The job that changed everything was her role as choreographer for the musical Okalahoma! The musical was created by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstien, it was their first collaboration and remains as one of their most innovative works ("Oklahoma!"). Oklahoma! established the idea of the musical play. Agnes as usual used a combination of dance genres in the musical. She combined ballet and pantomime with tap and folk dance (Long, 38). A large contribution to the musical was the fact that the dance added to the storyline. Before this play dance and music had been almost separate segments added into a play without much connection. Agnes and the directors not created a significant place for music and dance in theatre (Long, 21). The most influential piece from Oklahoma! was the dream sequence. This dance "explored the main character’s psychology and inner turmoil" (Van). In her original production, Agnes had the main character Laury watching the dream sequence. She provided doubles for the leads to dance the dream sequence (Symonds, 87). The concept of dream sequences became very popular and was implemented in many other musicals during this time.
http://agnesdemilledances.com/otherdances.html#ca
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musical play made history. Oklahoma! ran for five years on Broadway and
toured internationally for ten. It held the record for longest running
Broadway show for eighteen years (Long). Though it is not performed much today, de Mille's works are still being honored in different ways- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/arts/dance/02demi.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1429768888-WK3GSKKcSsM/eFK1Rsev4AThe last reason Oklahoma! was so historical was its timing in history. The musical displayed a love for the American culture and the western lifestyle. This idea coincided with the patriotism during the time due to World War II (Long, 38). Oklahoma! spoke to the audience during the time. The characters lived in a land full of "freedom and large possibilities" and focused on the good of America (Long, 39).
So interesting! Is her choreography "maintained" in the same way that, say Bob Fosse's choreography is in Chicago? Also, have you ever had the chance to see Oklahoma! live? If so, I'd like to hear more about how the modern choreography compares with the original.
ReplyDeleteI saw the dream sequence in a high school production of Oklahoma!. I am also wondering if the choreography has stayed much the same throughout productions. Also, I was wondering if there are any notable choreographers that have drawn from her style and techniques and if so how do they incorporate them into their own productions?
ReplyDeleteWhat made them decide to actually make the dance sequences flow with the storyline? Was it just a random occurrence or did they do it on purpose and if yes for what reason?
ReplyDeleteEven though I saw this show quite a bit when I was living in Oklahoma, I still enjoy it! I am glad that she helped others through her choreography for this show to use dance in musicals to help tell the story of the characters, especially revealing the mind of the characters which is not always obvious.
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