|
Choosing the production for October 2012 – EGM 19th February, 2pm at Heatherside Community Centre.
Proxy votes must be sent to Pam Stevens, the secretary, by February 18th.
The choice is:
 Below is information about the two shows and links to that information and how you can listen to clips of the musical numbers in each show. Please consider your vote carefully. I have also included comments and opinion from Philip Barton, Treasurer, as he has seen productions of both these shows recently.
Choosing the next show:
Choosing any show is always difficult with any number of criteria to consider.
The committee looks at shows with a variety of criteria in mind - a good chorus show, a variety of principal parts, has there been a recent performance locally, royalty, scenery and costume costs, orchestrations, will it appeal to audiences and will tickets sell. Unfortunately with Royalty shows a loss seems almost inevitable these days as we seem unable to fill the theatre and only ever budget realistically for 65% sales over the 5 performances.
Comments and a personal opinion from the Treasurer on State Fair and Oklahoma!
 Projected budget indicates that both shows will cost a similar amount to put on. However the treasurer advises an increase of £1 on average ticket prices and then assuming 65% sales, we should be able to limit losses to around a (manageable) £3K to £5K.
With regard to “show name” and saleability, Oklahoma! is a better known show, but then any Savoy Singers production will then be compared with a host of other amateur and (recent) professional productions. Relatively few amateur groups have performed State Fair since its UK premier in 2010, so we may get some interests from other Societies thinking about seeing it for the first time.
Having seen stage productions of both shows in recent years, State
Fair is (in my opinion) a better one for the Society (less dancing,
slightly more chorus work, and more believable characters), but I have
to accept that although the name of the original film is recognized, the
more recent stage show is less well known (but the “Rodgers &
Hammerstein” name does put it in a “well known” category, even by people
who don’t actually know it). The “fifteen minute dream ballet” in the
Act 1 finale of Oklahoma! may present the Society with some
“challenges”.
Links
See the following links for an idea of the musical numbers in each of the shows.
Please note: Oklahoma is not the same version as the scores we used for
the Revue last October – it has been revised and rearranged by the
Rights Holders and we are required to hire their scores and do their
revised version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Fair_(musical)#Musical_numbers
http://www.amazon.com/Rodgers-Hammersteins-State-Original-Broadway/dp/B000000PL4
With the above link you can listen to samples of all the musical numbers in 1996 version of State Fair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma!#Musical_numbers
http://www.amazon.com/Oklahoma-1998-London-Josefina-Gabrielle/dp/B00002EPLJ/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1329175855&sr=1-5
This link will take you to the 1998 version of Oklahoma and again you
can listen to samples of the musical numbers in this version
State Fair
If you look at the Wikipedia link for State Fair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Fair_%28musical%29 you will find
details of the production history, plot and musical numbers.
Weinberger’s, the Rights Holders website says of State Fair:
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s only musical written directly for the screen
is now a dynamic stage musical that had critics raving in the States
during its pre-Broadway national tour. Set against the colourful
backdrop of an American heartland tradition, STATE FAIR travels with the
Frake family as they leave behind the routine of the farm for three
days of adventure at the annual Iowa State Fair. Mom and Pop have their
hearts set on blue ribbons whilst their daughter and son find romance
and heartbreak on the midway. Add an Academy Award winning score and the
result is the kind of remarkable family entertainment only Rodgers
& Hammerstein can deliver!
Cast size
Large (over 20)
Cast type
Children in Cast, Ensemble Cast - Many featured roles, Strong/Large Chorus
Oklahoma!:
If you look at the Wikipedia link for Oklahoma!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma! you will find details of the
background, story synopsis, characters and huge numbers of accolades and
awards. Matched against the criteria above, it certainly has the name
and should attract audiences but there are fewer choruses for the
company and lots of dialogue for principals as well as a ballet. I
suspect that in all other criteria we could cope.
Weinbergers, the Rights Holders website says of Oklahoma:
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration remains, in many ways,
their most innovative, having set the standards and established the
rules of musical theatre still being followed today. Set in a Western
Indian territory just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited
rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colourful
background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome
farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love
never runs smooth, with these two headstrong romantics holding the
reins, love’s journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road…
Loved the world over, Oklahoma! is, more than any other musical,
responsible for moving back the boundaries of what is considered
possible in a musical comedy. The Dream Ballet, originally choreographed
by Agnes de Mille, was a giant leap for dance in the musical theatre,
and with a positive wealth of classic songs, including Oh, What A
Beautiful Mornin’ , The Surrey With The Fringe On Top, I Cain’t Say No,
People Will Say We’re In Love and Oklahoma, this outstanding show is
guaranteed to give actors and audience alike a wonderful time.
Cast size
Large (over 20)
Cast type
Ensemble Cast - Many featured roles, Ethnic Roles, Older Role(s), Strong/Large Chorus,
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
