“Oklahoma!” was a very new and influential musical for its time. It twisted what the audience knew about couples and love. By playing hard to get and pretending to fall for others, Laurey makes her relationship with Curly very complicated. In the past love was not portrayed like this. Instead of singing why two people don’t like each other, most musicals and shows depicted perfect couples living a happy life together, without a care in the world. This new relationship kept the audience at the edge of their seat. It is easy to say that “Oklahoma!” is not your typical musical.
“Oklahoma!” also stood out by singing and discussing themes like suicide. Because of Curly’s wits and Jud’s thick skull, Curly tries to trick Jud into killing himself.
