Daniel Fish, Director of Unconventional Tony-Winning Oklahoma!, Selects The Most Happy Fella as His Next Project

Daniel Fish, the innovative director whose stripped-down production of Oklahoma! won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, has planned his next directorial excavation: Frank Loesser's 1956 musical The Most Happy Fella. Fish will mount the musical from July 7 through August 2, 2020 at the Bard SummerScape festival in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, where his dark Oklahoma! began in 2015.

A representative for the production told Broadway.com, "The expectation is that the production will be a nontraditional treatment of the existing material, with an emphasis on Loesser's exquisite score. It's the same music team as Oklahoma!, with Nathan Koci as music director, Daniel Kluger as orchestrator, and Koci and Kluger as co-arrangers and music supervisors."

Based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard, The Most Happy Fella centers on the love triangle between an aging Napa Valley farmer, a young waitress and a handsome, restless ranch hand. Featuring a book, music and lyrics by Loesser, the score includes such standards as "Somebody Somewhere," "My Heart Is So Full of You," "Big D" and "Standing on the Corner." The musical first opened at the Imperial Theatre on May 3, 1956 and continued for 676 performances.

Fish's production will feature an ensemble cast of seven performers who will not be divided into the musical's traditional roles. A casting notice states, "Performers who identify as transgender, non-binary and queer are strongly encouraged to audition."

Additional details are to be announced.