Rodgers and Hammerstein 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 "golden age" of musical theatre. Five of their Broadway shows, "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", "South Pacific", "The King and I" and "The Sound of Music", were outstanding successes, as was the television broadcast of "Cinderella" (1957). Of the other four that the team produced on Broadway during their lifetimes, "Flower Drum Song" was
Pipe Dream (musical) farce "Charley's Aunt", they produced it as the musical comedy "Where's Charley?", with a score by Frank Loesser. Among the backers of "Where's Charley?" were Rodgers and Hammerstein, which helped secure additional investment. The show was a hit and helped establish Feuer and Martin on Broadway—they would go on to produce "Guys and Dolls". In the aftermath of "Guys and Dolls"'s success, Feuer and Martin were interested in adapting John Steinbeck's 1945 novel "Cannery Row" into a musical. They felt that some of the characters, such as marine biologist Doc, would work well in a musical, but that many of