Editing Oklahoma! (section)

=== Act I ===
In Oklahoma Territory, in 1906, cowboy Curly McLain looks forward to a beautiful day as he visits farm girl Laurey Williams's yard ("[[Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin']]"). He and Laurey tease each other, while her Aunt Eller looks on. There will be a [[box social]] dance that night, which includes an auction of lunch baskets prepared by the local women to raise funds for a schoolhouse. Each man who wins a basket will eat lunch with the lady who prepared it. Curly asks Laurey to go with him, but she refuses, feeling that he has waited too long. To persuade her, he says he will take her in the finest carriage money can buy ("[[The Surrey with the Fringe on Top]]"), but she teases him about it until he says he made it up to get back at her. She flounces off, not realizing that he really has rented such a [[Surrey (carriage)|surrey]].

The lonely, disturbed farmhand Jud Fry has become obsessed with Laurey and asks her to the dance. She accepts to spite Curly, although she is afraid of Jud. Meanwhile, cowboy Will Parker returns from a trip to modern [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], and shows off his souvenirs ("Kansas City"). He won $50 (${{Inflation|US|50|1906|r=-2|fmt=c}} today) at the fair, which, according to his girlfriend Ado Annie's father, Andrew Carnes, is the amount he needs to marry Ado Annie. Unfortunately, he spent all the money on gifts for her and one for her father: a Little Wonder (a metal tube used for looking at pictures, but with a hidden blade inside). He is unaware of its deadly secret. Later, Ado Annie confesses to Laurey that while Will was away, she has spent a lot of time with Ali Hakim, a [[Persians|Persian]] peddler. Laurey says she'll have to choose between them, but Ado Annie insists she loves them both ("[[I Cain't Say No]]").  Laurey and her friends prepare for the social, while Gertie Cummings flirts with Curly. Laurey notices and tells her friends that she doesn't really care about Curly ("[[Many a New Day]]").

Andrew Carnes sees Annie with Ali Hakim; he forces Hakim at gunpoint to agree to marry her. Hakim and the other men lament the unfairness of the situation ("[[It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!]]"). Curly discovers that Laurey is going to the box social with Jud and tries to convince her to go with him instead. Afraid to tell Jud she won't go with him, Laurey protests that she does not love Curly ("[[People Will Say We're in Love]]"). Hurt by her refusal, Curly goes to the smokehouse where Jud lives to talk with him. Curly jokingly suggests that since Jud does not feel appreciated, he could hang himself, and everyone would realize how much they care about him ("Pore Jud Is Daid"). Their talk turns into an ominous confrontation about Laurey. After Curly leaves, Jud's resolve to win Laurey becomes even stronger, and he vows to make her his bride ("[[Lonely Room]]").

Confused by her feelings for Curly and her fear of Jud, Laurey purchases a "magic potion" ([[laudanum]]) from Ali Hakim, which the unscrupulous peddler guarantees will reveal her true love. She muses on leaving her dreams of love behind and joining the man she loves ("Out of My Dreams"). Soon asleep under the influence of the opiate, in an extended ballet sequence, Laurey first dreams of marriage with Curly. Her dream takes a nightmarish turn when Jud appears and kills Curly; she cannot escape him, confused by her desires ("[[Dream Ballet]]"). Awakening, she realizes that Curly is the right man for her, but it is too late to change her mind about going to the dance with Jud, who arrives, and they leave for the box social.