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Summary:

"A revelatory portrait of the creative partnership that transformed musical theater and provided the soundtrack to the American Century. They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play. Their songs and dance numbers served to advance the drama and reveal character, a sharp break from the past and the template on which all future musicals would be built. Though different in personality and often emotionally distant from each other, Rodgers and Hammerstein presented an unbroken front to the world and forged much more than a songwriting team; their partnership was also one of the most profitable and powerful entertainment businesses of their era. They were cultural powerhouses whose work came to define postwar America on stage, screen, television, and radio. But they also had their failures and flops, and more than once they feared they had lost their touch. Todd S. Purdum's portrait of these two men, their creative process, and their groundbreaking innovations will captivate lovers of musical theater, lovers of the classic American songbook, and lovers in general. He shows that what Rodgers and Hammerstein wrought was truly something wonderful." -- Book jacket.

Table of Contents:

• Prologue: All they cared about was the show
• The sentimentalist
• A quality of yearning
• Away we go
• Bustin' out
• So far
• Enchanted evening
• Parallel wives
• Catastrophic success
• Beyond Broadway
• Auf wiedersehen
• Walking alone
• Epilogue: Bloom and grow forever
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgments
• Permissions acknowledgments
• Index.

Author/Creator:

Purdum, Todd S. , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Something wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway revolution [by Purdum, T.S.]

Subjects:

Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979

Hammerstein, Oscar, II, 1895-1960

Composers — United States — Biography

Lyricists — United States — Biography

Musicals — United States — 20th century — History and criticism

1900-1999

Lyricists

Musicals

Composers

United States

Genres:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Biographies

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [321]-352) and index.
c.2 from the collection of Idalene Fuqua.

Physical Description:

x, 386 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Call Numbers:

ML410.R6315 P87 2018

ISBNs:

9781627798341 (hardcover)
162779834X (hardcover)

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2017044836

OCLC Numbers:

985072859