Like many others, I grew up on the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein. My first exposure to them was on film.

The wonderful movies such as "South Pacific," "Carousel," "The Sound of Music" and "Oklahoma!" were my favorites. I especially loved the onscreen chemistry in "Oklahoma!" between Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.

As I grew a little older, I was cast in these shows in high school and in summer theaters, mostly in ensemble roles. I loved to sing Richard Rodgers' music (I still do) because in combination with Oscar Hammerstein's evocative and poetic lyrics it made for some of the most melodic and intelligent musical theater writing of all time.

This is my second opportunity to direct "Oklahoma!" I wasn't really happy with my first attempt back in 1996. This time around it is a great honor to produce this show for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. I have been fortunate enough to cast actors with the maturity and experience to fulfill the demands of the script, the music and the dance.

Ah yes, the dance! Everyone knows that Agnes de Mille created the innovative dream ballet that ends the first act as well as several dance sequences. In her day, you simply brought on the ballet corps to dance these sections, notably in the "dream ballet" where you replaced Curly, Laurey and Jud with their dance counterparts (which is what I had to do back in 1996). This time, I wanted the actors playing these roles to be able to dance, as well as perform complex fight sequences that were realistic and exciting.

Fortunately, I have Broadway fight choreographer Rick Sordelet to stage the fights and longtime collaborator and friend Stephen Casey, who is expert at creating beautiful and effective musical theater dance. The men learned to clog like they were born to it, and the women float and twirl like ballerinas as well dance a spirited hoedown. The actors had to learn and practice several complex fight sequences. Nate Diehl, our gifted musical director, trained the singers and leads the 14-piece professional orchestra.

The design team that we assembled for this production has never worked together before, but they are all experts in their fields and their artistry is impeccable. David P. Gordon, who has won many a Philadelphia theater Barrymore award for his beautiful scenic designs, and Michael McDonald, whose designs for the recent Broadway revival of "Hair" scored him a well-deserved Tony nomination, are teamed up with another long-time collaborator who paints with light better than anyone I know Eric Haugen.

David P. Gordon and I decided early on that we wanted to move the first act around to many locations in Claremore, Oklahoma, and to not stay confined to Laurey's farm. We wanted to open up the story and also evoke the vastness of the plains and the challenging lives of these Oklahoma territory settlers around 1905. We looked at a great deal of period research as well as photographs of the area around Claremore, Oklahoma.

Rehearsals took on greater meaning and poignancy with the recent tornado disasters in Oklahoma, and seeing the courage and strength of these amazing people in news reports was certainly inspiring.

It was important to Michael McDonald and me that the clothing worn by the characters were based on the actual garments of the period and that they looked lived and worked in, complete with sweat, grime and dirt.

The cast has worked tirelessly for three weeks learning the complex dances, fights and music creating the tapestry of memorable characters that make up the world of the play. We have worked hard to evoke the feeling of a real town where people live, love and work.

We hope you will join us for a vibrant, funny and poignant portrayal of the people of Oklahoma when it was on the verge of statehood, and how those people embraced change and challenge with that uniquely indomitable American spirit.

Dennis Razze is Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Associate Artistic Director. This is the first of the three-part "Behind the Scenes" at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Part Two: Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Producing Artistic Director Patrick Mulcahy. Part Three: Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Managing Director Casey William Gallagher.