For seventy years Oklahoma!, the very first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, has delighted audiences around the world with its wonderful music that includes the songs Surry with the Fringe on Top, I Can’t Say No, and People Will Say We’re in Love. In a change that revolutionized musical theater, Oklahoma! is also a strong drama, with characters we care about deeply and lyrics and choreography that directly relate to the story. Curly the cowboy, Laurey the young homesteader, the misfit Judd Fry and all the other farmers and ranchers have helped define both the golden age of musical theater and the American experience. Premiering in March 1943, in the midst of World War II, Oklahoma was an instant burst of optimistic energy. That spirit endures

Church Hill Theatre’s production of Oklahoma! is directed by Sylvia Maloney. Her cast of more than two dozen will be supported by Musical Director Joan Blume, Choreographer Cavin Moore, a live orchestra, and a full contingent of back stage helpers. CHT’s summer musicals are community theater at its best: Eager and inexperienced newcomers share the stage with experienced audience favorites (and sometimes the first-timers are decades older than the “pros”). Volunteers have painted the sets, constructed the costumes, and found all the props. While lacking Broadway’s glitz and special effects, Church Hill Theatre and talented local performers produce some pretty fine magic here on the Eastern Shore.

It’s always important to know who’s who in the cast. The young lovers, Laurey and Curly, are played by Becca VanAken and Mark Wiening. Aunt Eller is portrayed by Debbie Ebersole and Jud Fry by Wade Garrett. Lorrie Foy is the irrepressible Ado Annie and her suitors Will Parker and Ali Hakim will be played by Brian Whitaker and Will Covington. Others in the cast are Ira Nelson as Andrew Carnes, Kelly Ostazeski as Gertie Cummings, Kylie Sommer as Kate, Abbey Gilbert as Ellen, Jenifer Johnson as Sylvie, Karin Larsen as Vivian, Cara Wood as Aggie, Lois Miller as Armina, Samantha McCreary as Virginia, Laura Kaufmann as Sarah, Kasandra McCreary as Jane, Matt Foker as Ike Skidmore, Colin Graves as Cord Elam, Patrick Lindsay as Slim, Brandon Walls as Mike, Brody Alderson as Fred, Earl Payton as Joe, and Nolan Lindsay as Tom. Amanda and Eden Kloetzli will perform as Dance Laurey, Bryan Betley will be Dance Curly (and Jess), and Wade Garrett will be Dance Jud.

The all-important orchestra, conducted from the piano by Joan Blume, includes Ron Demby, Amy Stinnett, Frank Gerber, Joe Diamond and Albert Briggs.

The support staff includes Producer Bonnie Hill, Stage Manager Michele Christopher, Set Designer Michael Whitehill, Art Design by Brian Draper, Light Design by Doug Kaufmann, and Costumes by Tina Johnson and Erma Johnson. Jusden Messick, Michele Christopher, Brian Whitaker, Jim Johnson, Nic Carter, Bernadette Alderson, and Steve Payne will help ensure everything runs smoothly. Sheila Austrian, John Beck and Pat Patterson provided publicity, program design and photography.

Oklahoma! will run from June 7 to June 23, with performances at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 pm on Sundays. Tickets are $20 for adults , $17 for members and $10 for students. Reservations are essential, as CHT’s summer musical sells out quickly. Call 410-758-1331 or visit our website churchhilltheatre.org.

On Sunday, May 19, the Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble will present a program with a theme of “A Night at the Opera.” The free band concert, conducted by Dr. Keith Wharton, will begin at 4:00 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cross and High streets, Chestertown.

The wide-ranging program of mostly well-known selections should appeal not only to opera buffs but also to a general audience, which will find much of the music familiar.

The concert will open with the frequently performed overture to W.A. Mozart’s 1786 comic opera The Impresario, a burlesque of an audition held by a theater director. Next, “Bacchanale” from Samson et Dalila (1876), by Saint-Saëns, will evoke one aspect of the Biblical story. The contrasting stately “Grand March” from Verdi’s Aida (1871), set in Egypt, will follow.

“Meditation” from Masssenet’s Thaïs (1894), also set in Egypt, was written for solo violin and orchestra as a symphonic interlude between acts but has also become well known as a flute solo with accompaniment. Emily Sessa of Galena, an ESWE member during middle and high school, now a music education major at Towson University, will be the flute soloist.

Two excerpts from Verdi’s Il Trovatore (1852), the contrasting “Anvil Chorus” and “Missere” will be played, followed by excerpts from Die Meistersinger (1867), by Richard Wagner. The 20th century will be represented by a medley of five tunes from A.L. Webber’s 1986 Phantom of the Opera. The program will conclude with themes from the overture to Mozart’s Magic Flute (1791), one of the most recognizable and best-loved opera overtures.

The Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble is an all-ages community concert band that offers area musicians an opportunity to continue or return to the pleasures of playing quality music in a large ensemble—and to present such music to the public. New members are always welcome, without audition or fee. For more information, call 410-778-2829 or 410-810-1834. The ensemble is partially supported by the Kent County Arts Council.

Local favorite Karen Somerville will be joined by the Blue Night Quintet, five superb young musicians from the Washington DC area for Bojangle Jazz, an evening of jazz, R&B and blues, this Saturday, May 4, 8 pm at the Garfield Center in Chestertown.

This will be the second collaboration between Somerville and the Quintet in Kent County. Their first show, in November of 2012 at the Mainstay in Rock Hall was a resounding success; so much so that one of the audience members, Larry Wilson, was determined to bring them back for a repeat performance.

Somerville has received high praise for her gospel performances with Sombarkin and the New Gospelites, as well as for her performance in Robert Earl Price’s play “The Golden Sardine.” The Blue Night Quintet (all still in high school) consists of Sam Levine, upright bass ; Joseph Deng, tenor sax ; Jordan Wolff, drums; Austin Yeun, alto sax; and Jack Gruber, piano. Somerville became acquainted with the pianist, Jack Gruber, via his father, who was producing one of her albums. Gruber
said he was interested in working with her, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The program is best described as a blend of classic R&B, jazz standards, a hint of country, and the kick of bossa nova . Fans of Smokey Robinson, Etta James and Nina Simone should not miss this show.

Tickets are $20, $5 for students, and are available at the Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince
Theatre. Call 410 810 2060 or go online at www.garfieldcenter.org.

Three of Washington College’s student music groups will bring their academic year to a close with a free, public performance of classical and contemporary pieces on Tuesday, April 30, at 8 p.m. in Hotchkiss Recital Hall, Gibson Center for the Arts. The concert will feature the Symphonic Band, Saxophone Quartet, and Brass Ensemble.

The WC Symphonic Band, directed by Keith Wharton, will perform “Toccata Marziale” by R. Vaughan Williams, “Dolcina” from Symphony No. 3, “Don Quixote” by Robert W. Smith, “An Outdoor Overture” by Aaron Copland, and “Cajun Folk Songs” by Frank Tichelli.

The Saxophone Quartet, directed by Phyllis Crossen-Richardson, will present “It Don’t Mean a Thing” by Duke Ellington, “Mission Impossible” by Lalo Schifrin, “When I’m Sixty-Four” by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Freddie Mercury.

The Brass Ensemble, directed by Davy DeArmond, will perform “Fanfare” from La Péri by Paul Dukas, several traditional tunes including “Die Bankelsangerlieder” and “Shenandoah,” and an arrangement of the theme for Magnificent 7 by Elmer Bernstein.