State Fair

Rodgers & HammersteinState Fair

State Fair


Music by Richard Rodgers | Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Book by Thomas Briggs and Louis Mattioli, based on the Screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Phil Stong

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 Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. The musical film would be remade in 1962 starring Ann-Margret, with new songs from Richard Rodgers. Then, in 1996, State Fair finally premiered on Broadway, where it played at the Music Box Theatre for 110 performances.

PHOTO ARCHIVE

Stills from the 1945 Original Motion Picture