The popularly and critically acclaimed production was filmed in HD and will be aired on UNC-TV, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 8-11 p.m.. The TV production will be hosted by UNCSA Chancellor John Mauceri, who served as musical director and artistic supervisor of the stage production.
The TV production is made possible by a half-a-million-dollar grant from the A.J. Fletcher Foundation of Raleigh. The gift, $100,000 a year for five years, will expose statewide audiences to UNCSA’s talented students by broadcasting their performances over UNC-TV. Oklahoma! is the first UNCSA production to be filmed and aired over UNC-TV with the grant.
“The UNC system is unique in many ways,” Chancellor Mauceri said. “Two of them are in having a system-wide arts conservatory, UNCSA, and another is in having a system-wide television network, UNC-TV. It seemed only natural to me that we find a way for these two institutions to work together. The Fletcher Foundation has shared in that vision, making this fantastic dream a reality.
“Surely this will be a tremendous way for UNCSA to say ‘thank you’ to the people of North Carolina,” Mauceri added, “and for our citizens throughout the state to share in the astonishing achievements of our student artists.”
UNC-TV Director and General Manager Tom Howe said: “We appreciate the opportunity to be able to use this ground-breaking grant to enrich the unique services to the state provided by UNC-TV and UNCSA, and to enhance North Carolina’s cultural experience. UNC-TV has a rich tradition of bringing performance and cultural programming to a statewide audience, so this joint effort is a perfect fit for us.”
Additional support was provided by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute of the Arts and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Fund for the Arts, which facilitated the hiring of accomplished television director David Stern to helm the cameras and UNCSA School of Filmmaking alumnus Andrew Young to serve as Associate Director and Editor of the project.
More than 10,000 people saw UNCSA’s faithful restoration of the original 1943 Broadway production, which played April 28-May 8 at the school’s Roger L. Stevens Center in Winston-Salem. School of the Arts Drama alumnus Terrence Mann directed.
Among the acclaim:
- “Oklahoma! is a hit from start to end. … This Oklahoma! is no ‘student’ performance but one worthy of the best professional theater in any major city in the country – first-rate acting, singing, dancing, and playing made this event the major entertainment event of the season, bar none! – Classical Voice North Carolina
- “From the first note, the sheer energy of the show comes at you at once, like . . . well, like wind sweepin’ down a plain. – savorNC
- “To say the show was awesome would be the understatement of the century. From the actors to the costumes, Oklahoma! wowed me the whole way through.” – Life in Forsyth
- “The color and energy on stage dazzle and delight the eye. The voices and orchestra tantalize the ear. You’ll be humming for days and maybe even kicking up your heels… .” – Winston-Salem Journal – http://www2.journalnow.com/topics/types/industryterm/tags/energy/
The show and accompanying gala generated more than $330,000 for student scholarships at UNCSA.
When Oklahoma! opened on Broadway in 1943, it transformed musical theatre with its innovative integration of words, music, dance and design. UNCSA’s restoration includes the original Agnes de Mille choreography. In addition, UNCSA extensively researched all aspects of the original production and painstakingly recreated the original costumes and stage designs.
Theodore Chapin, President and Executive Director of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, said, “For John Mauceri to conceive the idea of an Oklahoma! as close to exactly how it was when it opened may seem like a simple idea, but no one has had it before. It is sure to add an invaluable piece to both the historic and performance history of a musical that has long been acknowledged as the one that galvanized an entertainment genre into an American art form.”