Bump for later, this looks like it could be interesting.
As luck would have it, I watched Oklahoma today. I love Oklahoma, it’s really my fave R & H musical, but it really has a lot of rather dark elements.
I also love OK, a great movie and musical, made great by the dark elements.
I know the Cherokee were relocated to Oklahoma but it’s my understanding that Oklahoma had always been the home range of the Comanche, who btw are the second largest Indian tribe, were the most feared and war-like and were the last Indians to ‘’walk the white mans road’’, i.e move to reservations.
My grandmother was born and raised in Purcell. She was 19 on the day Oklahoma became a state and the then state capital, Purcell, celebrated. She always thought that the musical was written about her. Except for the dark and naughty bits.