Oklahoma

Oklahoma ⁱ/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ (Cherokee: Asgaya gigageyi / ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎩᎦᎨᏱ; or translated ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ (òɡàlàhoma), Pawnee: Uukuhuúwa,Cayuga: Gahnawiyoˀgeh) is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th most extensive and the 28th most populous of the 50 United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State, in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on the choicest pieces of land prior to the official opening date, and the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which opened the door for white settlement in America's Indian Territory. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged and Indian was dropped from the name. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally "Okies", and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

Oklahoma State University (also referred to informally as Oklahoma State, OKState, O-State, and OSU) is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act. Originally known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (Oklahoma A&M), it is the flagship institution of the Oklahoma State University System. Official enrollment for the fall 2010 semester system-wide was 35,073, with 23,459 students enrolled at OSU-Stillwater. Enrollment shows the Freshman class of 2012 was the largest on record with 4,298 students. OSU is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with high research activity.

Oklahoma State University is listed by the Princeton Review as one of 120 “Best Western Colleges” for 2011, and as one of 50 "Best Value Colleges – Public" for 2010. Oklahoma State University is one of the highest rated veterinarian colleges in the US. It is ranked by U.S. News & World Report No. 66 among "Top Public Schools: National Universities" and No. 132 among all National Universities for 2011. For 2009–10, Kiplinger listed OSU among its "100 Best Values in Public Education," with an in-state ranking of No. 91 and an out-of-state ranking of No. 93. In 2013, Oklahoma State was ranked number 23 on the Forbes list of "Best Value Colleges."

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.

The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. It was a box-office smash and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, later enjoying award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Academy Award-winning 1955 film adaptation. It has long been a popular choice for school and community productions. Rodgers and Hammerstein won a special Pulitzer Prize for Oklahoma! in 1944.

This musical, building on the innovations of the earlier Show Boat, epitomized the development of the "book musical", a musical play where the songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals that are able to evoke genuine emotions other than laughter. In addition, Oklahoma! features musical themes, or motifs, that recur throughout the work to connect the music and story. A fifteen-minute "dream ballet" reflects Laurey's struggle with her feelings about two men, Curley and Jud.

Ed Ferrara

Edward "Ed" Ferrara (born November 22, 1966) is a former professional wrestling booker and agent for the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, often alongside Vince Russo. In WCW, he portrayed the character "Oklahoma", a mockery of WWF's commentator Jim Ross, and was the heaviest WCW Cruiserweight Champion, although he was forced to vacate the title for exceeding the 220 lb weight limit. Ed Ferrara began his work in television production and writing, contributing to shows such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show and Weird Science on the USA Network. Ferrara was also a wrestler in Slammers Wrestling Federation known as Bruce Beaudine. He was most recently working on the creative team for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Biography

Education

Ferrara graduated from Drew University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in theater arts and English.

Between 1994 to 1996, Ferrara was trained and wrestled in the California based independent promotion - Slammers Wrestling Federation. Ferrara worked under the ring name of Bruce Beaudine and on April 11 1996 he won the SWF heavyweight championship.

Oklahoma (song)

"Oklahoma" is the title song from the Broadway musical Oklahoma!, named for the setting of the musical play. The music and lyrics were written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The melody is reprised in the main title of the 1955 film version and in the overtures of both film and musical productions.

Midway through the second act of the play, after the principals Curly and Laurey are married, Curly begins to sing the song and is soon joined by the entire cast as a chorus. The lyric, which briefly depicts the Midwestern twang phonetically, describes the landscape and prairie weather in positive language. It further emphasizes the wholesome aspects of rural life, and the steadfast dedication of the region's inhabitants, against the overtly stated formal backdrop of the territory's impending admission to the Union in 1907.

Hammerstein's lyric is also notable and memorable for its trochaic re-iteration of its title as a chant, and the final iambic eight-letter spelling of the title as a play on the colloquial English word "Okay". Orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett's massive 8-part chorale near the end of the song extends it to include a spelling of the name, ending with an epic ritardando leading into one last iteration of "Oklahoma!"