Meet Sasha Hutchings: Female Lead in 21st Century Revival of Musical “OKLAHOMA!”

DURHAM, NC – Reimagined for the 21st century and the Tony Award Winner for Best Revival of a Musical, OKLAHOMA! had a run at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) March 29th – April 3rd. OKLAHOMA!, which Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted from Lynn Riggs’s 1931 play, “Green Grow the Lilacs,” has a simple plot: the plot revolves around a cowboy, a farmhand, and a young farm girl. A cowboy named Curly, a handsome and humorous young man wants to take a farm girl, Laurey, to a box social. However, a love triangle persists throughout the musical as Jud Fry, a creepy and mysterious man who happens to be Laurey’s worker, seeks to make her his wife.

Direct from an acclaimed run on Broadway comes an OKLAHOMA! that looks and sounds like America today. One very noticeable change is the Black actress playing the lead role of the farm girl Laurey, Sasha Hutchings. After having the opportunity to review the play, I wanted to get to know more about the actress and her experiences with the play.

Below is my interview with Sasha Hutchings:

Where did you grow up? Where are you from? What schools did you attend?

I was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. I graduated from Central High School.

What was the moment in your life that you knew you wanted to be a performer?

I danced my entire life. I started dancing when I was three and danced through high school. When it was time to decide what I wanted to pursue as my career, I had a conversation with the director of my dance studio and my parents (who were very supportive). I didn’t want to stop dancing, and we started looking into options where I could continue to dance. It easily became clear that I wanted to pursue dance full time. I had the director of my studio help me find different auditions as well as different schools, and I began preparing. Eventually, I ended up at Oklahoma State studying dance performance.

How did your love for acting and performance develop throughout your life?

In school at Oklahoma, I was studying dance. However, their dance program is very much geared towards American theater. My first exposure to singing was when I auditioned for the First Summer Stock Job at Lyric theater; some of my friends helped me audition and got me into it. I got enough of a song together and read through some scenes; I didn’t have any singing or acting training, but I wanted to give it a shot. I worked there during the Summer once I got the audition. I fell in love with how I could dance as well as act and sing; I could incorporate my passion for dance into something new that I was beginning to fall in love with.

Besides OKLAHOMA!, what other productions have you been in?

The first production I was in was “Memphis, the Musical Broadway”; I made my debut there. I was an original cast member of “Hamilton” and participated in “My Fair Lady”, OKLAHOMA! on Broadway, and “Rocky”.

How did you get the role of Laurey? Can you explain the process? What drew you to her role?

I joined the Oklahoma! company as a stand-by for Laurey, Anne, and lead dancer in the dream ballet. I auditioned, and my agent sent me a couple of songs. I ended up joining the company on Broadway and took over the role of Laurey and Anne on a regular basis. When the tour was announced, I was asked to join. I said, “I loved the show and I would absolutely join as Laurey!” It was a chance to travel, and I wanted to bring this American musical to my audience.

What are your interpretations of the new OKLAHOMA!?

I enjoyed this version. For me, the approach to the show is to take the words and say them. We have such preconceived notions about the production; this approach asks questions and looks at the characters in a new light of how we live today. It’s connected to the original characters from 1907 territory people on the cusp of becoming a state. I look at how the characters expressed desires. What they are looking for is similar to the dreams and desires we have now in 2022. It is a raw take and digs into human desires. You can put this production under a different lens and see different elements of human desires within different people and bodies within backgrounds. The production is not so far removed from the original as the words and lyrics are the same. But yet, with a different tone and new elements, you bring out different notes of these characters that are more dangerous and raw.

What should viewers in NC expect from the new version ofOKLAHOMA!?

Expect to be challenged. I would guess they would be surprised if they are familiar with the original version and movie; people are big fans of this original production work. Hopefully, if you can stay open and expect to be surprised, you will get to understand these iconic American characters in a new way.

How does it feel being cast as a Black woman in the lead role when it was previously designated for a white woman? How has this impacted you? What have you learned from it?

If I limited myself to roles designated for only Black women, I would be extremely disappointed with the results. There is a default that characters are white and look a certain way; as an actor and human, I have to imagine myself where other people have not previously imagined me. We people of color are still achieving milestones in our society. It takes you as a person envisioning yourself and imagining yourself somewhere where you might not belong. As an African American woman, there isn’t much that changes when working on the stage. At the end of the day, it is me being a woman of color on stage expressing desires that everyone has. Being Black is somewhat challenging, but striving towards wanting to be loved, having nice things, and building a life for myself in America is just as much my American dream as anybody else’s. It breaks down a barrier to see these desires and characters embodied by a black woman. For me, Laurey is very familiar; it is a chance to show a character and a person who was alive and living in Oklahoma as a farmer and territory woman. Black men and women in Oklahoma were living similar lives as these characters portrayed in the production! Laurey is not an imaginary figure as a black woman; she was a real woman who existed, and it is an honor to tap into that ancestry and lineage.

How would you compare OKLAHOMA! to real-world life problems going on today in our society?

The technology changes, but the problems are the same. We all relate to one another and understand people differently. We are all outsiders in our own little way. Jud is an outsider, but so is every other character portrayed on the stage. Everyone has their own aspect but is trying to live within the community. It is a great American musical because the themes and relationships are quite timeless.

What was the most exciting aspect of coming to NC?

I look forward to coming to the South. Different pace, warmer weather, and sweet tea. There is charm, and southern charm is a tangible thing I enjoy. They don’t make biscuits in the North as they have down here! I am a foodie, so that is a major reason why I love coming down to the South. I may have to take some time to visit the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since you mentioned it, Lauren. It is something I want to check off of my to-do list.

Sasha Hutchings, we look forward to seeing you in many more musical productions!