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
8 - State Fair and Us
from Part III - The Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2026
By
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
This chapter interrogates the themes of grief and brokenness that lie beneath the colourful surfaces of happiness and celebration in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s only original film musical, State Fair. It explores connections between Philip Stong’s 1932 novel, its 1933 film version and both versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s film musical, the first from 1945 starring Dick Haymes and Vivian Blane and the second from 1962 with Pat Boone and Ann-Margret. The chapter contextualises the films within the worlds of state fairs and, for the 1962 version, the space race. It also investigates themes of progress, rural America and generational differences.
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- The Cambridge Companion to Rodgers and Hammerstein , pp. 117 - 132Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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