In 2018, Rodgers and Hammerstein's first show turned 75 years old, and to celebrate, we performed it at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. We held two matinee and three evening performances 12th to 14th April.

Based on the 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs, by Lynn Riggs, Oklahoma! is the first

musical written by the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Our production certainly showed that three quarters of a century after its 1943 premiere, its energy and honesty still exhilarate – a hymn to the purest values of the American frontier before Bible-Belt bigotry took its grip. Every number has charm and character, word and tune beautifully integrated without a false note.

For this production we welcomed Cheryl Mumford as director and Diana Whybrow as musical director, along with a large cast including a great mix of established members and newcomers. Audiences were full of praise for the energetic production and marvellous performances.

Publicity photos courtesy of Tim Hinchliffe.