Rodgers and Hammerstein issues such as racism, sexism and classism in many of their works. For example, "Carousel" concerns domestic violence, while "South Pacific" addresses racism. Based on the true story of the von Trapp family, "The Sound of Music" explores the views of Austrians to the takeover of Austria by the Third Reich. Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein refers to composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together were an influential, innovative and successful American musical theatre writing team. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, initiating what is considered the
Willie Hammerstein one-week engagements in 1912 and 1913, a good fit with the audience through her suggestion of notoriety. Hammerstein often booked acts from Europe, who sometimes made up half the show. He introduced the dancers Gertrude Hoffmann and Constance Stewart-Richardson to the vaudeville stage. A review in the "New York Dramatic Mirror" of 12 August 1905 gives a sense of the shows: Willie Hammerstein became known for his "freak acts". Typically these featured people who had scandalized the public and gained notoriety. Members of love triangles involving murders or suicides were popular, if one of their members was free to appear