Most people love the songs, but the story of Oklahoma! is often dismissed as predictable. Remarkably, the director John Doyle, best known for his productions of Sondheim, manages to cut some of the corn. He turns Rodgers and Hammerstein’s family favourite into a companion piece to The Grapes of Wrath, which opens at this venue later this summer. Instead of the usual cheerful gingham, the costumes look as if they’ve endlessly been through Aunt Eller’s mangle, and even the set — two large suspended sheets — is bleached. People Will Say We’re in Love, and especially the title song, take on a new poignancy. The musical celebrates the idea of community, a point Doyle emphasises by keeping the entire cast on stage almost throughout. Sacrilege to say it, but Leila Benn Harris’s moody Laurey hardly needs the famous dream ballet sequence to realise that it’s Curly she loves, and not the sinister Jud. Natalie Casey makes a delightful Ado Annie, wrinkling her nose at the thought of fidelity. More zip would sometimes be welcome, but Doyle’s sober production could well win over R&H cynics who’ve flinched at more saccharine versions in the past.

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