed houses. "Priscilla was just to big for the beautiful stage at the Palace" explained Oklahoma's producer Julie Robertson, "As such we decided to take it on tour as it were! This proved the right choice though as it became our most profitable show in almost 20 years of producing shows, and Basildon provided such a warm audience for the show that it really was great fun. As a company we are far more used to doing new and quirky productions so it has been a challenge, not only to return to the Palace with Oklahoma rehearsed in just 12 weeks, but also to do an older style production".
The Players have not been to the Westcliff venue for almost a year, following their recent outing to Basildon's Towngate Theatre where they presented 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' to packed houses. "Priscilla was just to big for the beautiful stage at the Palace" explained Oklahoma's producer Julie Robertson, "As such we decided to take it on tour as it were! This proved the right choice though as it became our most profitable show in almost 20 years of producing shows, and Basildon provided such a warm audience for the show that it really was great fun. As a company we are far more used to doing new and quirky productions so it has been a challenge, not only to return to the Palace with Oklahoma rehearsed in just 12 weeks, but also to do an older style production".
The Show feature's many well loved songs including 'Oklahoma!' [of course!], 'Many A New Day', 'People Will Say We're In Love', 'The Farmer And The Cowmen' and 'Oh What A Beautiful Morning' " It was Rodgers and Hammerstein's first pairing, and still stands as the best of their work together" Julie continued, " having seen a great production at the Proms last year and realising it was such an important anniversary for the show, we decided to try something different and put on a classic musical, it has been a great challenge, especially to our Choreographer David Street who has long made clear his aversion to gingham!! Luckily he worked through it for the show!"
The production stars seasoned Player Claire Poth-Wright as Laurey alongside Sean Hayes, a new member to the company who has been seen at the Palace in several productions by Basildon Operatic, who plays Curley, the cowboy in love with her. They are joined by Josh Handley and Charlotte Cavadesca again regular performers with Basildon Operatic in the roles of Ado Annie and Will Parker. Ross Howard as Ali Hakim and Zoe Berry as Gertie Cummins provide some comic relief to the show, and Jimmy Allan will be taking the role of Jud Fry. The lineup is completed by Jenny Hitchcock as the matriarchal Aunt Eller.
The production stars seasoned Player Claire Poth-Wright as Laurey alongside Sean Hayes, a new member to the company who has been seen at the Palace in several productions by Basildon Operatic, who plays Curley, the cowboy in love with her. They are joined by Josh Handley and Charlotte Cavadesca again regular performers with Basildon Operatic in the roles of Ado Annie and Will Parker. Ross Howard as Ali Hakim and Zoe Berry as Gertie Cummins provide some comic relief to the show, and Jimmy Allan will be taking the role of Jud Fry. The lineup is completed by Jenny Hitchcock as the matriarchal Aunt Eller.
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Tickets for the show are on sale now, with the Matinee performance in particular selling fast. There are special rates for groups of 10 or more people, and the Players are also proud to offer discounted tickets for members of the Palace Theatre Club. " We have seen the investment the Palace Theatre Club has made to the venue alongside HQ Theatres over the past few years and wanted to give them something back to them. As someone who ran a community venue in Southend I understand the importance of these regular visitors and so am delighted to offer them a special price. If you want the best priced seats in future... join the Palace Theatre Club, it's that simple!"
Performances take place Wednesday 3rd - Saturday 6th October at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30 pm. www.southendtheatres.org.uk |
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