Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein song) Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein song) "Oklahoma" is the title song from the Broadway musical "Oklahoma!", named for the setting of the musical play. The music and lyrics were written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The melody is reprised in the main title of the 1955 film version and in the overtures of both film and musical productions. In 1953, the Oklahoma legislature chose it as the state song of Oklahoma, replacing a less well-known song, "Oklahoma - A Toast", that had been adopted in 1935. Midway through the second act of the play, after the principals Curly and
Oscar Hammerstein II Sound of Music", as well as the musical film "State Fair" (and its stage adaptation of the same name), and the television musical "Cinderella", all featured in the revue "A Grand Night for Singing". Hammerstein also wrote the book and lyrics for "Carmen Jones", an adaptation of Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" with an all-black cast that became a 1943 Broadway musical and a 1954 film. An active advocate for writers's rights within the theatre industry, Hammerstein was a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. In 1956, he was elected as the eleventh president of the non-profit organization. He continued