Tickets on sale now for the award-winning, cowboy hat-tipping epic!
Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia, June 2023 – Celebrating the groundbreaking and award-winning, epically beyond OK musical’s 80th year, Theatre Bristol announces the cast of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! coming to The Paramount Center for the Arts weekends September 22 through October 1, 2023. Tickets are on sale now at Paramountbristol.org/event/oklahoma/.
Musical favorites Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’, People Will Say We’re In Love, the catchy The Surrey With The Fringe On Top, and epic Oklahoma!, fill the prairie air with talent from around the region.
Directing “Oklahoma!” is Theatre Bristol veteran director, Kenn Naegele, with recent Paramount stage credits of “Elf the Musical,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Annie,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Kenn is supported by the creative team of music director Bandy Brownlee, choreographer and costume designer Camille Gray, set designer and technical director Luke Gray, lighting designer Bennett Little, props artisan Rebecca Ryan, and stage manager Nicole Intagliata, along with Theatre Bristol crew and Paramount staff.
Charismatic Curly is played by Coy Owens and Camille Gray is independent Laurey Williams. Laura O’Bryan is everyone’s Aunt Eller, and Blake Irwin is brooding Jud Fry. Lassoing Will Parker is played by Zaiah Gray, and the fickle Ado Annie is played by Lexi Vencill. Charlatan Ali Hakim is played by Todd Peak.
Laurey’s friends are Ellen played by Cameron Roberts, Kate played by Morgan Whitaker, Virginia played by Hannah Pope, and Vivian played by Casey Irwin. Leah Graham competes for Curly’s affection as Gertie Cummings.
Riding the open range are cowboys Ethan Baker as Fred, Mason White as Jess, Cooper Knapp as Sam, Maverick Summie as Joe, KB Irwin as Chalmers, Eran Castonguay as Larry, and Bennett Little as Abe.
Andrew Carnes, played by Dan Gray, tries to convince the farmers and the cowmen to be friends. Box social host Ike Skidmore is played by Richard Albright, Nancy Skidmore is played by Susan McNabb, Slim is played by Koty Peak, Farmer is played by Steve Baskett, Molly is played by Crystal Peak, Mike is played by Nathaniel Osborne, and Bob is played by Dani Freeman. Ray Boling plays federal marshall, Cord Elam.
Cameron Roberts, Eran Castonguay, and Bennett Little create the dream ballet as Dream Laurey, Curly, and Jud, respectively.
Oklahoma! opens September 22, and runs for two weekends at The Paramount Center for the Arts, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:30 pm, closing on October 1. Tickets are $16 for adults plus fees ($21.50 total) and $12 for seniors and students plus fees ($17.50 total), and are available at Paramountbristol.org/event/oklahoma/.
“In a Western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey, as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road, contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination and the promise of a new land” (concordtheatricals.com).
With music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and original choreography by Agnes de Mille, the musical was based on the play “Green Grow the Lilacs” by Lynn Riggs. “Oklahoma! was greeted by critics and audiences alike as a watershed – the first successful truly unified musical, in which all creative elements worked together to support the story. The Hamilton of its day, the show elevated the art form of musical theatre and kicked off a Golden Age of American musicals that lasted for several decades. Oklahoma! won numerous awards, from a special Pulitzer Prize to the 2019 Tony Award for its innovative Broadway revival” (rodgersandhammerstein.com).
Theatre Bristol is pleased to present Oklahoma! as part of its family-friendly 58th season of ARTspace and The Paramount Center for the Arts shows, including Mark Twain’s The Diaries of Adam & Eve, The Diary of Anne Frank, Real Heroes presented with River’s Way, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Seussification of Romeo & Juliet, A Christmas Carol, PLAYtime in the ARTspace weekly, and The StART of Adventure Summer Camp.
Founded in 1965 by Cathy DeCaterina, Theatre Bristol is a community theatre serving all ages that also has the distinction as the oldest continually running children’s theatre in northeast Tennessee. Located on historic State Street in Bristol, it also serves southwest Virginia. Its Main Stage season consists of drama, comedy, and musical productions that take place in the 100-seat blackbox ARTspace and at the Paramount Center for the Arts. Theatre Bristol is a volunteer-operated community organization and we invite you to get involved.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Paramount Center for the Arts is an art deco motion picture palace built in the late 1920s and early 30s with an opulent, richly embellished interior and house organ. The original Venetian-styled murals and the art deco ambience were faithfully recreated during restoration in the 1990s. The auditorium welcomes more than 700, with street-level access and wheelchair locations, and a grand stage designed for full-scale theatrical productions.
Oklahoma! is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. concordtheatricals.com.For more information, visit www.theatrebristol.org, follow TheatreBristolTN on Facebook, call 423-212-3625, or email info@theatrebristol.org. For tickets and more information, visit www.paramountbristol.org, call 423-274-8920, follow Paramount Bristol on Facebook.