[BlackSwan108]

Okay... so I was just thrown into doing Oklahoma at this opera house... and um... they say there is a ballet in the show... so I'm playing ballet Jud. What song is the ballet? and whats it like? haha does anyone know? thanks alot!
~moi

[momsterv]

The ballet is actually Laurey's dream. There are a number of parts to it, she dreams she marries Curly, but Jud comes and beats Curly up and carries her offstage.

[jadenbelle]

^^^kinda

In her dream, she and Curley are about to get married when Jud comes in; he and Curley fight and Curley gets stabbed (dies maybe?); later at the actual wedding the same thing starts to happen, but Jud gets stabbed instead

[BlackSwan108]

thanks a lot... tres kewl... I was just wondering what I was going to do in this ballet thing
Love,
moi

[defygravity1215]

Our community theatre is about to do OK!. Sometimes we cut some things. Most of us don't know ballet, so, maybe, is it possible to do OK! without the ballet? I'm not sure if we could present it with a different type of dance.

[norayouadora]

I don't know what other productions have done, but when my school did the show it wasn't really a ballet. Of course, we still called it the "Dream Ballet" but it was more of a mix of several different kind of dancing, with smaller groups of people dancing in some parts, and other parts being silently acted out to the music. I think it would be a shame to cut it... It's kind of boring and confusing, but it's a good chance to show off your best dancers if you have any. Plus it sort of contributes to the story, and I'm generally against cutting things out of a show anyways. I'd say give it a try and see what you can come up with.

[kythca]

In the production i was in we did the "dream ballet" and some of it was ballet, there was some other dance involved (partner dance, can-can, ect), but for the most part it was choreographed moves. In our production we didn't use different actors/dancers for this part, those of us who played the characters continued to play them in the dream scene. It was interesting since i hadn't done any kind of dance in years, and that was limited to ballet and jazz and a little tap, but no partner dancing. And playing Laurey i was thrown into these dance numbers where i had to do lifts with Curley and Jud literally threw me around as we danced. It was interesting. But fun.

Anyway, the way it is done, or if it is even done, probably varies from production to production. You could always watch one of the versions on dvd/video to see what what the main ideas are and what events take place in the dream ballet.

It's funny this was brought up cause i was just wondering today for some odd reason how common it is for there not to be a "dream" Laurey, Curley and Jud cast for the Dream Ballet.

[Celeste_SM]

[what_the_heck013]

My sister played Dream Laurey a few years ago (and Louise in Carousel). When she did Oklahoma, it was very close to the film's choreography, yet simple enough for middle schoolers (of course, for a girl who had been dancing since preschool, she had 6-7 years of ballet and jazz).

[filmphan821]

I love the dream ballet in this show and feel it is pretty vital to the storyline. By no means do I think it should be cut..you don't need amazing dancers to pull it off. It doesn't even have to be "ballet". It's more like..interperative dance. Watch the London cast version, it's amazing. And yes, the dancing in that version is amazing, but a lot of those things can be simplified to easier dance moves and still be effective. I'm in a production right now (tomorrow is opening night!) and I choreographed the ballet..a lot of it is acting out the main points that the ballet is supposed to get across to the audience. The scene is important because it shows the audience just how real Laurey's fear of Jud is..and also shows her deepest feelings that she won't even admit to herself, yet alone show outwardly (such as her love for Curly). In our production, Laurey and Curly share a romantic dance with a few simple yet effective lifts incorporated. I am playing Laurey and am by no means a dancer, but we still are pulling them off nicely. There is also a can-can sequence which shows what Laurey thinks of Jud and what kind of man she thinks he is because of the pictures of these girls on his wall. We didn't use any "dream" characters, we used all of the real actors for the characters. I think it is much more effective that way because the audience has a deeper connection to what is going on..they have already become attached to these people as these characters and it's much more meaningful. Random thoughts, I know.

[mildan]

just wondering
what characters are needed in the dream ballet ?
in the original choreography
and also, who gets the final bow ?

[choochoo]

[i'm_back]

I just saw Oklahoma, and the actual characters were in the ballet. Like there was no "Dream Laurey" or "Dream Curly" or "Dream Jud." Laurey, Curly, Jud did the ballet themselves. How does everyone feel about that?

[Mr_X]

I think it fits to the times today. I mean, back in 1940, directors didn't rely on the actor-singer-dancer nearly as much as they do today. I'm completely fine with the actors doing the dancing, the only problem is if you want a smooth transition from the ballet to the scene right before the curtain when Jud wakes Laurey up.

When I did it, we used dream characters. We had Dream Laurie first, with about 5 ensemble girls that played her friends and got her ready for the wedding. Then Dream Curly comes on with 5 of his ensemble guy friends, and they dance. Then Dream Jud comes, and eventually 5 ensemble girls come on as his "postcard girls" and they dance with Curly's friends. Then the knife fight and Curly's death. Then Jud attacks Laurey, just as real Jud wakes real Laurey up. They go off to the box social, as Curly walks on, spins his gun, and curtain.

[Mistress]