The Story and Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein
The Story and Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein will be filling The Royal Hippodrome Theatre with the sound of music this summer!
The show will feature a selection of songs from some of their hit shows which are as popular today as they were when they were first performed nearly 80 years ago. In fact, last year a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ from ‘Carousel’ became a song of hope during the pandemic when it became a No 1 hit for Michael ball and Sir captain Tom Moore.
Dean Caston, who created the show, will be telling the story of how the pair met and recall stories about some shows and stars that appeared in them including Mary Martin and Yul Brynner. Dean adds ‘When putting the show together there were so many popular songs that were written by Rodgers & Hammerstein that is was difficult to know which songs to include in the show. But there will be plenty of songs that I’m sure the audience will be singing along with!
Jimmy Burton-Iles will be performing some memorable classics including ‘Oh! What a Beautiful Morning’ from Oklahoma and ‘If I loved You’ from Carousel. Whilst Jessica Pease will delight audiences with ‘I Can’t say No’ from Oklahoma and the title song from ‘The Sound of Music’.
Musical Director, Carol Anne Wells studied at music at The Royal College of Music and was awarded the Ellen Marie Curtis Mozart prize. She became the first official accompanist vat the Royal College of Music Opera School and since then has become an accomplished soloist and accompanist in concerts, cabaret and musical theatre. In the show she will perform ‘Something Wonderful’ from The King and I and ‘Bali-hai’ from South Pacific.
Composer, Richard Rodgers and Lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II were undoubtedly the most influential and successful American musical theatre writing team. During the 1940’s and 50’s they created iconic musicals such as Oklahoma, Carousel and The Sound of Music initiating what is still considered today as the ‘golden age’ of musical theatre. They revolutionised the American musical theatre combining song, story and dance as never before.
The pair first met in 1916 when studying at Columbia University. They met again after a matinee in 1917 and Oscar wrote he was taken backstage where he met ‘a very tall, skinny fellow with a sweet smile and clear blue eyes’.
They then went their separate ways with Hammerstein working with Jerome Kern and Rodgers with Lorenz Hart until the early 1940s. The pair’s first collaboration was on an adaptation of Lynn Rigg’s stage play ‘Green Grow the Lilacs’. The pair set to work on the musical which was given the title ‘Oklahoma’. The show opened on Broadway on 31 March 1943 where it ran for 2,212 performances. It was made into an Academy award winning musical film in 1955.
In 1955 they wrote a special version of ‘Cinderella’ for American television and over 100 million viewers tuned in to see the show with Julie Andrews playing the role of ‘Cinderella’.
Their last show together was ‘The Sound of Music’ which opened on Broadway in November 1959. Oscar Hammerstein passed away the following August. Richard Rodgers continued to working but never enjoyed the same success as he had during his partnership with Oscar Hammerstein. Rodgers passed away in December 1979.
Their work continues to give abiding pleasure to millions of audiences and ‘The Story and Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein’ will help to keep their memory and music alive with a show full of some of their most loved songs.
