Editing Rodgers and Hammerstein (section)

==Early work==

===''Oklahoma!''===
{{Main|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 (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 [[New Haven]] on March 11, 1943. Only a few changes were made before it opened on Broadway, but three would prove significant: the addition of a [[wikt:Special:Search/showstopper|show-stopping number]], "[[Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein song)|Oklahoma!]]"; the deletion of the musical number "Boys and Girls Like You and Me", which was soon replaced with a reprise of "[[People Will Say We're in Love]]"; and the decision to re-title the musical after the song.

The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943, at the [[St. James Theatre]].  Although the typical musical of the time was usually written around the talents of a specific performer, such as [[Ethel Merman]] or [[Fred Astaire]], no stars were used in the production. Ultimately the original cast included [[Alfred Drake]] (Curly), [[Joan Roberts]] (Laurey), [[Celeste Holm]] (Ado Annie), [[Howard Da Silva]] (Jud Fry), [[Betty Garde]] (Aunt Eller), [[Lee Dixon (actor)|Lee Dixon]] (Will Parker) and Joseph Bulloff (Ali Hakim). [[Marc Platt (dancer)|Marc Platt]] danced the role of "Dream Curly", and [[Katharine Sergava]] danced the part of "Dream Laurey".  In ''Oklahoma!'', the story and the songs were considered more important than sheer star power. Nevertheless, the production ran for a then-unprecedented 2,212 performances, finally closing on May 29, 1948. Many enduring musical standards come from this show, among them "[[Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin']]", "[[The Surrey with the Fringe on Top]]", "[[I Cain't Say No]]", the aforementioned "[[People Will Say We're in Love]]", and "[[Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein song)|Oklahoma!]]". The popularity of these songs prompted Decca Records to have the original cast record the music from the show with the original orchestrations. This became the first musical to have an original cast recording, which is now a standard practice.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gross|first=Terry |title=How Rodgers and Hammerstein Revolutionized Broadway |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/04/09/600818943/how-rodgers-and-hammerstein-revolutionized-broadway |date=April 9, 2018 |access-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref>

In 1955 it was made into an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[Oklahoma! (film)|musical film]], the first feature shot with the [[Todd-AO]] [[70 mm film|70 mm]] [[widescreen]] process.  The film starred [[Gordon MacRae]] and [[Shirley Jones]], and [[Oklahoma! (soundtrack)|its soundtrack]] was No. 1 on the 1956 album charts.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r117173|label=Oklahoma! (MCA/Capitol)}}</ref><ref>The film was shot in two versions, the Todd-AO one, distributed by [[Mike Todd]]'s Magna productions, and a [[Cinemascope]] version for theatres that were not, at that time, able to handle Todd-AO. The Cinemascope version was released by [[RKO]] a year after the Todd-AO version and is the one that most audiences have seen.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}</ref>

After their initial success with ''Oklahoma!'', the pair took a break from working together and Hammerstein concentrated on the musical ''[[Carmen Jones]]'', a stage version of [[Bizet]]'s ''[[Carmen (opera)|Carmen]]'' with the characters changed to [[African Americans]] in the contemporary South, for which he wrote the book and lyrics. The musical was adapted to the screen in 1954, and scored a [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] Oscar nomination for leading lady [[Dorothy Dandridge]]. Rodgers and Hammerstein also received a special [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1944 for ''Oklahoma!''.<ref>[https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/richard-rodgers-and-oscar-hammerstein-ii "Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for ''Oklahoma!''"], Pulitzer.org, 1944, accessed November 16, 2019</ref>

===''Carousel''===
{{Main|Carousel (musical)}}

[[File:Use of Wondering.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"What's the Use of Wond'rin'&nbsp;" from ''Carousel'' (1947)]]
The original production of ''Carousel'' was directed by [[Rouben Mamoulian]] and opened at Broadway's [[Majestic Theatre (Broadway)|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 (actress)|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 (musical)|Carousel]]'' was also revolutionary for its time – adapted from [[Ferenc Molnár]]'s play ''[[Liliom]]'', it was one of the first musicals to contain a tragic plot about an antihero;<ref>Hyland, p. 158</ref> it also contained an extended ballet that was crucial to the plot, and several extended musical scenes containing both sung and spoken material, as well as dance. The 1956 [[Carousel (film)|film version]] of ''Carousel'', made in [[CinemaScope 55]], again starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, the same leads as the film version of ''Oklahoma!''

''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 [[John Mauceri]]'s [[Philips Records]] CD of the complete overtures of Rodgers and Hammerstein with the [[Hollywood Bowl Orchestra]].  It was also included in Rodgers' rare 1954 album for [[Columbia Records]] with the composer conducting the [[New York Philharmonic Orchestra]].<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WZKCLA "''Richard Rodgers Conducts Richard Rodgers''], Columbia Odyssey, {{ASIN|B000WZKCLA}} accessed December 20, 2012</ref>

===''State Fair''===
{{Main|State Fair (1945 film)}}

In 1945, a [[Technicolor]] [[State Fair (1945 film)|musical film version]] of [[Phil Stong]]'s novel ''State Fair'', with songs and script by Rodgers and Hammerstein, was released. The film, a remake of a 1933 non-musical [[Will Rogers]] film of the [[State Fair (1933 film)|same name]], starred [[Jeanne Crain]], [[Dana Andrews]], [[Dick Haymes]], and [[Vivian Blaine]]. This was the only time the pair ever wrote a score directly for film. It was a great success, winning Rodgers and Hammerstein their lone [[Academy Award|Oscar]] together, for the song "[[It Might as Well Be Spring]]",<ref>[http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/search/results "Oscar Hammerstein II"], Search Results – Academy Awards Database, accessed April 29, 2019</ref> but it was also unadventurous material for them, compared with several of their Broadway shows.  In 1962, an [[State Fair (1962 film)|unsuccessful remake]] of the musical film was released.

In 1969, the [[St. Louis Municipal Opera]] presented the world stage premiere of ''[[State Fair (musical)|State Fair]]'' starring [[Ozzie and Harriet]] Nelson.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19690605&id=RFpIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rQEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6983,3544219 "Dorothy Manners"] ''Toledo Blade'', June 5, 1969</ref> The production was directed by [[James Hammerstein]], supervised by Richard Rodgers and choreographed by Tommy Tune.  ''State Fair'' finally arrived on Broadway on March 27, 1996, with [[Donna McKechnie]] and [[Andrea McArdle]], produced by [[David Merrick]], and received five Tony Award nominations.