Oscar Hammerstein II Romberg; but he is best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers, as the duo Rodgers and Hammerstein which include "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", "South Pacific", "The King and I", and "The Sound of Music". Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was born in New York City, the son of Alice Hammerstein (née Nimmo) and theatrical manager William Hammerstein. His grandfather was the German theatre impresario Oscar Hammerstein I. His father was from a Jewish family, and his mother was the daughter of Scottish and English parents. He was raised Episcopalian. Although Hammerstein's father managed the Victoria Theatre for his father and was
Me and Juliet Hammerstein's turn to give in to his partner; Rodgers had agreed to the project that became the 1947 musical "Allegro", their initial failure, under pressure from Hammerstein, who had long dreamed of doing a serious musical about an ordinary man. According to Stephen Sondheim, a protégé of Hammerstein, "Oscar was able to keep the partnership together by taking Dick's suggestion<nowiki> [for a backstage musical]</nowiki>, which he did not want to take." As the two discussed the backstage idea, Hammerstein became more enthusiastic, suggesting that the show start with the stage entirely bare, as if the audience had come in not