FFHS musical opens tomorrow night

The excitement level at Fort High is spilling off the stage and into the aisles as the music and drama departments prepare for the opening night of “Oklahoma!” tomorrow.
“I’m excited,” said John Dutton, one of the many staff involved with the show. “There’s lots of dancing, lots of singing, [just] lots going on on stage.”
“Oklahoma!” is a popular classic written by two of the best in the business, Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The musical is set during the turn-of-the-century in the Oklahoma territory as it is becoming part of the United States. But as more urban-oriented people flood the district building towns and creating agricultural lands, those who settled the area for ranching become disgruntled.
The conflict between the farmers and the ranchers comes to a head in this production—culminating with a love triangle between the leading lady and the conflicting male leads.
The female lead, “Laurie,” is being played by Heather Newman while the male lead, “Curly,” is Doug Judson.
“Both are really great singers,” said Dutton.
He said that the other main parts, which are more comical, are played by Tom Gustafson (“Ali Hakin,” a Turkish travelling salesman), Susan Mercure (“Aunt Eller”), Bill Mundle (“Will Parker”), and Karilu Alaricon (“Ado Annie,” a spinster trying to get married).
“She’s having a ball,” Dutton said of Alaricon, an exchange student from Mexico. “[And Gustafson], he’s hilarious up there.
“It’s very nice singing from all of them. There’s some great moments on stage,” he added.
Dutton noted Fort High performed “Oklahoma!” 13 years ago so he knew it was a great show.
“Of all their shows, it’s one of their best,” he said of Rodgers and Hammerstein. “The combination those two guys had with lyrics and music, I really like the music.
“The last couple of years we had rock show,” he added, referring to shows like Grease. “So we moved back to something more traditional.”
Dutton admitted most of the students hadn’t heard much of the music from “Oklahoma!” before the first song they learned for auditions.
“Most were unfamiliar with the music, [but] we taught a piece of music for auditions and they enjoyed it right away,” he said. “Susan did say the first musical she saw was ‘Oklahoma!’ [13 years ago] and now she’s in a lead role.”
Dutton noted more than 50 people are involved in the production, which is another reason it was chosen—to allow as many students as possible to get involved.
The art students worked on the sets, which depict the Old West, and some of the music for the performance is played by students. Dutton said those playing the music was a real mix since staff, students, and the public are involved.
He suggested it is the music that will make the performance for the audience.
“I think people should come and see it because they’ll go home feeling good,” Dutton remarked. “They’ll go home with the tunes in their head. I think the crowd will enjoy it.”
The show, which last a little over two hours, runs tomorrow through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Townshend Theatre.
Tickets—which cost $10 for adults and $7 for children, students, and seniors—are available at Northwoods Gallery and at the door. There is reserved seating so it pays to buy early.
“It’s reserved seating so people know ahead of time where they are,” Dutton said. “And so, they don’t have to come hours in advance for a good seat—not that there are any bad seats [at the Townshend].”