Who doesn't know a song by Rodgers and Hammerstein? Whether it is the optimistic "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," the inspirational "You'll Never Walk Alone," the romantic "Some Enchanted Evening" or the delightfully didactic "Do- Re-Me," these rich melodies and evocative lyrics are all so deeply embedded in the American memory that it takes only a few notes to bring them to mind. No pair of composers wrote more unforgettable standards in the Great American Songbook than Rodgers and Hammerstein, and none touched so many places in our hearts.In this Alumni College, we'll also discover why the musicals of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II are central to the whole history of Broadway. The shows of these immensely talented composers won an unprecedented 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes and two Grammy Awards. In three short days, we'll cover their most popular hits as well as some of their lesser-known works. With their first collaboration, Oklahoma! (1943), they broke all previous records at the box office and established a new level of excellence for subsequent musicals. Oklahoma! was followed by the intense and groundbreaking Carousel (1945), which addressed spousal abuse. Other controversial topics, such as racial prejudice and the cultural divide between East and West, are covered by South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951) and Flower Drum Song (1958). We'll also consider the significance of their television musical Cinderella (1957), as well as the Hollywood movie adaptations of their Broadway hits, a marvelous series of collaborations culminating in the sensational success of their last masterpiece, The Sound of Music (1959). We'll also look at the stars of stage and screen who were indelibly associated with the highly prized "R & H role," whether it was Gordon MacRae as Curly, John Raitt as Billy Bigelow, Mary Martin as Nellie Forbish, Yul Brynner as the King of Siam, Deborah Kerr as Anna, or Julie Andrews as Maria.Leading us on this excursion of musical delights will be Tim Gaylard, professor of music, Gordon Spice, emeritus professor of music, joined again by Scott Williamson and Amy Cofield Williamson and Broadway expert Josh Harvey '00.
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