On Oklahoma!

Its easy to watch this musical about two-stepping cowboys and cowgirls having a
gay old time and forget that this was a major breakthrough in the world of Musical
Theatre. In the early 20th century, Broadway musicals were, to put it lightly,
superfluous. Trivial and unrealistic operettas, light musical comedies, and Folliesstyle revues dominated the stage, making a night at the theatre a fun, flashy, timewasting spectacle. Then came along the geniuses of Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein II. Librettist Oscar Hammerstein II had had some success in
dramatizing the musical with 1927s Show Boat. He then collaborated with
composer Richard Rodgers, who had earlier contributed to the musical comedy
drama with lyricist Lorenz Hart. In the 1940s, Rodgers and Hammerstein
collaborated to adapt Lynn Riggs play Green Grow the Lilacs into a musical. The
show had low expectations. Big-name comedic stars, like Shirley Temple and
Groucho Marx, were passed over for actors that would perform the roles in a more
dramatic way. Oscar Hammerstein II had written six flops in a row, and this was
unlike anything that had ever been produced on the stage. It was unlikely audiences
would accept this show, with one producer leaving after the first act, saying, No
legs, no jokes, no chance. The show opened on March 31 st, 1943, and closed on
May 29th, 1948 after 2,212 performances, an unprecedented run at the time. This
was the first musical at the time to show realized dramatic goals, evoke emotions
other than joy, and one the first musicals to feature a death on stage, and the
definitive first to not show one for means of comedy. Rodgers and Hammerstein
continued to collaborate for several years, writing hit after hit, including The Sound
of Music, The King and I, Allegro, Carousel, and South Pacific, with the last one
becoming the second musical to be awarded the highest accolade for a Broadway
show, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Today, every serious dramatic musical, like Next
to Normal, RENT, Parade, Fun Home, and Les Miserables owe their success not only
to their own prowess, but to the success of Rodgers and Hammersteins Oklahoma!.