Published: May 01, 2007 08:50 am      

PV school chorus to present ‘Oklahoma!’

It’s one of the most highly acclaimed and longest running musicals in Broadway history and it’s making its way to Pauls Valley in a handful of days.

Award-winning songs and dialogues from Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” will come to life at the Pauls Valley High School auditorium as the school chorus department takes to the stage Thursday through Saturday, May 3-5.

PVHS band director Stan Stevenson said cast members are made up of vocal students from the junior high and high school, and they have been working very hard over the last several weeks to put on a top-notch local production of the famous musical.

“The chorus is made up of 30 to 40 students, grades 7 through 12. All the cast members are doing very well and progressing right along with their parts, especially considering all the end-of-instruction testing going on at the same time,” Stevenson said.

“This will be the traditional Rogers and Hammerstein musical but it’s an adaptation especially designed for a high school production. It’s not the whole musical, but will include verses from songs and portions of dialogue from the original. It tells the story of Aunt Eller and the early years of the state’s history.”

They could have opted to perform numbers from a variety of excellent musicals, but Stevenson said they decided on this particular production because it was the ideal choice to help commemorate the state’s centennial celebration.

Stevenson said there will be four separate public performances for the convenience of those students and adults who would like to attend but may have a scheduling conflict.

“We’ll have our first performance on Thursday, May 3rd, at 9 a.m. We’ll have two performances the next day on Friday, May 4th, one at 9 a.m. and another at 1 p.m. Our final performance will take place on Saturday, May 5th, at 7 p.m.,” Stevenson explained.

Tickets are available at a cost of only $1 per student and only $5 per adult and may be purchased in the high school office or by calling 238-6497. Proceeds will be used to pay for the musical and the rest will go to help support the vocal music department.

“We want people to be sure and come out and enjoy this musical celebration of the state’s centennial and show support for the hard work of these talented students, as well as the school’s vocal music department.”

Selections from the musical will also be performed by the high school vocal group during the Pauls Valley Arts Council’s first ever “Theatre Festival” on May 18 and 19.

The festival will also feature two one-act comedies performed by the PVAC’s Not Quite For Broadway Players.