Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century.
June Allyson was an American stage, film, and television actress.
Jerome Robbins was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Jumbo is a musical produced by Billy Rose, with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.
Lindsay and Crouse was the writing team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, who collaborated famously on a succession of Broadway plays and musicals for 27 years during the mid 20th century. Their first collaboration was the rewriting of the book for the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes in 1935. They continued to co-pen books for Broadway musicals through 1962, including Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in 1959. They also penned several successful comedies; notably winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945 for their original play State of the Union. Several of their works were adapted into motion pictures. The team also co-produced the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace by playwright Joseph Kesselring.
On Your Toes (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.
Charles Powell Walters was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Out of This World is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Dwight Taylor and Reginald Lawrence. The show, an adaptation of Plautus's comedy Amphitryon, first opened on Broadway in 1950.
Pal Joey is a 1940 musical with a book by John O'Hara and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The musical is based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker, which he later published in novel form. The title character, Joey Evans, is a manipulative small-time nightclub performer whose ambitions lead him into an affair with the wealthy, middle-aged and married Vera Simpson. It includes two songs that have become standards: "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".
Best Foot Forward is a 1943 American musical film adapted from the 1941 Broadway musical comedy of the same title. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Edward Buzzell, and starred Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, Chill Wills, June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Nancy Walker.
By Jupiter is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. The musical is based on the play The Warrior's Husband by Julian F. Thompson, set in the land of the Amazons. By Jupiter premiered on Broadway in 1942 and starred Ray Bolger, and was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hart; when Hart’s erratic behavior was often the cause of friction between him and Rodgers and led to a breakup of their partnership the following year before his death. Rodgers then began collaborating with Oscar Hammerstein II.
Donald Edward Saddler was an American choreographer, dancer, and theatre director.
Broadway Rhythm (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor musical film. It was produced by Jack Cummings and directed by Roy Del Ruth.
Higher and Higher is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan and produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. It ran on Broadway for 84 performances in 1940.
Helen Westley was an American character actress of stage and screen.
Rosemary Lane was an American actress and singer. She is known for her performances with Lola and Priscilla as the Lane Sisters and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians in the 1930s, and for her film career in the 1930s to 1940s.
"Best Foot Forward" is a 1954 American television episode adaptation of the musical Best Foot Forward. It was directed by Max Liebman as part of a series of color spectaculars. It was Jeannie Carson's American debut.
Maureen Catherine Cannon was an American singer and actress.
