Everyone loves a love story. "Oklahoma!," an all-American tale of country courtship, is no exception.

Since it premiered in London in 1943, the play has danced its way to being one of the most popular Broadway shows of all time.

"It's a totally Americana piece and a cultural experience that every student should definitely come and see," said Wharton Center spokesman Bob Hoffman. "It's a feel-good kind of musical."

The production once held a 15-year streak as the longest-running Broadway show (it has since been eclipsed by many shows).

Throughout the years it has accumulated an illustrious collection of awards.

On that list are two Academy Awards (one for "Best Picture"), a Pulitzer Prize for drama and a Grammy Award. "Oklahoma!" also was the first Broadway musical to have its own U.S. postage stamp.

The show also has taken a Tony Award, "Best Musical of the Century" from the New York Drama League, four Oliver Awards, a London Evening Standard Theatre Award for "Best Musical" and an International Emmy Award - phew.

The play has had as much luck attracting crowds as it has recognition. The musical presently runs in more than a dozen languages with at least 600 productions a year in America and Canada alone.

And this Tuesday, it's making a stop at the Wharton Center.

"We have a lot of culture here," Hoffman said. "It's the chance to see something that bears the same quality as main stages around the world."

On a rowdy field in Oklahoma, a farm girl named Laurey watches her two beaus, Curly and Jud, fight for her affection. A rivalry between farmers and cattlemen causes her admirers to resent one another.

Although the plot centers around an Oklahoma girl and her sweetheart, cast member Carrie Love said that the simplicity of the show and setting doesn't make it boring. She said she hopes the audience will leave with an appreciation of everyday life.

"I want people to feel love when there is love on stage, and to laugh when there is a joke, and to cry when a character cries," she said. "I want people to connect with the realism that can be related to a different situation every day."

Love's character, Ado Annie, is involved in one of the play's side stories. Ado Annie fools around with town boys and provides a contrast to Laurey's innocence.

"She's been around the block a little," Love said. "But she's excited about life, and so funky and out there. Her enthusiasm and in-the-moment passion makes her interesting."

Love, a 24-year-old New York native, said playing Ado Annie has been a challenge because of how different she is from her character. Despite Ado Annie's racy persona, Love said she originally auditioned to play her because she thought it would be fun.

"It's a little hard relating to (Annie's) actions, but the key to this job is finding the truth in the character and yourself," she said. "Everyone has urges and impulses, it's a personification of human nature.

"So, when I am pretending to be someone else, I have to go down to the core and find that urge within me and exaggerate it."

To Love, one of the most humorous aspects of playing Annie is when she breaks out in a song called "I Can't Say No."

"No matter what you're singing, you just got to get your body used to it and bring the role to life," she said.

Love finished a 200-performance, eight-month tour in July.

"The challenge for me is to try and keep it fresh and new every time we perform," Love said.

She also said the most exciting places to perform are the ones with the most theatrical history and pride.

"It's neat to walk into a place where people keep their heads high and take pride in their city and theater," she said.

The musical was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. At almost three-hours long, the classic is their first and most famous. The duo also wrote "Carousel," "The Sound of Music," and "Cinderella."

Love said just because "Oklahoma!" is a well-known classic, people shouldn't dismiss it as "old theater." She said the cliche of classics attaining a "paper-thin" level, where they are over-played and over-dramtized, is one this musical can break through. Love said the 61-year-old play is still as vivacious as it was when the curtains first opened.

"The director and designers have made it less cheesy and more rich," she said. "People should come and see this because when they walk through those theater doors, the audience will enter a completely different world."