CENTER STAGE SHELTON INVITES YOU TO SADDLE UP FOR A GRAND "OKLAHOMA !"

Howdy, neighbors, have I got a super duper, special show for you.

Grab your cowboy hat and enjoy! There’s plenty to love! If it had been about Michigan or Mississippi, history would have been quite different. If the title hadn’t been changed from “Green Grow the Lilacs” and “Away We Go,” it might not have won a Special Pulitzer Prize for Drama or become the first Broadway musical honored with a commemorative U.S. stamp. If millions of people hadn’t flocked to see it, it might not have been translated into over a dozen languages from Hebrew to Hungarian.

Now celebrating over eight decades of popularity is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s gift to American musical theatre, one of Broadway’s longest running shows, “Oklahoma!” Center Stage of Shelton will be decorating surreys and picking elephant high sweet corn until Sunday, February 25th in an effort to make this a remarkable theatrical experience, one not to be missed. This is pure Americana at its best.

This production, beautifully directed and enhanced by Liz Muller and choreographed with spirit and spunk by Brandy Bailey and Michael “Beetle” Bailey is guaranteed to present the sunshine of the Oklahoma prairie from the dawn of each “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’ ” as farmer battles the cowman for supremacy in the territory trying to reconcile how both can be friends and become a state at the same time.

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Love swirls around the Box Social as Will Parker (Paul Keegan) bargains for the picnic basket made by Ado Annie (Sandra Fernandes) and Curly (John Corraro) and Jud (Scott Sheldon ) try to outbid each other for Laurey’s (Maggie Kruse) offering. While Ado Annie has to deal with the fast talking salesman Ali Hakim (Marc Garofalo), Laurey’s dilemma with the sullen farm hand Jud and the energetic and engaging Curly poses the show’s real conflict in an otherwise sunny and optimistic landscape. A kindly Aunt Eller (Tammy D'Auria) and a feisty Andrew Carnes (Ram Gordon) try to keep the folks peaceful.

Songs like the show stopping title “Oklahoma!,” "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," the lovely duet “People Will Say We’re in Love” and the comic “I Cain’t Say No!” attest to why this show is a classic family favorite. A intriguing ballet poignantly ends the first act. The cast is awesome and the festivities abound with joy tinged with sorrow.

Come early to hear tunes and listen in the intermission to Ike Skidmore’s Otter Jug Band. Also be amazed by the wonderful projections created by CE Simon and the creative use of tables for the cast to sing, dance and perform on throughout the show. The tables can be purchased. Premium ticket holders sit around these tables and enjoy their own box social.

For tickets($18 and up, premium $25 and up) call the Center Stage, 54 Grove Street, Shelton at 203-225-6079 or online at www.centerstageshelton.org. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

If you weren’t lucky enough to be at the show’s premiere at New Haven’s Shubert Theatre on March 15, 1943, don’t compound the mistake by missing this outstanding opportunity to climb aboard the most famous surrey with the fringe on top and merrily ride into musical history. This talented cast will take you on a grand journey, you betcha!