In those far off days when two or three years was considered to be a good run in the West End, musical shows tended not to immediately go out on tour and so become available to local clubs almost the day after they closed in London.

Nearly all the great Rodgers and Hammerstein shows were first seen in the Bristol Hippodrome via Jimmie Morris productions for the Bristol Musical Comedy Club. In 1964 Oklahoma!, the show that changed the face of musicals after World War II, was one of the first they brought to Bristol.

Nowadays BMCC use other venues. All this week they can be seen in the Redgrave Theatre with City of Angels, but Oklahoma! is about to make a return to the Hippodrome thanks to the Bristol Light Opera Club.

Between November 11 and 17 you can see their production there, directed by John Cousins and choreographed by Lizzy Westney, with Ian Henderson taking charge of the music side of the show.

On stage the cast is led by Liz Porter, Christopher Burt, Craig Sillick and Simon Gregory playing the principal roles of Laurey, Curly, Ali Hakim and Judd.

Bristol Light Opera Club already have next year's show in place and it is another coup to go with Evita and The Witches of Eastwick. They have acquired the rights fromDisney to bring their stage version of Beauty and the Beast to the Hippodrome in October 2010.

John Cousins and Ian Henderson have already been pencilled in as director and musical director. They are now on the lookout for a sound designer and/or operator. With personal microphones for the soloists and the orchestra, the responsibility of getting the balance of sound just right takes on tremendous significance in the production.

Unlike professional companies who enjoy the luxury of several days and sometimes even weeks of previews in order to get the technical side of the production right BLOC have to 'get in' on Sunday run technical and dress rehearsals on Monday and be ready to open on Tuesday. Ever ready to face new challenges BLOC are sure to overcome these problems as they have in the past with new shows.