Although the musicals with music by Rodgers and words by Hammerstein are often referred to as being by ‘Rodgers and Hammerstein’, this chapter explores the duo’s numerous co-creators, all of whom (some under-credited or, early on, uncredited) were essential in bringing the ideas of Rodgers and Hammerstein to the stage or screen. Among the individuals profiled in the chapter are directors Rouben Mamoulian and Joshua Logan, director–choreographer Agnes de Mille, dance arranger Trude Rittman, orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, director and manger Jeromy Whyte and set designer Jo Mielziner.

From his early experiences as a conductor to the final performances of his operas, Richard Strauss collaborated with the most accomplished artists in the German-speaking theater. These associations set standards for productions of his stage works which were essential for their short- and long-term success. Important collaborators included the directors Max Reinhardt and Rudolf Hartmann, choreographers Heinrich Kröller and the duo of Pino and Pia Mlakar, and designers Alfred Roller and Ludwig Sievert. These and other partnerships flourished in the cities which Strauss favored for his premieres: Dresden, Munich, and Vienna. Under the auspices of the Salzburg Festival, Strauss and his stage collaborators established a vital legacy of production that continues into the present.