Many critics and Broadway historians consider music composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II the greatest team to grace Broadway. This presentation will examine their early careers before they were a team, their rise to success on the Broadway stage, and how they ultimately came to be partners. With that partnership came a whole new approach to Broadway musicals where song and dance were no longer just entertaining but used to advance the story line and plot. It will also look at how Rodgers & Hammerstein used their musical plays to project and comment on serious social issues. In this class you will see numerous film clips including many great songs from their plays including Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, and others. The end result, including facts about the actors and actresses appearing in the plays and movies, is an informational and entertaining look at Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Kings of Broadway.


LLI Coordinator: Jo Anne Renton