Grafton teen featured in Hanover Theatre’s ‘Oklahoma!’

Grafton resident Nate Baniukiewicz, 13, will portray a farmer in the Hanover Theatre Conservatory’s Teen Youth Summer Program production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!”

Oklahoma!, the first groundbreaking collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, remains, in many ways, their most innovative, setting the standards and rules of modern musical theatre. In a Western territory just after the turn of the 20th century, a high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provides a colorful background for Curly, a charming cowboy, and Laurey, a feisty farm girl, to play out their love story. Their romantic journey, as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road, contrasts with the comic exploits of brazen Ado Annie and hapless Will Parker in a musical adventure embracing hope, determination and the promise of a new land.

Shows are Friday, August 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, August 14 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Now in its 13th year, the Teen Youth Summer Program is designed for students seeking a pre-professional experience. Teens attend daily morning classes focusing on music, drama and dance, as well as afternoon rehearsals for the final production. You can see these young stars shine in “Oklahoma!,” the first musical performed on the theatre’s mainstage since March of 2020.

Tickets are $25. Reservations are available online at TheHanoverTheatre.org, by phone at 877.571.SHOW (7469) or at The Hanover Theatre box office located at 2 Southbridge Street in downtown Worcester. The Hanover Theatre currently requires all audience members to wear masks.