Daily News from New York, New York • 57

01 2 revival fill, what a tarn id ie classic! I 8b. OKLAHOMA! 3 Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. Music by Richard Rodgers. With Patrick Wilson, Josefina Gabrielle, Andrea Martin, Shuler Hens ley. Sets and costumes by Anthony Ward.

Choreographed by Susan Stroman. Directed by Trevor Nunn. At the Gershwin. Tickets: 1-800-755-4000 1 1 'A raphy, which was a key element in the original production. Her dances, especially the dream ballet, have greater narrative punch than did Agnes de Mille's, though they may not have as much poignance or lyricism.

Stroman is at her best expressing jubilation. When the large chorus is executing her exultant, acrobatic steps, the stage throbs with electricity. The performance that most conveys the reality underlying the show is Shuler Hensley's as Jud. He makes Jud's yearnings as palpable as his crudeness, and he -sings the score's most groundbreaking number, "Lonely Room," with visceral strength. As his rival, Curly, Patrick Wilson conveys the high spirits and hopefulness inherent in the American character.

At times, he seems more Broadway leading man than cowpoke, but he grows in stature as the plot gets hen you leave the Gershwin Theater after Trevor Nunn's thoughtful production of you see above the doorway one of the phrases from the show that have become part of common speech: "We know we belong to the That lyric was written not by a hayseed but by a very urban and, despite his reputation as a corn-ball, a very urbane man named Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. He was collaborating with an equally sophisticated fellow named Richard Rodgers. In this project, two men with the juices of Broadway in their veins somehow bonded with the heart of the heartland. Sixty years later, that connection provides an undercurrent that gives every production of "Oklahoma!" a power greater than the sum of its parts. more serious.

His singing is always radiant. The most interesting directorial touch is having Laurey, for whom Curly and Jud are fighting, be a tomboy rather than the usual fluttery ingenue. Until she began dancing, I did not see why it was necessary to import Josefina Gabrielle from the London production. Surely, there must be someone on this side of the Atlantic who could play the role as well and sing it better. Laurey isn't exactly Hedda Gabler.

But it is unprecedented for Laurey to do K'i bit vi'ft i 1 Visually, this one is stunning at times, Anthony Ward's sets have a pastoral, idyllic quality, like Thomas Hart Benton's paintings. At other times, especially in lighting designer David Hersey's lustrous palette, they convey the bleakness of the frontier. Nunn has found ways to stress the realism of the book, which becomes more gripping as the plot coalesces in Act 2. It's not just about who will buy Laurie's picnic hamper it's about bringing civilized values to the untamed prairie. This gritty quality unfortunately throws into sharper relief the roots of the show's humor in vaudeville and burlesque.

What keeps these disparate components in balance, of course, is the tremendous score. The journey from humor to near tragedy may be bumpy but the ride is smooth because the music provides moments of incredible depth and beauty. Susan Stroman has completely rethought the choreog- her own dancing in the difficult dream ballet, and Gabri-elle's dancing is exceptional. As Will Parker, Justin Bohon is a dynamite dancer, and he projects the humor endearingly. Jessica Boevers is a conventional but funny Ado Annie.

Aunt Eller is a much more pivotal role than I remember, and Andrea Martin does it with robust humor and grace. Aasif Mandvi is very broad as the peddler Ali Hakim, but anything less, I'm afraid, and the low humor might not work at all. What is most important about any "Oklahoma!" is the music, and the score comes across majestically. Whatever shortcomings there may be, there is something thrilling about the fact that the most prestigious British theatrical institution, the Royal National Theatre, tackled this beloved American work with a sense of its stature and brought it back to us in a way that makes it seem fresh and vital. E-mail hkisseleditnydaifynews.com CANT SAY NO: Ado Annie (Jessica Boevers) and AE Hakim (Aasif Mandvi) in Trevor Nunn's "Oklahoma'" Life through a shot glass, darkly THE KINGS OF THE KILBURN HIGH ROAD A series of drunken revelations, including the true nature of Jackie's death, spurs what little real drama the play contains.

Yet the characters a blurry afternoon looking back on their wasted lives through the bottoms of their shot glasses. The friends, most of them labor By Jimmy Murphy. With Brendan Conroy, Eamonn Hunt, Sean Lawlor, Noel O'Donovan, Frank O'Sullivan. Directed by Jim Nolan. At Irish Arts Center, 553 W.

51st St. Tickets, (212) 206-1515. On sm seem as real as set designer Ben ratty old pub, which includes an ancient jukebox that, as one character laments, doesn't play rebel songs anymore. While the subtext concerns the pitfalls of the Irish economic exodus, "Kings" is still a familiar tale of aging men forced to come to terms with their ers, lett ireiana togetner more than 25 years ago to make their fortunes in England. Now middle-aged, they've gathered to make a toast or ten to the memory of Jackie, who had the misfortune of falling under an on-rushing train.

They drink, curse, sing sad songs, talk about returning to Ireland as big shots, and By turns funny, profane, poignant and powerful, the whisky-fueled drama "The Kings of the Kilburn High Road" stumbles along a predictable path in an ultimately sad account of five life-long friends reunited at an Irish wake, "Kings," by Irish playwright Jimmy Murphy of the is set in the back room of a London pub in which the men spend broken dreams. But the cast members, most of them from the original London production, exhibit a strong chemistry while bringing Murphy's crackling dialogue to life. E-mail: rdominguezeditnydailynews.com drink some more which unleashes a quarter-century's worth of resentment, bitterness and envy among them. Only Joe Mullen (Frank O'Sullivan), who owns a construction company and drives a fancy car, is a success. 1 to MIDLIFE STORIES: Noel O'Donovan, Sean Lawlor and Brendan Conroy as Irishmen living in England a i.