How Rodgers and Hammerstein Changed Broadway
When you think of New York City, there is always one thing that automatically comes to mind, Broadway. You walk in Times Square and see all the captivating bright lights and loud noises. You see everybody handing out pamphlets to come see their, shows while there dressed in costume. You can’t help but wonder what their show is about. Whether you like plays and musicals, I’m sure at one point in your life you will see one or hear a song from one. The 1940’s and the 1950’s were a golden age for Broadway. (Gordon, John Steele) The industry was booming. Television wasn’t popular yet, so everybody’s form of entertainment was either on the radio or musicals. Everyone would go to shows. New Yorkers didn’t …show more content…
(Carousel Rodgers & Hammerstein operatic musical to be casted in a musical you need to be a triple threat. Meaning you need to be an exceptional jazz dancer, singer and actor. One reason Carousel was so hard to cast was because they needed to find these triple threats while type casting. Type casting is looking for people of a certain height, weight, facial/body characteristics, hair color or skin color. ( Partridge, Jewel Elizabeth) During the 40’s and 50’s skin color was very important. Not many musicals were integrated. The first show to be fully integrated was Oklahoma. This was the first musical that Rodgers and Hammerstein had worked on together. Time magazine had named Rodgers and Hammerstein 2 of the 100 most influential forces of the 20th century, since their first musical they had changed Broadway forever. Oklahoma! freed Broadway musicals from old convention. (Gordon, John Steele) (Clive, James) Before Rodgers and Hammerstein they both had other careers. Once they teamed up, there has not been a team more successful. (Maslon, …show more content…
They created nine musicals together, but their five most famous shows were Oklahoma!, this had 2,248 shows, South Pacific which had 1,925 shows, The Sound of Music which ran for 1,443 shows, The King and I, which ran 1,246 shows and Carousel, which ran for 890 shows. They also created the television special Cinderella which had 107 million viewers. This was 2/3 of the U.S. population at the time. (Gordon, John Steele) (Rishoi, Niel) Rodgers and Hammerstein always set out to create hits. They wanted success! They would do anything to receive that as well. No matter how much they loved a scene or a song they would change it in order to make their show a hit. Oscar Hammerstein would write the lyrics over the course of a few days and then he would give the words to Rodgers who would then create the music in a matter of minutes. This always angered Hammerstein. (Gordon, John Steele.) They were partners for 17 years. Within 17 years they realized that in order to be successful on Broadway it was 50% about the show itself and 50% about the business surrounding it. (Webber, Andrew
When you think of New York City, there is always one thing that automatically comes to mind, Broadway. You walk in Times Square and see all the captivating bright lights and loud noises. You see everybody handing out pamphlets to come see their, shows while there dressed in costume. You can’t help but wonder what their show is about. Whether you like plays and musicals, I’m sure at one point in your life you will see one or hear a song from one. The 1940’s and the 1950’s were a golden age for Broadway. (Gordon, John Steele) The industry was booming. Television wasn’t popular yet, so everybody’s form of entertainment was either on the radio or musicals. Everyone would go to shows. New Yorkers didn’t …show more content…
(Carousel Rodgers & Hammerstein operatic musical to be casted in a musical you need to be a triple threat. Meaning you need to be an exceptional jazz dancer, singer and actor. One reason Carousel was so hard to cast was because they needed to find these triple threats while type casting. Type casting is looking for people of a certain height, weight, facial/body characteristics, hair color or skin color. ( Partridge, Jewel Elizabeth) During the 40’s and 50’s skin color was very important. Not many musicals were integrated. The first show to be fully integrated was Oklahoma. This was the first musical that Rodgers and Hammerstein had worked on together. Time magazine had named Rodgers and Hammerstein 2 of the 100 most influential forces of the 20th century, since their first musical they had changed Broadway forever. Oklahoma! freed Broadway musicals from old convention. (Gordon, John Steele) (Clive, James) Before Rodgers and Hammerstein they both had other careers. Once they teamed up, there has not been a team more successful. (Maslon, …show more content…
They created nine musicals together, but their five most famous shows were Oklahoma!, this had 2,248 shows, South Pacific which had 1,925 shows, The Sound of Music which ran for 1,443 shows, The King and I, which ran 1,246 shows and Carousel, which ran for 890 shows. They also created the television special Cinderella which had 107 million viewers. This was 2/3 of the U.S. population at the time. (Gordon, John Steele) (Rishoi, Niel) Rodgers and Hammerstein always set out to create hits. They wanted success! They would do anything to receive that as well. No matter how much they loved a scene or a song they would change it in order to make their show a hit. Oscar Hammerstein would write the lyrics over the course of a few days and then he would give the words to Rodgers who would then create the music in a matter of minutes. This always angered Hammerstein. (Gordon, John Steele.) They were partners for 17 years. Within 17 years they realized that in order to be successful on Broadway it was 50% about the show itself and 50% about the business surrounding it. (Webber, Andrew