rodgers and hammerstein

1 on the 1956 album charts. So what are you doing writing a Rodgers and Hammerstein book? His name came first, even though he was younger than Oscar, and he had less experience. But at the end of the day, what Sondheim comes down in favor of is the, as he says, monumentality of the lyrics, not just the sentimentality. I'd throw away my sweater and dress up like a dude in a dicky and a collar and a tie if I loved you. I go to the hills when my heart is lonely. Or have you ever played a role in one of them? He's now a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and senior writer for Politico. Oh, what a beautiful morning. What does Sondheim think is so important about that song and how it's done in the show? But she sang for Oscar Hammerstein a song called "Indian Love Call" from his play "Rose-Marie." Thats where youll find musicals sorted by composer, theme, setting, and more! He told Richard Rodgers he wasn't interested in working on adapting a play called "Green Grow The Lilacs," which is what became "Oklahoma!" GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Soon you'd leave me. They have made many musicals that have been turned to films. The 1961 film adaptation was a lavish, but much criticized, Ross Hunter production released by Universal Studios. Actually, he approached him when he was in Philadelphia working as a silent producer on a show called "Best Foot Forward." In the new book "Something Wonderful: Rodgers And Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution," my guest Todd Purdum tells the story of their partnership. But they weren't personally close. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. And somehow, I can see just exactly how I'd be. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Sheet Music Collection, Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammersteins Broadway Revolution, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Piano Duet Book. Before joining forces with Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers spent over 20 years as half of Rodgers & Hart with Lorenz Hart. ***You may have noticed that for the past year I have been pos. And my wife, Dee Dee Myers, said you should really write about Rodgers and Hammerstein. GROSS: Todd Purdum, welcome back to FRESH AIR. We toiled to narrow down this list of the Top 10 Songs by Stephen Sondheim. In 1949, the songwriting team returned to Broadway with South Pacific. January 26, 2017. This is FRESH AIR. And he'd typically slave for days, if not weeks, on a single lyric. RAY CHARLES: (Singing) Don't sigh and gaze at me. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds that rise from the lake to the trees. Each timeless film is in dazzling high definition for the ultimate home viewing experience. I Remember Mamapremiered in 1979, but unfortunately was not received well by the public, who deemed the show to be too old-fashioned for their taste. PURDUM: Yeah. So Rodgers then teamed up with Oscar Hammerstein. "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific, South Pacific's sweeping "Some Enchanted Evening" is another in Rodgers & Hammerstein's collection of love-at-first-sight ballads. We're going to take a short break, and then we'll be right back. Accuracy and availability may vary. It rankled and bothered him a lot. Ensemble (Studio) (1964) 3:50 WATCH LISTEN OKLAHOMA! Among the many accolades their shows (and film versions) garnered were 34 Tony Awards,[2] fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes (for Oklahoma!, 1944, and South Pacific, 1950) and two Grammy Awards. PURDUM: Thanks so much for having me, Terry. RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN After long and highly distinguished careers with other collaborators, Richard Rodgers (composer) and Oscar Hammerstein II (librettist/lyricist) joined forces to create the most consistently fruitful and successful partnership in the American musical theatre. If I loved you, words wouldn't come in an easy way. | And indeed, she did do that - just that very thing - and developed her own style. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, Robert Wise. Kieron Cindric And by the end of it, you are swept along by their own emotional tug. PURDUM: Yes. And she just had to sort of shut up and take this as the price of doing business, especially as a woman on Broadway in the 1940s and '50s. But let audiences make of it what they will. My heart wants to sing every song it hears. At its heart, though, this is a fairy tale, the quintessential romantic love story, and as such, no one could have scored it better than Rodgers & Hammerstein. They have delighted millions of people with their unique and influential take on the Broadway musical serious, sincere, graceful and poignant. And it was so quiet that it landed like a bomb. Olivia Clement And what the effect of it is that in these 15 or so minutes of the scene, they're falling in love in front of our eyes. So I think when Sondheim says it's the single most important scene in the development of musicals, it's really a little play all by itself in which Rodgers and Hammerstein show the audience how these people are falling in love. Although it wasnt adapted to film until 1955 a decade after Walter Lang made State Fair - Oklahoma! Among their many Broadway hits were the shows A Connecticut Yankee (1927), Babes in Arms (1937), The Boys from Syracuse (1938), Pal Joey (1940), and By Jupiter (1942), as well as many successful film projects. Give me my rose and my glove. This became the first musical to have an original cast recording, which is now a standard practice. By November of 1955 the box . Rodgers and Hammerstein started out as genuine pioneers of musical theatre; by the time we get to The King and I (1951) and The Sound of Music (1959) their work, for all its phenomenal. RAITT: Well, then, what's put it into my head? 1919:Up Stage and Down* Technically the first collaboration between Rodgers and Hammerstein! GROSS: That was Mary Martin from the original cast recording of "Sound Of Music." And it was quiet. Prolific on Broadway, in London and in Hollywood from the '20s into the early '40s, Rodgers & Hart wrote more than 40 shows and film scores. Music is much harder to write about in English than English is (laughter). And Hammerstein said, well, as long as Larry can do the work, you have to stay with him because it would kill him if you left him. And I asked Ted Chapin, the head of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, how can I not have known this beautiful song because I think it's actually one of the most haunting melodies Richard Rodgers ever wrote. Oh, what a beautiful morning. He had great strength for writing strong, independent female characters, whether it's Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!" We understand how they got there, which is a pretty fast - you know, it's zero to 60 in five seconds in a way. At the turn of the 21st century, the Rodgers and Hammerstein legacy continues to flourish, as marked by the enthusiasm that greeted their centennials, in 1995 and 2002, respectively. A lot of responsibility falls on this little ode, particularly in contemporary revivals of Carousel, as Julie must justify for the audience why she still loves the man who hit her. And that - "Something Wonderful" was one of the songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein show "The King And I." Forever canonized by the great Dame Julie Andrews's 1965 film performance, the Sound of Music was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Musical Database Set on a US military base in the Solomon Islands during the Second World War,the filmcenters on the improbable love affair between an American nurse (Mitzi Gaynor) and a French plantation owner (Rossano Brazzi). And they wouldn't just have the royalties to the songs for public performance or sheet music sales or records and so forth. Based on James Michener's novel Tales of the South Pacific, it confronted racial prejudice, most notably with the song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." Both had seen the rapaciousness of producers and the way that creative people maybe sometimes suffered at the businessman's hands. And, you know, he once said that Oscar was a man of limited talent and infinite soul, and Richard Rodgers was a man of infinite talent and limited soul. There's even a knock-knock joke: "Knock knock." The following shows are listed in our Musical Archive. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. It's just a heartbreaking - and beautiful words - a heartbreaking song. (1943), marked a revolution in musical drama. I don't know just how I know, but I can see how everything would be if I loved you. And I said to myself as I rode by myself, everybody's got a home but me. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. A traditional romance with a touch of murder and melodrama, the show concerned Rose-Marie LaFlamme, a French-Canadian girl in love with a local trapper. But now he's written a book about Rodgers and Hammerstein. Ruthie Fierberg In honor of the Summer Games in Rio, Playbill crowned champions of theatrical feats. Here are there ratings on IMDb. And they do it in a very sort of quiet, intimate way, in which you almost feel like you're eavesdropping on their most intimate kind of conversation. that I could have selected any of its songs for this list. PURDUM: One thing to keep in mind as you listen to Mary Martin sing this song is that she was almost 46 years old when the show opened. Collectively, the musicals of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II earned 42 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards and 2 Emmy Awards. Their breakthrough came with the score for a 1925 charity show, THE GARRICK GAITIES, which introduced the classic valentine to their hometown, "Manhattan." Im looking for a performance script for I Love You, Youre Perfect, Now Change. Rodgers' folky, plaintive tune and Hammerstein's conversational introspection perfectly capture not only the character of Julie, but a real kernel of humanity, as demonstrated beautifully in recordings by such diverse artists as Bernadette Peters and even punk cabaret superstar Amanda Palmer. In 2002, the Richard Rodgers centennial was celebrated around the world, with tributes from Tokyo to London, from the Hollywood Bowl to the White House, featuring six new television specials, museum retrospectives, a dozen new ballets, half a dozen books, new recordings and countless concert and stage productions (including three simultaneous revivals on Broadway, matching Hammerstein's feat of six years earlier), giving testament to the enduring popularity of Richard Rodgers and the sound of his music. So he's under no illusions about Hammerstein's shortcomings as a lyricist and his fondness for bird and fauna and flora and stars and astrological metaphors. OK (laughter). So before we get to how Hammerstein entered the picture, why were things between Rodgers and Hart so rocky at the end? Don't laugh at my jokes too much. The show ran for over five years and 2,000 performances (a record at the time), winning a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944. In the 21st century, the Rodgers & Hammerstein legacy continues to flourish. And by the end of the song, by the end of the scene, we feel it. RAITT: Nothing. Despite Hammerstein's death in 1960, Rodgers continued to write for the Broadway stage. And then it did another thing which was that it used dance - and particularly Agnes de Mille's ballet - as a way of propelling the story forward, of exploring and explaining the characters innermost thoughts and feelings and fears. PURDUM: Well, in the show, "If I Loved You" is set in the middle of an extended scene of spoken dialogue, sung dialogue and the purely sung song. In June of 1948, Rodgers & Hammerstein were guests on the first episode of Ed Sullivan's long-running variety show (then called Toast of the Town), alongside Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. That musical would eventually becomeRodgers & Hammersteins Oklahoma! It was adapted for film in 1956 with Brynner re-creating his role opposite Deborah Kerr (whose singing was largely dubbed by Marni Nixon). And in those days, we have to remember that these songs were on the top-hit parade of American popular music. GROSS: So that was "If I Loved You" from the original cast recording of "Carousel." Ben Rimalower Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and Lorenz Hart (1895-1943) wrote their first shows together when both were still students attending Columbia University. That didn't go so well. The partnership disbanded temporarily early in 1943 when Rodgers collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II on OKLAHOMA! Collectively, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals have earned Tony, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Pulitzer, and Olivier Awards. Nobody could sort of believe that a musical comedy would open in such a naturalistic way. The 1958 film version, also directed by Logan, starred Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, Ray Walston, and Juanita Hall. Music:Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II. His first solo entry, No Strings, earned him a Tony Award for Best Composer and was followed by Do I Hear A Waltz?, Two By Two, Rex and I Remember Mama. What did they turn down to produce this flop? 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. It has also rarely been revived since. A true standard of the Great American Songbook, "It Might As Well be Spring" has been covered by countless singers drawn to its rich music and evocative lyrics, both of which manage to be simultaneously moody and soaring, coolly jazzy and unabashedly emotional. She's feeling pretty bedraggled. But the conventions of theater were such that older actors and actresses often played younger characters. You don't realize the Earth needs a mother as well as a father. The partnership disbanded temporarily early in 1943 when Rodgers collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II on OKLAHOMA! | So "Oklahoma!" They were guests on the very first broadcast of Toast of the Town, the original name of The Ed Sullivan Show, when it debuted on CBS in June 1948. I'm Terry Gross, back with Todd Purdum, author of the new book "Something Wonderful: Rodgers And Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution." The duo of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II are titans of musical theatre. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein had one of the most successful musical partnerships of the 20th century, collaborating on the musicals "Oklahoma!," "Carousel," "South Pacific," "The King And . Music:Richard RodgersLyrics/Book:Oscar Hammerstein II. 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. South Pacific opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for over five years. Richard Rodgers died on December 30, 1979, less than eight months after his last musical opened on Broadway. Rodgers & Hammerstein were used to breaking their own records, and Pipe Dream was not an exception for them. So they didn't have that kind of direct partnership where, you know, every day or every week they're together in the same room working something out together - collaborating in real time. And asked him if he'd consider collaborating with him because he thought Larry was falling apart. | I'd be too scared to even make a start, and my golden chance to speak would come and go. We're going to hear some Rodgers and Hammerstein cast recordings. The ultimate tribute came the following season, when he had three musicals playing on Broadway simultaneously: Show Boat (1995 Tony Award winner, Best Musical Revival); The King and I (1996 Tony Award winner, Best Musical Revival); and State Fair (1996 Tony Award nominee for Best Score.). Here's our collection of the most iconic dances performed on the Great White Way. And the story's very simple. The musical was adapted to the screen in 1954, and scored a Best Actress Oscar nomination for leading lady Dorothy Dandridge. PURDUM: On the one hand, they were very loyal to the creative team that they worked with. A milestone in the development of the American musical, it also marked the beginning of the most successful partnership in Broadway musical history, and was followed byCarousel, South Pacific, The King And I, CinderellaandThe Sound Of Music. Brynner won an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal, and Kerr was nominated as Best Actress. PURDUM: Well, she'd come out to Hollywood from Weatherford, Texas, where she'd had a dance school. And I think that she sounds a little bit too much like, you know, a belter. The genius of the song is the opening verse ("I expect everyone of my crowd to make fun of my proud protestations of faith in romance"), which tells us Nellie knows she's being cheesy. And I think that colored their entire relationship. And they both had a reputation as being pretty stingy and very tough bargainers, very tough businessmen. Rodgers and Hammerstein began writing together before the era of the Tonys. 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". Music:Richard RodgersLyrics:Oscar Hammerstein IIBook:Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse. Me and Juliet was considered a moderate success after a year-run on Broadway. And she had trained for this role like a fighter. 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". GROSS: I mean, on the other hand, like, Billy Bigelow in "Carousel," you know, hits his wife. [citation needed] They were the mystery guests on episode number 298 of What's My Line, which first aired on February 19, 1956; blindfolded panelist Arlene Francis was able to correctly identify them. I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string. So they'd been in touch for many years. [27], Rodgers and Hammerstein appeared on live telecasts several times. 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. David Gewirtzman Then all at once, he'll do something wonderful. But first, this is an interesting story because it's kind of set in a house of prostitution. And she was recently in the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella." PURDUM: So in a way, Hammerstein's first attempt at a lyric was just as halting as the would-be lovers' own proclamations. GROSS: Todd Purdum, it's been great to talk with you again. It's known as the bench scene. Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespians Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century. In 1995, Hammerstein's centennial was celebrated worldwide with commemorative recordings, books, concerts and an award-winning PBS special, Some Enchanted Evening. And when I wrote my last book on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, I owed the publisher the right of first refusal on a next book. People will say we're in love. But a little brown maverick is winking her eye. If I loved you, this is how I would behave. GROSS: My guest is Todd Purdum. When I first heard that song - I had never really known the score of "Pipe Dream" until I started to work on this book - I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the song. The story centers on farm girl Laurey Williams (Shirley Jones, who also played Julie Jordan in Carousel) who is caught in a love triangle with handsome cowboy Curly McLain (Gordon MacRae) and dangerous social outsider Jud Fry (the great character actor Rod Steiger). And the dialogue in which they tell Billy Bigelow - oh, you're surprised to see a woman here. I can just see myself. Indeed to this very day, the classic musicals of Rodgers & Hammerstein and the timeless songs they wrote for them remain the epitome of the great American indigenous art form, musical theatre. Hammerstein, who was on the judging committee, added two songs in the revising stage. And I found it very sad to learn that each went to his grave not knowing whether the other really had liked him. Rodgers & Hammerstein Preview E 1 Oklahoma (Feat. And Rodgers had known him starting as a teenage boy when he went to see the annual spring varsity show at Columbia and made up his mind then and there that he wanted to go to Columbia and write a varsity show too. But it's also almost operatic in its impact and in its emotional power. Right now let's hear a song Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote for "Oklahoma! After writing a series of musical comedies for the University's Varsity Shows and other charities, they made their professional debut with the song "Any Old Place With You," featured in the 1919 Broadway musical comedy A LONELY ROMEO. This is FRESH AIR. They often make very sparing use of rhyme. GROSS: However, when Encores did a revival of it just a few years ago, Laura Osnes sang this song.

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