The original Broadway production of Me and Juliet opened at the Majestic Theatre on May 28, 1953 after playing out-of-town previews at the Shubert Theatres in New Haven and Boston. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s lesser-known musical comedy about the backstage romances and heartbreaks of a long-running Broadway musical featured Isabel Bigley, Bill Hayes and Joan McCracken. The production ran for 358 … Read More
1996 Original Broadway Production
Sixty-one years after its film premiere, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s State Fair finally made its way to the Broadway stage. Starring Kathryn Crosby, John Davidson, Andrea McArdle, Donna McKechnie and Scott Wise, State Fair opened at the Music Box Theatre on March 27, 1996. With a new book adapted from Hammerstein’s screenplay by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, the Broadway production … Read More
1962 Motion Picture
Seventeen years after Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 1945 movie musical (which had been adapted from the 1933 non-musical film State Fair), a new film version of State Fair was created using most of the pair’s original music. With its setting moved to Texas, the 1962 film starred Ann-Margaret, Pat Boone, Bobby Darin and Pamela Tiffin. Since Oscar Hammerstein had passed away … Read More
1945 Original Motion Picture
After the massive success of Oklahoma!, Rodgers & Hammerstein were asked to write a musical film adaptation of 20th Century Fox’s 1933 family comedy State Fair. With Oscar Hammerstein II penning the screenplay and lyrics, Richard Rodgers composed a rich score, sweeping audiences to the Iowa State Fair alongside the eager and excited Frake family. Starring Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, … Read More
2012 City Center
Nearly 60 years after its Broadway debut, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Pipe Dream made a triumphant return to the New York stage as part of the Encore! series at New York’s City Center, opening March 28, 2012. This concert adaptation by playwright David Ives starred Will Chase, Laura Osnes, Tom Wopat and Leslie Uggams. The limited revival of the often-overlooked Pipe … Read More
1955 Original Broadway Production
Making a splash with its Broadway debut on November 30, 1955, Pipe Dream played its premiere performance at the Shubert Theatre to an audience ready to experience Rodgers & Hammerstein’s latest creation. Based on Steinbeck’s novel Sweet Thursday, a follow-up with the characters of his previously known book Cannery Row, Pipe Dream transported audiences to the world of postwar Monterey, … Read More
2014 Classic Stage Company
Allegro returned to the New York stage, this time off-Broadway at the distinguished Classic Stage Company, where it opened a limited run on November 19, 2014. Deemed “newly glowing” by Ben Brantley of The New York Times, this production, directed by John Doyle, featured a cast of 12 actors who doubled as the production’s orchestra; each performer acted, sang and … Read More
1994 City Center
As a part of New York City Center’s concert series Encores!, Allegro was revived under the direction of Tony Award nominee Susan H. Schulman in a brief four-performance run. Led by Stephen Bogardus as Joseph Taylor, Jr., the cast also featured Karen Ziemba, Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Hadary and, known for originating the role of Ado Annie in the original production … Read More
1947 Original Broadway Production
In 1946, after their massive success with Oklahoma! and Carousel, Hammerstein approached Rodgers with an idea for a different kind of musical that would focus on an ordinary person struggling to uphold his principles in the face of success in his field. As he wrote the book for Allegro for over a year, Hammerstein was pioneering new territory for American … Read More
2002 Broadway Revival
In 2001, Flower Drum Song was the first show ever to extend its scheduled run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The following year, the production made its way to the Broadway stage at the Virginia Theatre (now August Wilson Theatre), opening on October 17, 2002, featuring a revised book by widely acclaimed, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry … Read More