‘Oklahoma,’ where the fights look real on stage

Paul Saitowitz

A gun blast, a knife buried in the guts of an unsuspecting thug,

swift kicks to the head and punches that rattle the skull ... all

live and in person. Real? Well, they look real.

“Oklahoma” is known as America’s greatest musical, and in order

for it to continue night after night from town to town with the same

cast, those actions of brutality must appear, but obviously can not

be, authentic. No method acting here.

But the goal, in this day of rapid-fire shoot-’em-up films, is to

keep the house packed and to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Enter Jerry Miceli, the production’s fight captain.

“We’ve got four pretty demanding fights that take place in the

show, and we’re using the same choreography for those fights that

were used on the most recent Broadway production,” Miceli said. “I’d

definitely say that they are action-packed and more realistic than

the fights in this show have been in the past.”

Miceli, who also stars as Slim and considers himself an actor

first and foremost, honed his fake-fighting chops while studying at

the North Carolina School of the Arts. He is certified in

hand-to-hand combat and rapier/dagger fighting. This is his first

major production since graduating, and being the fight captain is

added pressure that he says he enjoys.

“It’s just something that was part of the curriculum, because

there is a lot of fighting that takes place in stage performances,

and I happened to be pretty good at it,” he said. “When we were

learning the fight choreography for ‘Oklahoma,’ I picked up on it

pretty quickly ... so they asked me if I wanted to be fight captain.”

There is no standard Hollywood fare like spurting blood or missing

limbs. So rather than drowning the audience in movie-like gore, these

fights rely on movement and sound effects.

Some of the fights are underscored by the orchestra, which helps

put the violent emphasis on all the necessary parts.

“There are certain body claps and ways to move so that the

audience is never able to see what is actually going on,” Miceli

said. “The key is for the actors to always keep solid eye contact;

that way, even if something unpredictable takes place, they are

always prepared.”

The show features two fights between the characters Jud and Curly

that involve knives and guns, a female fight with plenty of hair

pulling, and an all-out, 28-person brawl made up of several

individually coordinated fights.

Putting together these scuffles, especially the 28-person spat,

takes more than just a few rehearsals.

“We have a fight call before every show, where we go over what

exactly is going to happen and what to do if something goes wrong,”

Miceli said. “Safety is the most important thing.”

“Oklahoma” will be at the Orange County Performing Arts Center

from Tuesday until June 20.