By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley State University Opera Theatre students will bring to life Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration, Oklahoma!, which remains, in many ways, their most innovative work, having set the standards and established the rules of musical theater still being followed today.

Set in the West just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smoothly with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love’s journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. Succeeding in making a new life together and beginning that new life in a brand-new state provides the ultimate climax for these characters in Oklahoma!

• What: Oklahoma!
• When: Feb. 2, 3, 9, 10, at 7:30 pm; Feb. 4, 11, at 2 pm
• Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
• Tickets: $14 for adults; $12 seniors and GVSU faculty, staff, alumni; $6 for students, groups — purchase tickets through the Louis Armstrong Theatre box office in-person Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., by calling 616.331.2300, or online at startickets.com