You'd think we'd have run into this pair before...
...because they were faced with more than their fair share of "too sweet" critiques:
You may have to bump up the volume for this recording of Kelli O'Hara singing "I Whistle a Happy Tune"
Video posted by Rodgers & Hammerstein
Then there's the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald singing the now-controversial "Happy Talk" (but surely the message of South Pacific should count--or should it? Drop a line in the comments if you've got some thoughts about that, please)
Video posted by A Trip Down Memory Lane
And there's Julie Andrews bringing us a list of what makes her character happy, "My Favorite Things"
Video posted by Fox Family Entertainment
Hello to you, too!
***
As I've written before, Richard Rodgers (his father changed the family's last name from Abrahams) was Jewish, and one of the most influential composers on Broadway, first with Lorenz Hart, then with Oscar Hammerstein, and lastly, in a series of one-offs, by himself, with Stephen Sondheim, with Martin Charnin, and with Sheldon Harnick. He was the first composer to win the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), brought ballet to Broadway (choreographed by George Balanchine, no less) with Hart, and with Hammerstein, helped pioneer the book musical and picked up a Pulitzer along the way.
Now, Oscar Hammerstein II is a little more complicated. His father was Jewish, and his grandfather, the Broadway impresario Oscar Hammerstein, was famously Jewish, but the Oscar Hammerstein II who wrote book and/or lyrics for a series of Broadway's major composers (including, in addition to Richard Rodgers, Herbert Stothart, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, and Sigmund Romberg), who pioneered the book musical TWICE, first with Kern in Showboat and then with Rodgers in Oklahoma, who adapted George Bizet's Carmen to make Carmen Jones--that Oscar Hammerstein was not, technically, Jewish, as his mother was not Jewish. The world considered him Jewish, however, so I suppose that counts for something!
* * * * *
I don't think I shared this with you yet?
PENGUINS!
You may have to bump up the volume for this recording of Kelli O'Hara singing "I Whistle a Happy Tune"
Video posted by Rodgers & Hammerstein
Then there's the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald singing the now-controversial "Happy Talk" (but surely the message of South Pacific should count--or should it? Drop a line in the comments if you've got some thoughts about that, please)
Video posted by A Trip Down Memory Lane
And there's Julie Andrews bringing us a list of what makes her character happy, "My Favorite Things"
Video posted by Fox Family Entertainment
Hello to you, too!
As I've written before, Richard Rodgers (his father changed the family's last name from Abrahams) was Jewish, and one of the most influential composers on Broadway, first with Lorenz Hart, then with Oscar Hammerstein, and lastly, in a series of one-offs, by himself, with Stephen Sondheim, with Martin Charnin, and with Sheldon Harnick. He was the first composer to win the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), brought ballet to Broadway (choreographed by George Balanchine, no less) with Hart, and with Hammerstein, helped pioneer the book musical and picked up a Pulitzer along the way.
Now, Oscar Hammerstein II is a little more complicated. His father was Jewish, and his grandfather, the Broadway impresario Oscar Hammerstein, was famously Jewish, but the Oscar Hammerstein II who wrote book and/or lyrics for a series of Broadway's major composers (including, in addition to Richard Rodgers, Herbert Stothart, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, and Sigmund Romberg), who pioneered the book musical TWICE, first with Kern in Showboat and then with Rodgers in Oklahoma, who adapted George Bizet's Carmen to make Carmen Jones--that Oscar Hammerstein was not, technically, Jewish, as his mother was not Jewish. The world considered him Jewish, however, so I suppose that counts for something!
I don't think I shared this with you yet?
PENGUINS!
Comments
Post a Comment
Note: Unfortunately, comments left when using Safari disappear into the ether. Chrome seems to work, though, which I’m sure is a total coincidence. Thank you for going that extra mile!