Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical Examples
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Part I Before Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Part II Being Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Part III The Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein
- 7 Oklahoma! A Musical for Its Times
- 8 State Fair and Us
- 9 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Carousel?
- 10 Allegro: A Musical Tale of a Medical Everyman
- 11 Minor Feelings about South Pacific
- 12 The King and I: Beyond Performing Geopolitics
- 13 Me and Juliet: Innovative Metatheatrical Musical Comedy
- 14 Pipe Dream: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Zeitoper?
- 15 Cinderella on Television: The Transformational Power of Adaptive Dramaturgy
- 16 The Bridges of Flower Drum Song
- 17 ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’: Places, Mobilities and Identities in The Sound of Music
- Part IV Legacies
- Select Bibliography
- Index
7 - Oklahoma! A Musical for Its Times
from Part III - The Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2026
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical Examples
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- Part I Before Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Part II Being Rodgers and Hammerstein
- Part III The Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein
- 7 Oklahoma! A Musical for Its Times
- 8 State Fair and Us
- 9 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Carousel?
- 10 Allegro: A Musical Tale of a Medical Everyman
- 11 Minor Feelings about South Pacific
- 12 The King and I: Beyond Performing Geopolitics
- 13 Me and Juliet: Innovative Metatheatrical Musical Comedy
- 14 Pipe Dream: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Zeitoper?
- 15 Cinderella on Television: The Transformational Power of Adaptive Dramaturgy
- 16 The Bridges of Flower Drum Song
- 17 ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’: Places, Mobilities and Identities in The Sound of Music
- Part IV Legacies
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first complete musical together, Oklahoma! (1943) remains current and relevant since its premiere in 1943. Looking at the musical as a whole, with an emphasis on the famous ‘Dream-Ballet’, this chapter analyses how and why productions of the musical continue to resonate. Starting with the original production (with choreography by Agnes de Mille) and the 1955 film version, the chapter interrogates the 1998 Royal National Theatre production (directed by Trevor Nunn, choreography by Susan Stroman) as well as those by Washington, DC’s Arena Stage (2010, dir. Molly Smith, chor. Parker Esse), the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2018, dir. Bill Rauch, chor. Ann Yee) and Bard SummerScape (2015, dir. Daniel Fish, chor. John Heginbotham). The latter played off-Broadway in 2018 and on Broadway the following year; it featured a vastly re-envisioned dream-ballet. Through casting and directorial choices, various subtexts are revealed in these significant revivals.
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- The Cambridge Companion to Rodgers and Hammerstein , pp. 101 - 116Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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