mark.waltz Forget Wolverine and Van Helsing when you go into the magical world of Hugh Jackman's participation in musical theater. He rocked Broadway as Peter Allen (Liza Minnelli's first gay husband) in "The Boy From Oz" and was standing room only in a musical revue. Nobody could replace him as Peter Allen, so the show only ran a year to sold out crowds (and he never missed a performance!) and got him a well deserved Tony Award. For those who missed that show that never made it onto the small screens or made into a movie, there's the PBS version of "Oklahoma!" which he did in London prior to taking on his more iconic roles. While Patrick Wilson would take over the role in the Broadway transfer, much of that cast who was on stage at the Gershwin Theater in 2002 is here, a nice visit to a show I had the privilege of seeing and got to re-visit thanks to the availability of this version.Certainly, it's going to be a bit jarring to hear the Australian born Jackman singing as American cowboy Curly, but he makes it work simply on his charm and his ability to sing and dance as gracefully as Astaire and Kelly, be funny, yet never make you doubt that he's as masculine (not macho) as they come. His confidence as a performer is unmatchable, although I didn't feel his chemistry with Josefina Gabrielle (Laurey) was as strong as it could have been. She's a great singer, and certainly pretty, but I think is the one weak link in an otherwise strong production. Maureen Lipman's Aunt Eller is strong, funny, loving, commanding and everybody's first stop when they need advice. While I saw Andrea Martin take on this role (and absolute perfection), it's Lipman's who will remain in viewer's minds because of her presence on the video and in TV productions.A Tony Award went to Shuler Hensley in the usually thankless role of the "villain" Jud Fry who gets to show more dimensions than usual in this production. He's only a villain really at the end, mostly a misunderstood loner who doesn't have social graces and is perhaps too shy to deal with women in a gentle manner. He also knows that he's ugly and unlovable, and that adds a sense of heartbreak into his character, making you think about your own feelings towards people in life who don't fill the mold of what a desirable man or woman should be. Vicki Simon is perfectly fine as Ado Annie, the "girl who cain't say no", with Jimmy Johnston just as memorable as her long suffering fiancée Will, determined to raise the money he needs to give Ado Annie's father in order to get his permission to marry her.The set is perfect, with the corn really as high as an elephant's eye, and cute model trains representing the visits to Kansas City and back. The choreography is outstanding, the orchestrations truly beautiful, and the ensemble filled with really talented, attractive dancers who do a great justice to Rodgers and Hammerstein's fabulous score. Fortunately, the success of this show got PBS to air the Lincoln Center production of "South Pacific" and a concert version of "Carousel" (my own favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein show), but this being the first Rodgers and Hammerstein show to which I knew the entire score (through an early viewing of this when I was just a kid), "Oklahoma!" holds a special place in my heart: for the movie, for the 2002 Broadway revival, and for the TV Broadcast of this production which shows that this has stood the test of time and has everything great that represents the best of what America is all about.

tedg I have some trouble adapting to stage musicals when I see them on the stage. There's something about the fact that the audience is there for pure — absolutely pure — entertainment in the form of singing and dancing, and somehow need a narrative to make it palatable. Opera is even worse for me in this regard. Oh, I know that the narrative can set up the emotional context for a song, so that it can be more effective, but the whole construction seems to reflect some fundamental flaw in our makeup, like our affection for sugar.When a stage musical is filmed, the problem gets worse. Most of these simply take what works on stage and tries to recapture it using the same techniques and values. "Seven Brides" is my touchstone for this. The result is bunch of clumsy stagecraft that does not translate to cinema, combined with those radical shifts from the story to the songs. Usually the older shows have this problem, because the later ones though made for stage are informed by cinema.This avoids all that, by reimagining one of the old horses in a new mold. Apparently, it was quite an effort because the "Foundation" that has a stranglehold over how the material is used had to negotiate every nit. This idea that some survivors of an artist should benefit from something they had no hand in is vile enough; that they can smother its very artistic soul by legal means is worse.Anyway, what we have here is stage presentation reimagined for modern tastes. That means solving the integration of the songworld and the stageworld. The extras explain how this was nurtured, essentially by honing the show by forcing the actors to speak the lines. There's some clever thinking about the dances along the same lines.Then that is restaged for the camera. It pretends to be a performance in front of an audience, as shots from a real performance are spliced in. But the (valuable) extras reveal the rework to bring it to the camera. This is about as good as it gets unless we have something born out of the camera like Taymor has done.I came to this because "Australia" is sticking with me. I learned that Hugh Jackman (unknown to me) is famous for his musical stage presence. Even though this is quite old in this context, I searched it out and was rather amazed. He sings, he dances. He has presence. In fact, his presence is so strong, he gets away with being not excellent in those areas. Presence.That's what he brought to "Australia" that mattered; it seems to be indicative of the national character. The very same scope of presence as Wolverine grates, because it is a substitute. There is some considered colorwork here too.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

robyndaly-1 Despite this being a British production of an "Amurrican" show I think it is far better than the original movie. It doesn't have the hokey accents, the singers do their own dancing (and very well too!), and the character interpretations are more real. I especially liked Laurie as a tomboy: it makes her reluctant and confused response to courtship more natural than the spoiled petulance shown in the Hollywood version. Aunt Eller is a person instead of a stereotype - you can tell this woman has had a life. Jud is more rounded, the pain and social confusion underlying his brutality shown clearly. And Hugh Jackman gives Curly a sunniness that is much more charming than the knowing and somewhat manipulative characterization produced by Hollywood. A must-see! What I wouldn't give to see this team make Carousel!

g_jon I originally tuned into PBS' broadcast because I was curious about Hugh Jackman's singing. - He was absolutely charismatic. It was too bad that Curly didn't have more stage time! I hope I can see him live in a musical or in a play sometime soon. Film work just does not do justice to his talents.While I tuned in out of curiosity, the updated production, exuberant musical numbers, staging, and dancing kept my attention. This production of "Oklahoma!" re-affirms my love of live theatre.