Lyric stages 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'

Lyric Theatre continues the 2008 summer season of musicals Tuesday with “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers,” the wholesome tale of Adam Pontipee, his six burly brothers and their shenanigans of courtship.
“Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” plays July 22-26 at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City.
The time is 1850, the place is the backwoods of Oregon, and Adam Pontipee has just returned home to his cabin with his new bride, Milly, causing his unkempt, rowdy brothers to decide that they too need love and companionship.
Despite Milly’s attempts to reform the brothers, they are banished from town, and when they decide to kidnap six townswomen for the winter, the results are pure hilarity.
In the Lyric production, Elisa Van Duyne (on Broadway with “110 In The Shade,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “42nd Street”) stars as Milly alongside Jim Sorensen (Off-Broadway: “The Body Beautiful,” “Plain & Fancy”) as Adam. They will be joined by New York performers Joseph Medeiros (Broadway: “Wicked” and “Big, the Musical”) as Gideon, Ron Todorowski (Broadway: “Movin’ Out”) as Ephraim, Mike Frankey (national tour: “The Boy Friend”) as Ben, and Kyle Vaughn (national tour: “All Shook Up”) as Caleb.
The cast of brides and brothers is rounded out by Lanae Rhodes, Brooke Gebb, Cassie Chesnutt, Sasha Hutchings, Melissa Steadman, Addie Tomlinson, Joshua Buscher and Alex Michael Stoll. Several other local professionals also take the stage as the jealous suitors and townspeople.
“Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” opened on Broadway in 1982. In recent years, the musical has enjoyed a resurgence in regional theaters across the country because of a reworked script and orchestrations. This innovated, streamlined approach offers a more realistic presentation of the story than does the slapstick style of the film, but still includes the classic numbers such as “Wonderful, Wonderful Day,” “Bless Yore Beautiful Hide” and “Sobbin’ Women,” as well as exuberant and athletic dance numbers.
The production is directed and choreographed by DJ Salisbury, with music direction by Scot Gregory Woolley.
Tickets are priced from $27 to $52. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, plus a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. For tickets: www.lyrictheatreokc.com, (405) 524-9312, 1-800- 364-7111, or in person at 1727 NW 16th St., Oklahoma City.
The 2008 season concludes next month with “Urinetown, the Musical.”