What a fantastic show! Right from the start, from the "Could you be Curly" talent contest through to the last night, it was a wonderful show to be involved with.



The whole cast and crew worked as a team, and we were very lucky to have the immensely talented Vanessa Golborn School of Dance performing the amazing dream ballet sequence, and also some sparkling choreography from Vanessa and Emily.

The show sold out almost every night, one of the most successful audiences ever. Read reviews from Alton Herald and Alton Gazette

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Alton Herald – 20th March 20008

Fresh Talent Graces The Stage

ALTON Operatic and Dramatic Society raised the roof at Alton Assembly Rooms with a rousing production of Oklahoma!, on Saturday, March 8.

It was AODS at its best - a fine production which had real energy and fire. Not only was the audience treated to a raft of familiar scores, but the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic was brought to life with colourful costumes and innovative scenery conjuring up the raw excitement of the wild west.

A story of ranchers and farmers living in Oklahoma territory in the early 1900s, the show revolved around not one but two love triangles.

A headstrong Laurie, stubborn Curly and villainous Jud Fry seemed determined to prove the old adage that the course of true love never did run smooth, while Ado Annie's inability to say 'no' to either her rather short-sighted admirer, Will Parker, or Ali Hakim, a peddler with a penchant for the ladies, provided the comic relief.

There were new faces on stage, with talent that emerged from the society's X-factor style contest held last autumn, and members of the Vanessa Golborn School of Dance, who performed the famous dream sequence.

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Alton Gazette – 19th March 2008 - By Lorna Warden

An Evening Filled With Charm And Honky-tonk

The whole team involved in this production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” fully embraced the fantasy of the mid-West with much enthusiasm; from children selling programmes to the fantastic finale where the audience experienced the splendour and power behind a talented group of singers.

The tmeme song “Oklahoma!” was sung with precision, timing, strong harmonies and excellence. It was repeated as an encore to meet the needs of the audience who, if like me, were sitting on the edge of their seats, the backs of their necks tingling and high from the atmosphere generated.

The commitment from all cast members allowed the audience to warm to the characters and witness the human approach to love, with the tangles and twists which can result. This was expressed so beautifully in Laurey’s dream sequence, where members of the Vanessa Golborn school of dance demonstrated Laureey’s (played by Susie Dean) anguish by contrasting a magical, emotionally charged ballet scene, with a honky-tonk, scantily clad, show girl routine, used as a metaphor for Laurey’s love for Curly Maclain (played by Gavin Ebsworth) and fear about Jud Fry (played by Glen Westwood).

Fun loving Ado Annie (played by Anne Bradley) brought a charm to the whole evening as we witnessed her naïve love for love as she connected so brilliantly whth the two men in her life; honest and open-hearted Will Parker (played by Bill Payne) and Ali Hakim (played by Mac Newton) who was not seeking long-term commitment from a relationship – just the rewards.

From beginning to end, this was a marvellous way to spend an evening. For those of you who missed it, I highly recommend you look out for the Alton Operatic and Dramatic Society’s next production because you won’t be disappointed.