Rodgers & Hammerstein 101

OLLI Fall Semester 2019 • Alan Teasley, Instructor

Class 1 • Hammerstein Before Rodgers Today’s Opening Number

Link (2:28)

Rodgers & Hammerstein

(1943-59)

• 11 Shows • 34 Tony Awards • 15 Academy Awards • 2 Grammys • 2 Emmys • 2 Pulitzer Prizes

• Integrated song, story, and dance “as never before” (Purdum)

• Owned their own publishing house and the rights to all their shows

• Built an extensive casting and producing organization

• Pioneered recording of original cast albums

Innovations

Goals of the Course

You will:

Be familiar with the 10 Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musicals (and be able to hum at least one song from each!)

Know about the careers of these men both before and after their partnership

Understand the innovations that made this team’s shows revolutionary in the 1940s and 1950s

Enjoy Rodgers and Hammerstein’s many contributions to the Great American Songbook

Recommended Text:

Todd S. Purdum, Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution (2018)

Course Web Site: www.musicals-101.com

Who Am I? Who Are You?

A little about me & my interest in Rodgers & Hammerstein

Introductions(“Getting to Know You”): In 30 seconds or less, tell us your NAME and ONE of the following:

The R&H song that best captures your personality, Your favorite R&H musical, OR Why you’re taking this class

The Roots of the Broadway Musical

Broadway: The American Musical (PBS,

2004)

from Episode 1: “Give My Regards to

Broadway (1893-1927)”

[10:30]

Hammerstein’s Mentor:

Otto Harbach

• Lyricist & Librettist • 22 years older than Oscar • Emphasized dramatic values • Favored florid lyrics of

operetta: “A litany of dreams, moons, stars, and dew” (Purdum)

Hammerstein’s Early Collaborators

Rufolf Friml

Sigmund Romberg

Sigmund Romberg Jerome Kern

Rudolf Friml

• Rose-Marie (1924)* • “Indian Love Call”

• The Wild Rose(1926)

*with Lyricist Otto Harbach

Sigmund Romberg

• The Desert Song (1926)* • The New Moon (1928)

• “Lover, Come Back to Me” • “Stouthearted Men” • “One Kiss”

*with Lyricists Otto Harbach & Frank Mandel

Georges Bizet

Carmen Jones (1943)

Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Preview of film (1954)

Jerome Kern

• Sunny (1925)* • “Who?”

• Show Boat (1927) • Sweet Adeline (1929)

• “Don’t Ever Leave Me” • Music in the Air (1932)

• “I’ve Told Every Little Star” • “The Song is You”

• Very Warm for May (1939) • “All the Things You Are”

• Lady Be Good (Film, 1941) • “The Last Time I Saw Paris”

*with Lyricist Otto Harbach

Show Boat (1927)

Producer: Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.

Music: Jerome Kern Book & Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on the novel by Edna Ferber Additional Lyrics & Songs: P. G. Wodehouse, Charles K. Harris, & Joseph E. Howard Staged by: Zeke Colvan & Oscar Hammerstein II Cast: Helen Morgan, Edna May Oliver, Jules Bledsoe, Howard Marsh

Show Boat (1927)

Broadway: The American Musical

(PBS, 2004)

from Episode 1: “Give My Regards to

Broadway (1893-1927)”

[9:46] Films of Show Boat

1929

Sigmund Romberg

1936 1951

Recordings of Show Boat

Songs From Show Boat

“Make Believe”

“Ol’Man River”

“Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”

“Life Upon the Wicked Stage”

“You Are Love”

“Why Do I Love You?”

“Bill” (lyrics: P. G. Wodehouse)

“After the Ball” (Charles K. Harris)

Hal Prince on Show Boat (1994)

“It is the first great contemporary modern musical. The first to merge the traditional, happy-go-lucky naiveté of Broadway musical comedy with serious themes. The first with a score ranging from light-hearted, popular 32-bar songs to 19th century operetta and grand opera.”

“Show Boat is essentially a celebration of the family . . . and a love affair with theatre people.”

Paper Mill Playhouse

Production of Show Boat (1989)

(Broadcast on Great Performances;

Currently on YouTube)

Opening “Make Believe” “Ol’ Man River”

“Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”

Helen Morgan

“Bill”

Show Boat (1936)

Reflection on Today’s Class

To play us out . . .

Ella Fitzgerald:

“All the Things You Are” (Very Warm for May)

Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II

Nelson Riddle Orchestra, 1963

(3’15”)