Rodgers and Hammerstein

Rodgers and Hammerstein

• ​Born in Queens, NY in 1902

• Learned to play piano​ as a toddler

• Composed with Lorenz Hart for years until Hart's passing ("Blue Moon", "Funny Valentine")

• EGOT winner​

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Richard Rodgers

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Multiple Choice

Where was Richard Rodgers born?

• Harlem, NY

• Queens, NY

• Washington, DC

• Albany, NY

• Born in NYC on July 12, 1895

• ​Lyricist

• Originally went to school for law before taking a job as an assistant manager

• Teamed up with several composers before joining with Rodgers​

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Oscar Hammerstein II​

Multiple Choice

Oscar Hammerstein originally went to college for_______?

• Songwriting

• Theater

• Law

• Teaching

Open Ended

When you hear the word "opera" what is the first thing that comes to mind? How would you describe opera?

Opera vs Operetta vs

Musical Theater

• Opera: Recitative vs Aria

• ​Operetta: light-hearted, shorter, adds dialogue

• ​Musical Theater: dialogue carries more weight than in Operetta (BUT acting-singing-dancing hierarchy still remains)

• Revolutionized musical theater (operetta)

• Oklahoma (1943, based on Rigg's play) became start of a new genre of musical theater (2,000 performances, 10 revivals, feature film, Pulitzer Prize, and two Tony Awards)

• "Golden Age" of musical ​theater

• ​Went on to write Carousel, Allegro, South Pacific, The Kind and I, Me and Juliet, Pipe Dream, Flower Drum Song, The Sound of Music, State Fair, and Cinderella (made for TV)

• Wrote together until Hammerstein's passing​

Rodgers & Hammerstein

Multiple Choice

Which musical was NOT written by Rodgers and Hammerstein?

• The Sound of Music

• Cinderella

• Oklahoma!

• Shrek

Open Ended

Please type your response to the musical example in the space below. (Observations could include tempo, style, instrumentation, mood, voicing)

• Made for TV (broadcast viewership of over 100 million people)

• ​TV adaptations were common, but NBC wanted a musical made for TV

• Hit the stage in 1958

• Dedication to approach storyline with honesty and simplicity (Lovely Night)​

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“In writing the story and the songs, Oscar and I felt that it was important to keep everything as traditional as possible, without any ‘modernizing’ or reaching for psychological significance.” Richard Rogers

Cinderella (1957)

Multiple Choice

What was special about Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella?

• It was the first musical that was performed on stage and then taken to the screen

• It was the first musical that Rodgers and Hammerstein had written together

• It was the first musical written for TV