beldasnoop-1 This is easily the best version of Oklahoma! that I've ever seen. The one thing that slightly annoys me, though, is that in a lot of comments I've seen everyone seems to talk so much about Hugh Jackman that they mostly ignore the rest of the amazing cast here. Jackman is wonderful--don't get me wrong--but Josefina Gabrielle (Laurey), Maureen Lipman (Aunt Eller) and Shuler Hensley (Jud) are just as wonderful and it truly is an ensemble work rather than a one-man show. A great Curly doesn't have much to do without an equally great cast around him. Of the principals, I think Gabrielle and Hensley have the hardest jobs--their roles being almost complete re-inventions of their characters--and both handle their roles extremely well.The role of Laurey in particular is approached here in a completely different way than it has ever been done before. The somewhat pampered, petulant girly-girl of past productions has been turned into a reserved, slightly tomboyish girl who seems somewhat uncomfortable with the emotions she feels for Curly. Gabrielle handles this characterization perfectly, and her singing and dancing are also top-notch. She and Jackman have a palpable chemistry that makes their scenes together a major highlight of this production. I also really like that they dance their own parts in the dream ballet, which makes this scene much easier to relate to than previous versions. Also, Hensley brings a great deal more depth to the Jud character than I've ever seen before. He's still a villain, but his motives are made more clear in this version, and Hensley is a powerful presence.I love that this version succeeds in making the characters more real and less stereotypical, particularly the female characters. Lipman's Aunt Eller is a strong presence in the show, and even Ado Annie is less of a caricature than she has been in the past. Also, the sets and costumes reflect a more realistic approach than past productions, and it works very well. It is not a museum piece but a living, breathing production and most of the players rise to the occasion excellently. Peter Polycarpou as Ali Hakim is the only weak link--he's not bad but not great either--but the rest of the cast shines and works very well together.If you go into this production expecting an Oklahoma! like you've seen many times before, you are in for a surprise. To me, it is a delightful surprise, and definitely worth purchasing the DVD.

Sara Wilson I saw this without knowing who Hugh Jackman was, and I was blown away by his performance. He really shines as Curly and his presence is second to none. His singing is certainly some of the best in musical theater. It was only after seeing this that I found out that he was Wolverine, so I was able to just soak it all in. Maureen Lipman is a wonderful Aunt Eller. The actors do all their own dancing, even in the dream sequence. Jimmy Johnston is a very good Will Turner and does some amazing dancing. Vicki Simon is the perfect Ado Annie and extremely funny. It is filmed on a stage set designed to look like the set at the Royal National Theater. It also captures the spirit of the show beautifully. It is a positively classic. See it.

millie815 This is a wonderful stage production of Oklahoma! As a teaching guide for my drama students, Oklahoma! has everything that I need in it to teach about a musical. Vocally, the actors are wonderful. Josefina Gabrielle has a beautiful voice and range and is lovely as Laurey. Hugh Jackman, from the first note of 'Oh What A Beautiful Morning' grabs your attention and keeps it. Wow… what a voice, what a stage presence enough said. Shuler Hensley plays Jud Fry with a passion that allows the audience to embrace Jud and yet despise him – tough job to do, but Hensley does it well. Visually, this play uses simple designs and staging, which allows the actors to carry the story and they do an excellent job of carrying the story. Perhaps the lack 'Hollywood' style sets or backdrops may take some aback, but it's the music and the actors that you should notice in a musical. For any one who loves a good musical, it is a wonderful presentation.

daniel_clancy2001 I just bought and watched the video of this because I will be in an amateur production soon of "Oklahoma!", and my song was cut out of the 1955 film. First of all, Maureen Lipman was excellent as Aunt Eller, Josefina Gabrielle was a good Laurey, Shuler Hensley was absolutely brilliant as Jud and Peter Pollycarpou was alright as Ali Hakim, although the character he performed was nothing like the character in the script. I thought that Jimmy Johnston and Vicki Simon gave good performances, but they were terribly miscast, making my favourite double-act quite irritating Hugh Jackman is a good actor. He can sing, but he knows it and seems desperate to outsing everyone else, making one dread (quite justifiably) the big title song at the end.What I liked about this production was the very lavish stage and Trevor Nunn's direction. What made me laugh is that the director is clearly trying to be as unlike the 1955 film as possible, and so are some of the cast. However, the other people are copying their 1955 contemporaries (why does Will never pronounce the "t" in "Kansas City"?), and whoever rewrote the script undoubtedly had the film in his mind. The director for the video is treating it as a film rather than a stage show, but the shot goes back to the audience occasionally, reminding us that it is a theatre.The first thing I did after watching the tape was to rewind it and watch it again so that says something. The tape isn't that bad, and is certainly acceptable, at the least. I rated it 8 put of 10. I'd probably give it 8.5.