All That Glitters is Gold(en):
How Rodgers and Hammerstein Ruled the 40s and 50s of Broadway
In the 1940s, theatre professionals were trying to create an escape from reality for its audiences, wanting a more lighthearted form of entertainment. With this saw the creation of what many consider the first traditional book musical with Oklahoma! in 1943, the first show by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The American musical evolved over the years until the 1950s, which was a “transitional period between the traditional book musical and the sung-through musical.”1 Musicals were beginning to offer more operatic styles, with at least one musical a season to offer an out-and-out opera or a show with twice the number of songs in a typical musical of the time. This includes Leonard Bernstein’s Candide (1956) and West Side Story (1957). The decades that followed saw even more experimentation with the American musical, with the 60s providing the first concept musical (Hair) and the 70s institutionalizing the concept musical as a viable alternative to the traditional book musical (Company & A Chorus Line). Music emerged as the primary method of telling a musical’s story, with audiences becoming more accustomed to sung-through musicals as the years went on. The following will detail the entirety of the Rodgers and Hammerstein era of Broadway, starting with Oklahoma! and ending with The Sound of Music. The shows that opened during 1959 (the year Curtains takes place) will then be highlighted, allowing the reader to see what Robbin’ Hood’s (Curtains’ show-within-a-show) competition would have been on Broadway if/when it would successfully transfer. Could it have won a Tony when compared to groundbreaking musicals like Gypsy or The Sound of Music?
1940s Broadway
Before Rodgers and Hammerstein joined forces, many other Broadway legends were thriving. Irving Berlin was the top US composer at the time, while Cole Porter found success during this period, too, with Anything Goes. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart combined to create Pal Joey, with Gene Kelly in the title role. Hart, succumbing to alcoholism, turned down a new show offer by Rodgers, leaving for Mexico. Oscar Hammerstein II decided to join Rodgers in leu of Hart, creating the groundbreaking musical Oklahoma!, effectively ushering in the Golden Age of Broadway. Oklahoma! is unique in that “the libretto loosely followed the story line instead of using song and dance as separate elements.”2 It was a fully integrated musical, with even the choreography (by Agnes de Mille) advancing the plot. The musical, based off the play Green Grow the Lilacs, originally opened in New Haven, Connecticut under the title Away We Go, which did not win over critics. After transferring to Boston with some changes, and with a new title, Oklahoma! began to win over the crowd with thunderous applause. The show officially opened on Broadway on March 31, 1943, closing after a record-breaking 2212 performances.
The 40s also saw the creation of the Tony Awards, named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer, and dynamic wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing who had recently passed away. On Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947, the first Tony Awards were debuted in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Each ticket cost $7.00 to attend the ceremony, with more than 1000 guests in attendance. It wasn’t until 1956, though, before television coverage began to telecast the award ceremony locally via Du Mont’s Channel 5.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s next two successes in the 40s were Carousel and South Pacific. Carousel opened on April 19, 1945, while Oklahoma! was still being performed across the street. The story was based on Liliom, with a carnival setting and Hungarian background. Choreography was once again provided by Agnes de Mille and ran for more than 899 performances. South Pacific opened in 1949, based off two short stories by James Michener. The musical starred Mary Martin, who would later win a Tony for her performances in Peter Pan (1954) and The Sound of Music (1959). South Pacific would go on to beat out Kiss Me, Kate to win best musical of the year, picking up ten Tony Awards in total.
1950s Broadway
The 50s, despite political turmoil, created an explosion of musical theatre shows, with Rodgers and Hammerstein leading the charge. Many shows created during this decade have become staples in the musical theatre canon, such as Guys and Dolls (1950), The King and I (1951), The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), My Fair Lady (1956), West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), and The Sound of Music (1959). Guys and Dolls, a show that inspired a young Fred Ebb to begin writing lyrics for musicals, was very much the quintessential “New York” show, based on a story by Damon Runyon. The King and I, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, opened eight years after Oklahoma! in the same theatre on March 29, 1951. Yul Brynner, who portrayed the role of the king of Siam, is of important note, playing the role 4524 times before his death in 1985. Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, George Abbott, and Richard Bissell all combined to create The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, which both ran for more than 1000 performances.
My Fair Lady, one of the most famous musicals to come out of the 50s, ran for a record 2717 performances after opening on March 15, 1956. The musical, based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, was created by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, who would later combine to create Gigi in 1958 and Camelot in 1960. West Side Story, a modern-day musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet opened in 1957, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (making his Broadway debut). The story was unique in that it did not end with the typical happy ending and featured music that was much more serious in tone. While the production did win a Tony for best choreography, Best Musical went to The Music Man that year. The end of the decade saw the creation of another Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with Flower Drum Song in 1958, featuring a mostly Asian cast, which made Broadway history. The show ran for 600 performances and won six Tony awards. To round out the 50s, two outstanding shows came to the Broadway stage, Gypsy and The Sound of Music. Gypsy, with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, was based on the 1957 memoirs of burlesque artist Gypsy Rose Lee, with a focus on her mother, Rose, the “ultimate showbusiness mother.” The original show ran for 702 performances and received eight Tony nominations. The last big show of the decade was The Sound of Music, the last show created by Rodgers and Hammerstein (Hammerstein died a few months after opening). The show opened on November 16, 1959, and was based on the memoirs of the Trapp Family singers, set in Austria right before World War II. The original production shared the Tony for Best Musical with Fiorello!, while Mary Martin won Best Actress, among other awards. It ran for 1443 shows on Broadway and an even more impressive 2385 shows in London. The original cast album sold three million copies. The Sound of Music not only saw the end of the Rodgers and Hammerstein era, but the end of the Golden Age of Broadway, as the 60s were right around the corner, bringing with it its own spin on the musical theatre formula: the concept musical.
1959 Season on Broadway
(Shows with at least 100 performances)
Redhead
Opened on February 5, 1959, closed on March 19, 1960 (452 Performances), book by Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields, Sidney Sheldon, and David Shaw, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, music by Albert Hague.
Destry Rides Again
Opened on April 23, 1959, closed on June 18, 1960 (472 Performances), book by Leonard Gershe, lyrics and music by Harold Rome. Based on the 1930 novel Destry Rides Again by Max Brand.
Gypsy
Opened on May 21, 1959, closed on March 25, 1961 (702 Performances), book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Jule Styne (additional dance music by Betty Walberg). Based on the 1957 Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee.
Take Me Along
Opened on October 22, 1959, closed on December 17, 1960 (448 Performances), book by Joseph Stein and Robert Russell, lyrics and music by Bob Merrill (ballet and incidental music by Laurence Rosenthal). Based on the 1933 play Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O’Neill.
The Sound of Music
Opened on November 16, 1959, closed on June 15, 1963 (1443 Performances), book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers. Based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta von Trapp.
Fiorello!
Opened on November 23, 1959, closed on October 28, 1961 (795 Performances), book by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, music by Jerry Bock. Based on the political career of Fiorello H. LaGuardia (1882-1947) who first served as a New York congressman and then as New York City’s mayor for three terms.
Once Upon a Mattress
Opened on November 25, 1959, closed on July 2, 1960 (244 Performances), book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, and Dean Fuller, lyrics by Marshall Barer, music by Mary Rodgers. Based on the traditional fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
1 – Dan Dietz, “Introduction,” The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), 2.
2 – Naden, Corinne J Naden, “Chapter 2: The History of Broadway,” The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre 1943-1965, (Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2011), 11.