Rodgers & Hammerstein’s love letter to the theatre takes place both onstage and backstage during the production of a musical entitled – what else? – Me and Juliet. As seasoned show business professionals, Rodgers & Hammerstein created this 1953 musical to pull back the curtain on a fictional, long-running Broadway show. One of their lesser-known works, Me and Juliet was … Read More
State Fair
Following the success of 1943’s Oklahoma!, 20th Century Fox offered Rodgers & Hammerstein the opportunity to write a musical version of their 1933 film State Fair. When the film premiered in 1945, so did multiple songs now regarded as American Standards, like “It’s A Grand Night For Singing,” “So Far” and “It Might As Well Be Spring,” which won the … Read More
Pipe Dream
From the pages of Steinbeck, the drifters and dropouts along Cannery Row spring to life in this uncommon story of love and hope. When Suzy, a homeless girl, is picked up for stealing food, she’s taken in by Fauna, the bighearted Madam of the Bear Flag Café (which is no café at all). Here she meets Doc, a carefree marine … Read More
Allegro
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s innovative experiment Allegro chronicles nearly four decades in the life of a man, Joseph Taylor, Jr., from cradle through a midlife, personal revelation. The first Broadway musical to be staged by a director who was also its choreographer (the legendary Agnes de Mille), Allegro opened on Broadway on October 10, 1947 at the Majestic Theatre, where it … Read More
The Sound of Music
The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world’s most beloved musical. When a postulant proves too high-spirited for the religious life, she is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval Captain. Her growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity of spirit, gradually captures the heart of the … Read More
Flower Drum Song
Based on C.Y. Lee’s 1957 novel, Flower Drum Song played its first performance at the St. James Theatre on December 1, 1958. The production made history: It was the first time a Broadway cast featured a majority of Asian-American actors, singers and dancers. Following over a thousand performances on Broadway and the West End, Universal Pictures released the film adaptation on November … Read More
Cinderella
A bona fide fairy tale, told with the Rodgers & Hammerstein hallmarks of grace, originality, charm and elegance. Originally presented on television in 1957, starring Julie Andrews, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella was the most widely viewed program in the history of television, drawing an astonishing 107 million viewers. Its recreation in 1965, starring Lesley Ann Warren, was no less successful … Read More
The King and I
The King and I opened on Broadway on March 29, 1951, starring Gertrude Lawrence and featuring newcomer Yul Brynner. The show ran for three years, racking up 1,246 performances and five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. After a successful West End debut, 20th Century Fox released the motion picture version of The King and I in 1956 with Deborah Kerr as … Read More
South Pacific
Based on short stories by James Michener published collectively as Tales of the South Pacific, the musical South Pacific opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on April 7, 1949, starring Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza and Juanita Hall. South Pacific won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, marking the first time the committee included a composer in the drama prize. The original production … Read More
Oklahoma!
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration was groundbreaking. Oklahoma! was greeted by critics and audiences alike as a watershed – the first successful truly unified musical, in which all creative elements worked together to support the story. The Hamilton of its day, the show elevated the art form of musical theatre and kicked off a Golden Age of American musicals that … Read More