Photo Essay

Oh What a beautiful morning...

Leads senior Natalie Wood and Rockhurst junior Thomas

Martin sing a duet together. Wood and Martin played Laurey and Curly, a young couple struggling to admit their love for each other. (Photo by Kim Fryer)

For one weekend in November, the Old Grande Salle was transformed into the land where “the wind comes sweeping down the plain” and “the farmer and the cowboy can be friends.” After weeks filled with dancing through and learning choreography, running and memorizing lines, getting every song pitch perfect, constructing sets and making costumes, the cast and crew were finally ready to present their new musical. By the final dress rehearsal, music teacher Gary Adams knew that it was going to be a great show. “The energy coming from the stage to the audience was palpable,” Adams said. “I told the cast after dress rehearsal I could hardly stay seated on the piano bench during the song “Oklahoma.” “Oklahoma!” is a story about the complexities of love set in Oklahoma territory in the early twentieth century.

One couple, Laurey Williams and Curly McClain, both know they’re in love but are having trouble admitting it to themselves and each other. To complicate things, Laurey is also being pursued by Jud Fry, a strange young man who helps on her Aunt Eller’s farm. At the same time, a cowboy named Will Parker has just returned to the territory and is having difficuty convincing the girl he wants to marry, Ado Annie Carnes. “Oklahoma!” brings something to the table for everyone. Both couples work to fight through their struggles throughout the story as everything finally begins to fall into place. -20-

Clockwise: Junior Amelia Jones takes a spin during the song “Kansas City”. Jones performed in Theatre in the Park’s production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” last summer. (Photo by Kim Fryer)

Playing a farmer named Slim, senior Emily Chu observes a souvenir brought back from Kansas City by cowboy Will Parker, played by Rockhurst freshman Colin Rohach. (Photo by Kim Fryer)

The cast of “Oklahoma!” strikes a pose at the end of “Kansas City.” The musical was choreographed by science teacher Suzanne Norberg’s daughter, Kathleen Norberg. (Photo by Kim Fryer)