MBU News

Oklahoma! With an MBU Twist

November 1, 2007

By Beth Kinsey

On Nov. 8, the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! will find its way to the MBU stage.

The first collaborative musical play written by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Oklahoma! is a Western love story set in Oklahoma Territory in 1906. The storyline follows the romance of cowboy Curly Mclain and Laurey Williams and the conflict resulting from tension they face from Laurey’s farmhand, Jud Fry.

Ashley Helbig, a junior at MBU will be playing the part of Laurey Williams. This is the first lead role Helbig has done while at MBU, though she has participated in other theater productions in the past. In high school, Helbig took part in several productions put on by Dayspring School of the Arts, including such roles as Kathy Selden in Singing in the Rain and Sally Brown in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.

A natural brunette, Helbig says that she was very shocked to hear that she had gotten the part of Laurey Williams, because as she described it, the part it is normally characterized by a very feminine, petite blonde girl. “It’s invigorating because we’re portraying classical Oklahoma! with a fresh perspective,” Helbig commented. “In my case, I am eager to play Laurey from a different angle and not how someone would expect the character to be played.”

Helbig admits that when she first heard that MBU would be doing Oklahoma! she was not very excited because she thought it would be “the same stale Oklahoma! I had seen a hundred times.” However, when she read the script, she saw that this was not the case.

“This new version unfolds and overturns new leaves for the characters,” Helbig explained. “Sometimes the characters can appear shallow, but the way we’re doing it is bringing out new aspects of their character.”

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