People will say we’re in love with show

“Oklahoma!’’ took the “comedy’’ out of musical comedy, but it put a whole lot more back into the genre.

Audience members who settle into their Culbreth Theatre seats next week to see the University of Virginia Department of Drama’s production will not only sample a slice of Americana and a heaping helping of memorable tunes, but also a glimpse of a moment when theater history changed.

The 1943 musical was a landmark for many reasons. For starters, it was the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who became one of Broadway’s most legendary teams. The curtain went up not on a splashy production number filled with leggy chorus girls, but on a no-frills farm woman with a churn. And it addressed some decidedly non-fluffy themes — isolation, rivalry and death.

Several previous shows, including “Show Boat’’ and “Porgy and Bess,’’ had tackled serious themes, but “Oklahoma!’’ took the next step and integrated the story, music and dance into a cohesive production. Not long after the curtain fell, the “book musical’’ became a valid player in the Broadway realm. Plots didn’t have to be limited to charming fragments to string dance numbers together.

“It was the show that changed the genre,’’ director Robert Chapel said. “After ‘Oklahoma!’ show after show started dealing with serious themes.’’

Agnes de Mille’s famed ballet advanced the plot by revealing what characters were thinking, instead of merely injecting some action. The barn door had been kicked open for musicals that questioned racial prejudice, that commented on political issues, that sent protagonists to war — and to the morgue. And it was safe to stray from cut-and-dried characterizations and show villains that aren’t completely vicious and heroes that aren’t spotless.

“It’s not totally black and white,’’ Chapel said. “I’m hoping that our audience will feel for Jud. He’s this loner shunted off by the world.’’

Farm hand Jud Fry came off as a menacing villain in the film version of “Oklahoma!’’ in part because his big song, “Lonely Room,’’ didn’t make the cut. Chapel said the song gives the audience more context by showing how the way people treated Jud contributed to his seething image.

At the same time, it charmed its audiences — especially service members getting ready to ship out to serve in World War II, and the loved ones who stayed behind and wondered when they’d return.

“It embodies the American spirit, and this was at the height of World War II,’’ Chapel said. Farmers, cowboys and the wholesome girl next door brought to mind “the opening of the West and the beginnings of our country,’’ he said.

Even the cast, crew and director aren’t immune to the show’s charm.

“It’s the first album I ever bought. I was maybe 8 or 9,’’ Chapel said. He played Will Parker in a production of “Oklahoma!” while in high school, and he directed it in 1986.

“It has a lot of resonance for me,’’ he said.

And despite the way it shook up those first audiences 65 years ago, today it can stir a sense of nostalgia that can’t be beat.

“Compared to the shows of today, it’s completely innocent,’’ Chapel said with a laugh.