Aaron Ramey earned great praise for his commanding portrayal of the farmhand Jud Fry when Arena Stage opened the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010 with a version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” Now that Arena Stage has brought back the show for a summer run, Ramey is back in D.C., again playing the man who hungers for the love of Laurey. Ramey says he has always looked at Jud as “conflicted,” but not evil, corrupt or ignorant, as he is often portrayed.
“Jud clearly has a lot of anger in him,” Ramey said. “But if he looks slow or dopey, as he is often cast, he becomes a not very interesting character.” Ramey points out that Rodgers and Hammerstein must have intended to give Jud a certain appeal.
| Onstage |
| ‘Oklahoma’ |
| Where: Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW |
| When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, noon Sept. 21 and 27; through Oct. 2 |
| Info: $61 to $106; 202-488-3300; arenastage.org |
In “Oklahoma!” Jud asks Laurey to attend a party with him and she accepts, but if Jud is completely unattractive, that part of the story doesn’t ring true. “If you play Jud that way, there’s no reason why Laurey would attend the party with him in the first place,” Ramey explained.
“I don’t think he’s an ambiguous figure. He’s one of the more realistic people in the play. He’s clearly had violence in his past, he hasn’t had an easy life.” Ramey’s vision of Jud allows him to create a complex character, whose depth is evident in Ramey’s moving rendition of “Lonely Room.”
Ramey is a great fan of working in the round in the new Fichandler Theatre. “You’re certainly more exposed there than on a proscenium stage, but that’s what I like about it,” he said. “Even if it’s a group scene and I’m not talking or singing, I know that people are watching. Much of the cast is about an arm’s length from the audience at all times.”
Ramey is particularly enthusiastic about what director Molly Smith has done with her new interpretation of “Oklahoma!”
“Molly has elevated this show into the modern theater sensibility,” he explained, “rather than letting it remain where it used to be, among old-time musicals. The characters in this ‘Oklahoma!’ are working people who are blazing trails. Seeing that level of realism is much more compelling that just watching people sing and dance. It adds a wonderful dimension to the musical. And it lets the show speak to contemporary audiences in ways they don’t expect.”
