Oklahoma! (1999)

In 1906 Oklahoma (before statehood), a cowhand (Hugh Jackman) sets his eye on a farm girl (Josefina Gabrielle) but so does a rather maladjusted farmhand (Shuler Hensley). The tension between the three can only lead to no good. The landmark 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (their first show together) is a perennial revival on the New York and London stages as well as community theaters across the country. This filmed version of the acclaimed 1998 London revival shows the musical has lost none of its homey appeal and boasts a marvelous Curly in Jackman, a show stealing performance by Shuler Hensley as Jud Fry (his rendition of Lonely Room is a killer), boisterous choreography by Susan Stroman and assured direction by Trevor Nunn. Nunn has nipped and tweaked the show a bit as has Stroman's dance numbers. Notably in the dream ballet where normally dancers double for the two leads (Curly and Laurey) but Jackman and especially Gabrielle are good enough dancers to handle the dancing themselves without the substitutes. The show was obviously reformatted for film and shot on a sound stage but interspersed with filmed pieces from a live performance before an audience to make us think we're seeing a fully live performance. With Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller, Jimmy Johnston as Will Parker and Vicki Simon as a very anemic Ado Annie. She has one of the show's best numbers, I'm Just A Girl Who Can't Say No, which falls flat here.