Last year it was announced that the venerable Oregon Shakespeare Festival would be putting an interesting spin on their upcoming production of "Oklahoma" by making the couplings of Laurey/Curly and Will/Ado Annie, same sex rather than the traditional heterosexual pairing.

The announcement was met with praise but also with some skepticism. Would a recasting like this make sense? Would it work within the context of the piece?

Well, at least according to local critics who have seen the show since its opening on April 22nd, it's worked perfectly.

Bill Choy of the Siskiyou Daily News stated,

"I am very happy to report that the changes feel natural and organic and work wonderfully well. They add a beautiful and poignant layer to “Oklahoma!” while still retaining the magic and charm that has made this musical so beloved over the years. When Tatiana Wechsler as Curly first comes on stage and starts to belt out “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,” her stunning singing voice and the way she fully inhabits this iconic character and makes it her own, I knew right away this production was going to be much more than just OK."

Maureen Falnnegan Battistella of the Mail Tribune added,

"There is no confusion in OSF’s production of “Oklahoma!” The celebration of difference is clear. And that great big sun center stage means home and a commitment to a beloved landscape that is reinventing itself today as surely as Oklahoma was in 1906."