As you read this, the Sydney-based dancer, singer and choreographer will have just about wound up rehearsals for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!.
Despite a relatively short preparation time of around three weeks for the show's forthcoming national tour, which includes several shows in the South, progress has been ''quite fabulous'', Olivieri says.
''We are at the stage where we are doing full runs,'' Olivieri explained last week as he prepared for another series of scenes, singing and calls of silence from director Geraldine Brophy.
''Geraldine is a fantastic director. You get a sense of warmth and love, even when she's telling you to be quiet.
''She came over to me the other day and said, 'I love you dearly, but ... please ... listen'. I do love a laugh and get on well with the other cast members. I enjoy telling a joke.''
Having come to attention in New Zealand via his appearances in three seasons of television series Dancing with the Stars, when he partnered Suzanne Paul, Temepara George and Brophy, Olivieri has taken a break from his Sydney ballroom dancing school and is immersing himself in another love, musical theatre.
''On television or film, you can be subtle with your movements. But with musical theatre, you have to perform to the very last row.
"You don't want to go pantomime with it, of course, but it needs to be easily read from far away.
''Musical theatre is such a wonderful vehicle. And Oklahoma! set the tone for all that followed.''
Olivieri is referring to the fact that since its premiere on Broadway in 1943, the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical has been considered by many to be the first musical comedy to have a plot, score and dances that were necessary ingredients to advance the story line.
Set in Midwest America in 1906, Oklahoma! depicts a high-spirited rivalry between farmers and cowboys, a setting against which Curly, a handsome cowboy (played by Cameron Douglas), and Laurey, a winsome farm girl (Tizane McEvoy), play out their love story.
Other roles include Ado Annie (Ali Harper), regarded as one of the great comedy parts in musical theatre, and Will Parker (Olivieri).
Together, the pair navigate a romance that might be secondary to the main storyline, yet it offers plenty of highlights, Olivieri says.
''It's a fun role. The comic role I have provides a certain energy.
''We are at that exciting stage where everything is starting to gel.
"When you are not required on stage, there are other rooms where you might be workshopping material, including music, lines, parts with co-stars, and tightening cues to make a scene funnier or more heartfelt.''
Given his dance experience, Olivieri has another role to play, too, that of choreography adviser.
''It's not so much a case of putting the steps together. I've been asked to look over what has already been done and give my opinion on whether something can be enhanced,'' he explains.
''Choreography might entail getting actors to come further downstage and move their hands in a certain way as they say a line. It's about making it more entertaining.''
Oklahoma! features a segment many critics have deemed one the greatest dance sequences in musical theatre - the ''dream ballet'' - in which dancers portray Laurey's confusion over choosing between her two suitors.
Its inclusion was one of the first times in which a dance section was used to move the narrative forward, rather than merely providing an entertaining break in the action.
''Funnily enough, the dream ballet is something I haven't had to work on much,'' Olivieri says.
''Due to time constraints and the fact we are staging this in different theatres, it won't be as big a number as other productions may have had.
"You are always limited with sets and budgets.
''But our version is haunting. It's supposed to be both something of a nightmare but also inspiring for Laurey.''
Factfile
• Oklahoma! broke box-office records when it opened in 1943. As the first musical to tell a story with music, dance and lyrics, it changed the form of musical theatre
• Oklahoma! won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1944 and held the record as the longest-running musical (15 years), until it was broken by My Fair Lady
• The show's music and lyrics include Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, The Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We're in Love, I Can't Say No and Oklahoma!
• It was the first musical to have its entire score recorded, thus creating the original cast album.
The show
Oklahoma! will be performed at the following venues in the South:
• Opera House, Oamaru, tonight (8pm)
• Ashburton Event Centre, tomorrow (4pm)
• Regent Theatre, Dunedin, Monday, August 18 (8pm)
• Queenstown Memorial Hall, Tuesday, August 19 (8pm)
• Civic Theatre, Invercargill, Thursday, August 21 (8pm)
• Theatre Royal, Timaru, Friday, August 22 (8pm)
