1979 Broadway Revival

Rodgers & HammersteinOklahoma

Under the direction of Oscar Hammerstein II’s eldest son, William “Bill” Hammerstein, Oklahoma! received a Broadway revival at the Palace Theatre that opened December 13, 1979. Featuring Agnes de Mille’s original choreography, recreated by Gemze de Lappe, this production starred Christine Andreas as Laurey; Laurence Guittard as Curly and a young Christine Ebersole as Ado Annie. The production ran 293 performances before closing on August 24, 1980.

LISTEN

The first Broadway revival cast recording included more of the score than any previous Oklahoma! albums at its time, but it did not include Laurey’s dream ballet and dance music. Recording technology was rapidly improving to allow for longer capacity; had the album been cut four years later, it might have included more of the score. This cast featured Laurence Guittard, Christine Andreas and Christine Ebersole, with original orchestrations under the music direction of Jay Blackton.