Richard Rodgers

Top 100 Greatest Musicals Poll – Number 8 – The Sound Of Music

Features
The Sound Of Music is voted Number 8 in our poll The 100 Greatest Musicals

Perhaps one of the most beloved musicals of all time thanks in main part to its movie adaptation, The Sound Of Music was the last collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. These two incredible musical writers would not only pick up where Showboat! left off and change the face of musicals forever, they would write musicals on a range of subjects that would be as timeless as the incredible music that accompanied them. The Sound of Music was no exception. With a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, The Sound Of Music is based on The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Von Trapp. The music is set in Austria in 1938, on the eve of the Anschluss. Maria is a novice who takes a job as a governess at the behest of her Mother Superior. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t know the plot … Read more

Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins To Star In Carousel

Concerts, News, West End
Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins to star in Carousel

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical Carousel is to be produced at the English National Opera starring Alfie Boe and Katherine Jenkins as Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan. The production will be presented for 41 performances only from 7 April 2017 to 13 May 2017 at the London Coliseum. Following the success of Sweeney Todd and Sunset Boulevard, this new semi-staged production will be directed by Lonny Price. The production will feature the award-winning ENO 40 piece orchestra and chorus. Fifteen years after getting caught up in an armed robbery and taking his own life, the charming carousel barker Billy Bigelow gets a chance to return to earth and make amends. Discovering that his daughter Louise has grown into a lonely, troubled teenager, haunted by her father’s legacy, Billy vows to restore pride to his family. Carousel features a sumptuous score by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and … Read more

FIRST LOOK: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Allegro – Southwark Playhouse

Features, Gallery, News, Off West End
Book now For Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro at Southwark Playhouse

Ahead of tonight’s professional European premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Allegro, we are pleased to bring you an advance look at the production through these great photos by Scott Rylander. This new production is directed by Thom Southerland who has also worked on a new adaptation of the book. The production also features new orchestrations. In 1905 in a small Midwestern town, the wife of a local doctor gives birth to a baby boy, Joseph Taylor Jr. Allegro chronicles nearly four decades in the life of this average Joe – through his childhood, from college dorm to marriage altar, and on to his own medical career; from the tranquility of his hometown to the hectic din of big city life and a mid-life discovery of who he is and what his life is truly about, ultimately learning the most important lessons of all – the value of family, that … Read more

Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Allegro Gets European Premiere

News, Off West End
Book now for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro at Southwark Playhouse

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Allegro is to get its European premiere a mere 70 years after it opened on Broadway. In 1905 in a small Midwestern town, the wife of a local doctor gives birth to a baby boy, Joseph Taylor Jr. Allegro chronicles nearly four decades in the life of this average Joe – through his childhood, from college dorm to marriage altar, and on to his own medical career; from the tranquility of his hometown to the hectic din of big city life and a mid-life discovery of who he is and what his life is truly about, ultimately learning the most important lessons of all – the value of family, that money isn’t everything and that home really is where the heart is. Written after Oklahoma!, Carousel and the film of State Fair, Allegro opened on Broadway with the biggest box office advance in Broadway history. This … Read more

REVIEW: Oklahoma! Lyceum Theatre Sheffield ✭✭✭✭✭

Reviews, Touring
Oklahoma Lyceum Theatre Sheffield then touring

Rachel Kavanaugh presents us with a wily, almost feral Aunt Eller, a metrosexual Curly, a tomboy Laurey, an arch but staunchly feminine Ado Annie, a profoundly stupid but winningly endearing muscleman Will, a troubled and deranged Jud and a pixie-like Carnes. The interloper, the foreigner, Ali Hakim, is hardworking and mercurial, smart and savvy. The characters may be old but the interpretations are sparky and resonant.

REVIEW: The King And I, Vivian Beaumont Theatre ✭✭✭✭✭

Broadway, Reviews
The King and I at the Lincoln Centre

Together with set designer Michael Yeargan, costume designer Catherine Zuber and choreographer Christopher Gattelli, Bartlett Sher has completely reimagined and reinvigorated Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical both for the vast space that is the Vivian Beaumont stage and for the 21st century. It is a triumph in every respect: gorgeous to look at, immaculate to listen to and something wonderful to experience. Watanabe commendably makes the King his own special, unique creation. As Anna, Kelli O’Hara is incomparable.

REVIEW: The Sound Of Music, New Wimbledon Theatre ✭✭✭✭

Touring Reviews
The Sound Of Music on its 2015 Uk Tour

It’s great to see so many people of all ages enjoying and loving The Sound Of Music. There’s a magic about the Sound Of Music that defies explanation, generation after generation fall in love with this tale of family, love and adversity and the message of hope that it expels into the audience in wave after wave. How could you do anything but love it.