THE curtain calls which greeted the end of Urmston Musical Theatre's 90th birthday production seemed to last as long as the show itself.

Oklahoma certainly did nothing to dent Trafford's reputation as a centre of musical excellence.

And, what is more encouraging, is the fact that our societies are continuing to attract high calibre newcomers like Steve Benson.

Benson played Curly, the hero of the piece and, it has to be said, his voice is sensational. It is powerful without making the listener feel somebody is drilling through their brain.

Who better than to play Laurey, his gal, than the consistently impressive Jill Ratcliffe. You just knew they would end up in each other's arms, even with the sinister Jud Fry sniffing around.

In Oklahoma we're in the land of happy endings. A land in which the good guys triumph over the bad and a gal likes nothing better than to be swept off her feet.

My award for the evening's most menacing "mug" goes to Colin Titley who played the misfit loner Fry. He looked totally frightening and, when he glared into the audience, I found myself cow-ering behind the big bloke in front of me. Not very manly when you're sitting on the back row.

But Titley wasn't just a menacing face. His singing voice is as deep as a miser's pockets and this, combined with his appear-ance, ensured that a com-manding presence whenever he was on stage.

As far as musicals go, Oklahoma may be a little old fashioned but time has failed to diminish the emotional impact of showstoppers like Oh What A Beautiful Morning or the roof raising title track.

Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote some beautiful music and they would have been mighty proud of the treatment their compositions received here.

Many happy returns UMT - this was some present to give your doting audience. I am more than happy to count myself among them.

Rick Bowen