Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancee, Ado Annie.

The following year, James Hammerstein directed a production at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, in January 1980, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The De Mille choreography was again adapted by de Lappe. A UK tour followed, and it eventually settled in the West End, opening at the Palace Theatre, London, on September 17, 1980, and running until September 19, 1981. This production starred John Diedrich as Curly and Alfred Molina as Jud Fry, both of whom were nominated for Olivier Awards. Rosamund Shelley played Laurey, and Madge Ryan was Aunt Eller. The production was Maria Friedman's debut in the West End, initially in the chorus role of Doris, but she was eventually promoted to the leading role. John Owen Edwards was the musical director. He would later reprise his work for Mackintosh's 1998 London revival. A cast recording of this production was issued by JAY Records and on the Showtime! label.  A new production of the musical was presented by the National Theatre in London at the Olivier Theatre, opening on July 15, 1998. The production team included Trevor Nunn (director), Susan Stroman (choreographer) and William David Brohn (orchestrator). The international cast included Hugh Jackman as Curly, Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller, Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, Shuler Hensley as Jud Fry, Vicki Simon as Ado Annie, Peter Polycarpou as Ali Hakim and Jimmy Johnston as Will Parker. Musical director John Owen Edwards, Brohn and dance arranger David Krane adapted Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations and extended some of the dance sequences. A brand new Dream Ballet was composed for Susan Stroman's new choreography and the dances to "Kansas City", "Many a New Day" and "The Farmer and the Cowman" were all radically redesigned. The overture was also altered, at the request of Nunn.  The production received numerous Olivier Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Musical Production, supporting actor (Hensley), set design (Anthony Ward) and choreography (Stroman). According to the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the limited engagement was a sell-out and broke all previous box office records, and so the show was transferred to the Lyceum Theatre in the West End for a six-month run. Plans to transfer to Broadway with the London cast were thwarted by Actors' Equity, which insisted that American actors must be cast. Eventually a U.S. cast was selected. The production was filmed and issued on DVD, as well as being broadcast on U.S. Public Television in November 2003.

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