Opening in 1943, Oklahoma! was the first musical collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Basing the musical on the stage play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, Hammerstein wrote the words first and Rodgers created the music to fit the lyrics.

The story of Oklahoma! is about a young woman named Laurey and her Aunt Eller who live in the Indian Territory in the early 1900s.  As the story evolves, the main question becomes who will take Laurey Williams to the box social, Curly McClain, the cowboy, or Jud Fry, the hired hand?  Laurey's lighthearted friend, Ado Annie, and Ado's boyfriends, Will Parker and Ali Hakim, do their best to ease the tension, but Laurey will have to choose.  The show opens with Oh, What a Beautiful Morning and features other wonderful songs such as The Surrey with the Fringe on Top, The Farmer and the Cowman, and finally, Oklahoma!.