Theater review

Rogers & Hammerstein's musical Oklahoma! was performed last weekend at Davenport High School by the Wheatland Theatre Company with a cast composed of both local area residents and professional actors.

Attending the Sunday performance, we found the set design lovely, the sound engineering perfect (you could hear every word spoken), the costumes authentic and the music toe-tapping, classic Rogers & Hammerstein, played by real musicians sitting on the stage balcony.

Nathan Robert Pecchia as Curly was great in the role, his professionalism showing in both his acting and singing. Jaycelane Fortin was perhaps slightly less polished as a performer but held her own with a lovely singing voice and with poise in the role.

Karen Brewster of Davenport, known to many who have followed local theater performances, played Aunt Eller and was a delight to watch.

Also of note were some dance routines that looked quite professional.

The show was on the long side, running three hours including the 15-minute intermission, and had its dark elements of jealousy, unrequited love and violent death, but was nevertheless well worth the time and cost of a ticket.

Last Sunday was billed as Odessa Day, with Odessa residents receiving a discount on tickets. But with harvest just beginning and folks gearing up for it, there were still not many familiar Odessa faces in the audience. Despite the lack of Odessa support, the show on Sunday was a sell-out, we were told.

The show runs through July 29, so Odessa folks still have an opportunity to catch it before its run is over.