Hey, y’all!
My name is Nick and I am the new public relations and marketing intern for the spring! I grew up in Muskogee, America and I’m currently a super senior at the University of Central Oklahoma. For those of you who don’t know, “super senior” is just a really clever way of saying, “I couldn’t finish college in four years.”
I’m double majoring in Public Relations and Musical Theatre, with a minor in Journalism, so I’m pretty familiar with the process a musical or play has to go through and all that hoopla. I felt like Lyric would be the perfect place for me to practice my skills since it’s a language I already understand (you know, rather than writing a blog post for a law firm with all their big, fancy law words).
I feel extremely blessed because I came in at the beginning of Lyric’s 50th Anniversary Season, which is kind of incredible if you think about it. And what better way to launch their new season, and my arrival, than by celebrating with some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classics in SOME ENCHANTED EVENING? Several of their shows have been featured time and time again on Lyric’s stage and all come together in this enchanting musical revue (haha, see what I did there?).
I asked the cast about their favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals and here are their responses.
The cast of SOME ENCHANTED EVENING; photo by Keith Rinearson
Jamie Buxton:
We Oklahomans in the theatre owe a large portion of who we are to the musical OKLAHOMA!, whether we realize it or not, having grown up with the title tune as our state song and having sung the music from elementary school as a teaching tool about our state’s history. Is it a coincidence that so many successful musical theatre actors are from Oklahoma? I highly doubt it!
Ethan Spell:
My favorite would have to be CINDERELLA and I’ll tell you why. I grew up watching the TV production of the musical that featured Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber, Whoopi Goldberg, Brandy, Jason Alexander, etc. and I really fell in love with the music and the story. I think it’s insanely beautiful and magical. It’s my all-time favorite.
Melissa Griffith:
It’s so hard to pick just one, but of all the shows featured in SOME ENCHANTED EVENING I think my favorite would have to be THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The movie with Julie Andrews is one of the first musicals I remember seeing as a child and “My Favorite Things” is the first song I can remember singing from a musical.
Dallas Lish:
My favorite R&H musical is OKLAHOMA! There are quite a few songs in SOME ENCHANTED EVENING that came from that musical. Aside from setting the tone for what future fully-integrated musicals would look like, Oklahoma!, in my opinion, is one of the most well-written classic musicals of all time. I’ve had the opportunity to play Curly in two different productions, once at the Historic Coleman Theatre for Oklahoma’s State Centennial Celebration and once for Discoveryland! Each time I perform something from the show, I fall in love with the charm and heart of it all over again.
Heather Geery:
So, I really truly love anything Rodgers and Hammerstein, but I guess I would have to say my favorite from the show we are doing right now would have to be THE KIND AND I, because it has such sentimental value. This was my very first show at Lyric and my very first professional theatre experience. I am so very excited to be a part of this beautiful production at Lyric this summer. Things have truly come full circle!
