If Penn State students see a covered wagon pulling up to Eisenhower Auditorium tonight, they are not hallucinating.

The classic Western-style musical Oklahoma! will be performed at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow.

Laura Sullivan, Penn State's Center for the Performing Arts spokeswoman, said the show has universal appeal. "It has been selling well so far," Sullivan said. "Broadway always reaches more people across the board."

Sullivan said there has been an increase in audience interest in Oklahoma! because it is one of only two Broadway shows to come to Eisenhower this year.

First produced in 1943, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical has been given a makeover in recent years. The 1998 revival of the production, started in London, came to Broadway, and now the national tour is coming to State College.

Oklahoma! takes place out West at the turn of the 20th century and is the story of two star-crossed lovers, Laurey and Curly, kept apart by Jud, a villainous farmer. "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' " and other memorable show tunes are included in the musical.

Andrew Lebon plays Jud in the national tour and said he thinks the villainous character he portrays is misunderstood.

"I would say [Jud's] a normal guy," Lebon said. "[He] wants normal things like love and acceptance, and I think after having a long life of rejection and not much social acceptance, we see the culmination of all that."

Lebon has been playing Jud for about a year and a half and said it is a challenge to bring the same energy to the stage every night.

"It was definitely harder the first six months; you're still learning, still becoming familiar with the character," he said. "But now, the character is a part of me, and I've done it so many times, [the character] just takes over."

Lebon said he enjoys being part of a classic musical tradition.

"So many people talk about how neat it is to do new theater," he said. "But doing a show like Oklahoma! is like doing Romeo and Juliet. It's a timeless piece of theater, and everyone knows a lot about the show. People have seen great performers in this show in the past. When people come, they expect to revisit it, so it's an honor and a challenge."

One Oklahoma! fan, Stephanie Martignetti (junior-musical theatre), said she won't just be watching the performance, she'll be cheering on her old castmates.

Martignetti said she took a leave of absence from Penn State in 2002 to be in the national tour of Oklahoma! She played the supporting role of Becky Skidmore and said she was able to choose her character's first name because she was in the original revival cast. "I think the show itself is just beautiful," she said. "And this version is so realistic."

Justin Pifer (sophomore-musical theatre) commented on the differences between the original and the revival. "They reinvented the classic musical and updated it with new staging," he said. "The dancing is really impressive."