Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century.[1]
Their popular
Previous work and partnerships
At
Hammerstein, a co-writer of the popular Rudolf Friml 1924 operetta Rose-Marie, and Sigmund Romberg operettas The Desert Song (1926) and The New Moon (1928), began a successful collaboration with composer Jerome Kern on Sunny (1925), which was a hit. Their 1927 musical Show Boat is considered to be one of the masterpieces of the American musical theater.[6] Other Hammerstein/Kern collaborations include Sweet Adeline (1929) and Very Warm for May (1939). Although the last of these was panned by critics, it contains one of Kern and Hammerstein's best-loved songs, "All the Things You Are".[7]
By the early 1940s, Hart had sunk deeper into alcoholism and emotional turmoil, and he became unreliable, prompting Rodgers to approach Hammerstein to ask if he would consider working with him.[8]
Early work
Oklahoma!
Independently of each other, Rodgers and Hammerstein had been attracted to making a musical based on Lynn Riggs' stage play Green Grow the Lilacs. When Jerome Kern declined Hammerstein's offer to work on such a project and Hart refused Rodgers' offer to do the same, Rodgers and Hammerstein began their first collaboration. The result, Oklahoma! (1943), marked a revolution in musical drama. Although not the first musical to tell a story of emotional depth and psychological complexity, Oklahoma! introduced a number of new storytelling elements and techniques. These included its use of song and dance to convey and advance both plot and character, rather than act as a diversion from the story, and the firm integration of every song into the plot-line.
Oklahoma! was originally called Away We Go! and opened at the Shubert Theatre in
The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943, at the
In 1955 it was made into an Academy Award-winning musical film, the first feature shot with the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process. The film starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and its soundtrack was No. 1 on the 1956 album charts.[10][11]
After their initial success with Oklahoma!, the pair took a break from working together and Hammerstein concentrated on the musical
Carousel
The original production of Carousel was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and opened at Broadway's Majestic Theatre on April 19, 1945, running for 890 performances and closing on May 24, 1947. The cast included John Raitt, Jan Clayton, Jean Darling, Christine Johnson and Bambi Linn. From this show came the hit musical numbers "The Carousel Waltz" (an instrumental), "If I Loved You", "June Is Bustin' Out All Over", and "You'll Never Walk Alone".
Carousel is also unique among the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals for not having an overture; both the stage and film versions began with the familiar Carousel Waltz. This music was included in
State Fair
In 1945, a
In 1969, the
South Pacific and important subsequent works
South Pacific
South Pacific opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for over five years. Its songs "
In the original production, Mary Martin starred as the heroine Nellie Forbush, and opera star Ezio Pinza starred as Emile de Becque, the French plantation owner. Also in the cast were Juanita Hall, Myron McCormick and Betta St. John. The 1958 film version, also directed by Logan, starred Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, Ray Walston, and Juanita Hall. Brazzi, Kerr, and Hall had their singing dubbed by others.
The King and I
Based on
The King and I was followed by Me and Juliet, which opened at the Majestic Theatre on May 28, 1953. When Oklahoma! returned to Broadway on August 31, 1953, with The King and I, Me and Juliet and South Pacific all still playing, Rodgers and Hammerstein had four shows appearing on Broadway at once.[18]
The King and I was adapted for film in 1956 with Brynner re-creating his role opposite Deborah Kerr (whose singing was largely dubbed by Marni Nixon). Brynner won an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal, and Kerr was nominated as Best Actress. Brynner reprised the role twice on Broadway in 1977 and 1985 and in a short-lived TV sitcom in 1972, Anna and the King.
Cinderella
Based on the fairytale character and story of
Flower Drum Song
Based on a 1957 novel by
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein's last work together, is based on the story of the Austrian
Legacy
Rodgers and Hammerstein re-worked the musical theater genre. Early 20th-century musicals, except for the
Rodgers and Hammerstein also use the technique of what some call the "formula musical". While some hail this approach, others criticize it for its predictability. The term "formula musical" may refer to a musical with a predictable plot, but it also refers to the casting requirements of Rodgers & Hammerstein characters. Typically, any musical from this team will have the casting of a strong baritone lead, a dainty and light soprano lead, a supporting lead tenor, and a supporting alto lead. Although there are exceptions to this generalization, it simplifies the audition process and gives audiences an idea of what to expect vocally from a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. However, this formula had been used in Viennese operetta, such as The Merry Widow.
William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird wrote that Oklahoma!, "like Show Boat, became a milestone, so that later historians writing about important moments in twentieth-century theatre would begin to identify eras according to their relationship to Oklahoma!"[26] In The Complete Book of Light Opera, Mark Lubbock adds, "After Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammerstein were the most important contributors to the musical-play form – with such masterworks as Carousel, The King and I and South Pacific. The examples they set in creating vital plays, often rich with social thought, provided the necessary encouragement for other gifted writers to create musical plays of their own."[1]
In 1950, the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein received
On television and film
Rodgers and Hammerstein appeared on live telecasts several times. They were guests on the very first broadcast of Toast of the Town, the original name of
The pair made a rare feature film appearance in MGM's 1953 production Main Street to Broadway, in which Rodgers played the piano and Hammerstein sang a song they had written.[30] They also appeared in the trailer for the film version of South Pacific in 1958.[citation needed]
Social issues
While Rodgers and Hammerstein's work contains cheerful and often uplifting songs, they departed from the comic and sentimental tone of early 20th century musicals by seriously addressing issues such as
Work
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See also
- Rodgers and Hart
- Concord Music, owner of the Rodgers and Hammerstein copyrights
- List of songwriter tandems
References
- ^ a b Lubbock, Mark. "American Musical Theatre: An Introduction", theatrehistory.com, republished from The Complete Book of Light Opera. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962, pp. 753–56, accessed December 3, 2008
- ^ Gordon, John Steele. Oklahoma! Archived August 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 13, 2010
- ^ Rodgers and Hammerstein began writing together before the era of the Tonys. Oklahoma! opened in 1943 and Carousel in 1945, but the first Tonys were not awarded until 1947.
- ^ "Sing a Song of Morningside". The Varsity Show. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
- ^ Rodgers and Hart Biography Guide to Musical Theatre, accessed April 5, 2009
- ^ "Show Boat", theatrehistory.com, excerpted from The Complete Book of Light Opera. Lubbock, Mark. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962. pp. 807–08.
- ^ Wilson, Jeremy. "All the Things You Are (1939)". jazzstandards.com, accessed March 15, 2010
- ^ Layne, Joslyn. Lorenz Hart Biography at Allmusic, accessed September 23, 2009
- ^ Gross, Terry (April 9, 2018). "How Rodgers and Hammerstein Revolutionized Broadway". NPR.org. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- AllMusic
- RKO a year after the Todd-AO version and is the one that most audiences have seen.[citation needed]
- ^ "Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for Oklahoma!", Pulitzer.org, 1944, accessed November 16, 2019
- ^ Hyland, p. 158
- ^ "Richard Rodgers Conducts Richard Rodgers, Columbia Odyssey, ASIN B000WZKCLA amazon.com, accessed December 20, 2012
- ^ "Oscar Hammerstein II", Search Results – Academy Awards Database, accessed April 29, 2019
- ^ "Dorothy Manners" Toledo Blade, June 5, 1969
- S2CID 153722364.
- ^ "R&H's Alltime Mark With 4-Show B'way Takeover; Some Famed Precedents". Variety. August 26, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Lost Cinderella Footage On View at NYC's Museum of TV & Radio" Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Playbill.com, June 20, 2002, accessed December 22, 2012
- ^ Julie Andrews: Awards & Nominees, Emmys.com, accessed December 22, 2012
- ^ The Nielsen TV rating for the program was 18,864,000 "homes reached during an average minute" of the broadcast. "Ratings", Broadcasting-Telecasting, May 6, 1957, p. 51
- ISBN 978-0-7864-2246-3.
- ^ Hischak, p. 170
- ^ "Oscar Hammerstein II", rnh.com, Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, accessed October 28, 2014
- ^ Hammerstein biography on PBS, pbs.org, accessed November 29, 2008
- ^ Everett, p. 124
- ^ Miller, Matthew. "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities", Forbes.com, October 27, 2009
- ^ :Proms 2010: Prom 49: A celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein, review", The Telegraph, October 27, 2016
- ^ "Episode #298", What's My Line, season 7, episode 25, TV.com, February 19, 1956, accessed August 23, 2017
- ^ "Main Street to Broadway - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - New York Times". November 18, 2007. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007.
- ^ Hischak, p. 54
- ^ Rousuck, J. Wynn. "Rodgers and Hammerstein remembered for their art and their emotional impact: The Sound of Their Music", Baltimore Sun, December 18, 1994, accessed August 15, 2015
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ Rockwell, John. "Music: A new South Pacific by the City Opera", The New York Times, March 2, 1987, accessed June 5, 2013
- ^ Gearin, Joan. "Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the von Trapp Family", Prologue magazine, National Archives and Records Administration, Winter 2005, Vol. 37, Issue No. 4, accessed April 2, 2008
Sources
- Everett, William A.; ISBN 0-521-79639-3.
- Hischak, Thomas (2007). The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-34140-3.
- Hyland, William G. (1998). Richard Rodgers. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07115-3.
Further reading
- ISBN 1-55783-473-3.
- OCLC 985072859.
External links
- Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Rodgers and Hammerstein Discography at Discogs
- Rodgers and Hammerstein Time magazine's "100 most influential artists"
- Rodgers and Hammerstein Columbia University Encyclopedia
- Theodore S. Chapin, of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, discusses their copyright license philosophy at Jacob's Pillow PillowTalk, August 29, 2009