Oklahoma!

A work of meticulous scholarship has appeared entirely devoted to the 1943 musical and it sets new standards of accuracy in what has been a gossipy milieu.

From the distinguished publishers Yale, it is written by Tim Carter who is David G. Frey Distinguished Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department, University of North Carolina; among his previous works is Monteverdi’s Musical Theatre and he is not messing about. He tells you all you could possibly want to know and perhaps a bit more about who contributed what to which song, why it was dropped before the opening night, indeed exactly what did happen in New Haven.

At first it seems inappropriate to lavish such detail on a work that never for a moment pretends to be anything but superficial – the plot you remember hinges on whether the nice country girl will have a picnic lunch with the nice country boy she fancies – but it is rather comforting to think it is all recorded.