(Enlarge) Jessica Lauren Ball as Laurey has a bumpy ride to the altar with beau Curly (Jake Odmark) in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!,” back on stage at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia through Aug. 30. (Photo by Kirstine Christiansen)

The farmers and the cowmen were back at it last weekend in Columbia, airing their differences all over again as "Oklahoma!" returned to the stage at Toby's Dinner Theatre. ... Honestly, can't we all just get along?

A crowd gathered and when the dust cleared, all the whooping and stomping signaled an undisputed winner. As opening night folks traipsed homeward, everyone appeared satisfied to have traded the cares of today for a dozen or so more rounds of vintage, Broadway-style feudin' and sparkin'.

With two dinner theaters constantly spinning like plates on poles above her head, artistic director Toby Orenstein is turning over frontline directing chores to her associates. Here Mark Minnick is serving as both director and choreographer, so the first round of kudos goes to him.

Minnick's casting choices and his stage control in general add a welcome starch to the trusty, hand-stitched Rodgers and Hammerstein material.

In Minnick's view, handsome cowhand Curly just comes strolling in off the range sweetly singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" like someone else's song has gotten stuck in his brain. Curly is more salt-of-the-earth type than a sensitive, tree-hugger sort, so why bother with the pretense that he's capable of dreaming up a sentiment like "the breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree" all on his lonesome?

Both Minnick and his thoroughly likable Curly, Jake Odmark, hit their stride in "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top." Oscar Hammerstein's melody-driven lyric captures the rhythms and impressions of a romantic buggy ride to a big prairie social, and neither the director nor the actor care to rush through it.

The song perfectly sets the stage for romance and introduces the contrarian nature of the relationship between Curly and that undeclared winner of his pea-pickin' heart, Laurey. Jessica Lauren Ball brings Laurey a sugary voice that perfectly suits the richness of a Richard Rodgers melody like "Many a New Day" and "Out of My Dreams." Plus, Ball's innocent beauty and open smile help us accept Laurey's feistier vein of pure vinegar.

When Curly pulls out his lasso, so to speak, Laurey rails back like a wild canyon mare and impulsively sets up a rivalry between the cocky Curly and brooding ranchhand Jud Fry. Again, Minnick's casting of darkly handsome Adam Grabau as Jud fits right in with our post-modern fixation on anti-social rebels.

Curly seems to intuit exactly what's ailing Jud -- what some today call "malignant narcissism" -- and he uses it to try and herd Jud into his own private hanging party. What better way to express one's profound self-pity?

Grabau makes the most of our fascination with outcasts in his sympathetic solo "Lonely Room." The actor even infuses the otherwise pat romantic rivalry with genuine tension.

Also in the category of fine casting are Jeffrey Shankle's boyishly gullible Will Parker and Elizabeth Rayca as his fickle, would-be fiancee, Ado Annie. The fact that Shankle is at least a foot shorter than Rayca adds a ticklish sight gag to the couple's buckin' bronco of a courtship. And where Shankle can dance up a storm in "Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City," Rayca is a vocal powerhouse who hardly needs that strap-on mic to declare her boundaries in "All Er Nothin'."

A newcomer at Toby's, Vishal Vaidya, turns Persian peddler Ali Hakim into the exotic prairie nomad he was destined to be in Lynn Riggs' original play, "Green Grow the Lilacs." Vaidya is a natural comedian who more than justifies the re-instating here of his oft-dropped comic solo, "It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!"

Supporting the comedy are flinty character types provided by Susan Thornton as Aunt Eller and Andrew Horn as Ado Annie's shotgun-totin' pa. Kate Williams' heehaw cackals stand out as capable of striking fear in any bachelor heart.

Minnick's high-spirited choreography is more workmanlike than inspired for the most part, hitting its peak in the rambunctious "Farmer and the Cowhand" hoedown.

The ensemble dancing is suitably rough-hewn and prairie-fed, with only touches here and there of the high-falutin' contributions made by Agnes de Mille for the 1943 Broadway megahit. When it comes time for the somewhat scaled-back Act I ballet, Rachel Schur makes for a most graceful and welcome Dream Laurey.

The live pit orchestra conducted by Reenie Codelka is adequate on its own limited terms, though the squeeky imprecision of some reeds on opening night deserve a trip to the woodshed for distracting from the beauty of "People Will Say We're in Love." The rousing title song before the final bows should more than lift any spirits that have fallen on the wayside.

"Oklahoma!" continues at Toby's -- The Dinner Theatre of Columbia (5900 Symphony Woods Road) through Aug. 30. Ticket prices -- ranging from $46 to $51 for adults, depending on day and time, with discounts for children 12 and under -- include parking, a wide-ranging hot dinner buffet, salad and dessert bars. Reservations are required at 410-730-8311 or 800-88TOBYS. For show schedules and other information, go to www.tobysdinnertheatre.com.

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