Preview: Duns and District Operatic Society get ready to present Oklahoma

While other operatic societies have opted to go for more modern pieces this year, Duns and District decided to follow up last year's huge success, '˜Sister Act', with a real classic from the 1950s, Roger and Hammerstein's '˜Oklahoma'.

Back in October the cast began, under Mike Hardy’s musical directorship, to learn the words, tunes and harmonies to some truly iconic show tunes.

Before Christmas there was a frantic scout around for extra men to swell the numbers of the farming fraternity on stage. Fortunately two or three arms were twisted and added to the already considerable cast.

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On the surface Oklahoma doesn’t appear to hold too many challenges for the director. However, there are a number of fights included in the piece that cannot be avoided and add to the drama of the show. Enter Janet Lawson, a stage fight co-ordinator, who on a very snowy Saturday drove from Kirkintilloch to Duns to put the cast through their paces.

The second challenge was the ‘ballet’ sequence which forms almost all of Act 1 scene 3. Sarah Aitken (choreographer) and Glen Shepherd (cameraman) joined forces with Mike and Elenor Crawford to capture the right unreal and dream-like quality.

DDAOS look forward to seeing you there. Tickets (£10/£8) are available from Duns Post Office. The show runs from April 6-9 from 7.30pm in the Volunteer Hall.

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