Richard Rodgers

from "Manhattan" to "A Little Bit More"

Richard Charles Rodgers (1902-1979) was one of the major figures in American musical theatre in the 20th century. As a composer, producer, and even lyricist, he was responsible for such Broadway classics as Babes in Arms, Pal Joey, Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, and No Strings . From "Manhattan" (1925) to "A Little Bit More" (1979), he wrote such hits as "My Funny Valentine", "The Lady is a Tramp", "Poor Johnny One-Note", "I Could Write a Book", "Surrey With the Fringe on Top", "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Some Enchanted Evening", "Shall We Dance", "A Hundred Million Miracles", "Do Re Mi", "The Sweetest Sounds", and others too numerous to list here. According to the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, he wrote more than 900 published songs. Rodgers was instrumental in the evolution of "musical comedy" into a serious art form.

Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers (left) and Hart

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart began collaborating as students at Columbia University. Their first success on Broadway was a revue called The Garrick Gaieties (1925) which included the song "Manhattan". "Dick and Larry" proceeded to become one of the most prolific teams in Broadway history. Particularly after returning from Hollywood, where they worked in the 1931-1935 period, they produced a string of hit musicals, including On Your Toes, Babes in Arms, I Married an Angel, The Boys from Syracuse, Too Many Girls, and Pal Joey. Although these plays are less well known than the products of Rodgers's subsequent collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II, many of the songs are gems. Hart's lyrics tended to be playful ("Beans could get no keener re-/ Ception in a beanery", from "Mountain Greenery"), and often had a touch of cynicism ("Falling in love with love is falling for make-believe").

Eventually, however, the partnership ran into problems. Hart was an alcoholic, and could not be relied on. In 1943, when the opportunity presented itself to do a musical adaptation of Lynn Riggs' Green Grow the Lilacs, and Hart expressed a lack of interest, Rodgers turned to an old friend, Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein's career as a lyricist and librettist had know ups and downs, and was not doing well at the time. But Hammerstein was very talented, and had worked with many of the top composers on Broadway, including Jerome Kern, with whom he wrote the the groundbreaking Show Boat. The result was Oklahoma!, a musical in which all the elements (book, song, dance) were integrated as an organic whole. After Hart drank himself to death later that year, the new team became permanent.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's work is among the greatest of Broadway history. With Oklahoma! they redefined the genre, and many of their subsequent plays were also hits: Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music were all written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In fact, "Rodgers and Hammerstein" became almost synonymous with musical theatre. They also wrote some less successful plays, Allegro, Me and Juliet , and Pipe Dream, which nevertheless have some good songs, a film (State Fair), and a made-for-TV adaptation of Cinderella. Rodgers and Hammerstein also created a production company, and, in addition to their own plays, produced other plays, such as Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun and non-musicals, such as I Remember Mama, which Rodgers would later write a musical adaptation of.

 Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein

Rodgers After Hammerstein's death in 1960, Rodgers worked with various lyricists. Ironically, his most successful play in this last period of his life was No Strings, for which Rodgers himself wrote the lyrics. (He also wrote the lyrics to two additional songs for the movie adaptation of The Sound of Music, and to a television production of Shaw's Androcles and the Lion.) He also wrote Do I Hear a Waltz? with Stephen Sondheim ( West Side Story, Gypsy, etc.) as lyricist, the unsuccessful Rex with Fiddler on the Roof lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and two plays with Martin Charnin (Annie): Two by Two and his final creation, I Remember Mama. This final period in his career was less successful, partially because of ill-health, partially because of changing tastes in music, partially because of Rodgers' inability to find another collaborator to work with on a regular basis.With respect to this last point, Rodgers tried to form a partnership with Alan Jay Lerner (Paint Your Wagon, Brigadoon, Gigi, My Fair Lady, Camelot ) but they could not work together. Another failure was Rodgers' attempt to work with Stephen Sondheim, who had been a protege of Hammerstein's. They collaborated on Do I Hear a Waltz? but squabbled throughout the writing. For a description (and appreciation) of Rodgers' post-Hammerstein career, click here.

Rodgers' influence on Broadway musicals is immeasurable. Rodgers and his collaborators wrote plays on controversial topics such as race relations (South Pacific, No Strings), clashes of cultures (The King and I, Flower Drum Song), Nazis (The Sound of Music), and plays in which the "hero" was not a sympathetic character (Pal Joey, Carousel, Rex). They also wrote comedies, such as The Boys from Syracuse (an adaptation from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors) and Two by Two (a humorous look at the story of Noah's ark).

Richard Rodgers always had the right song for the situation. Undoubtedly he was writing about himself when he wrote the lyric "The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear are still inside my head." We can only be grateful that he shared so many of those sweetest sounds with us.

Scores by Richard Rodgers

(To the best of my knowledge, this is a complete list. The songs specified for each play/movie are just the ones I happen to like/know. Remakes and revivals are not listed separately unless Rodgers wrote new songs for them.)

[Up Stage and Down (1919; Amateur).]

[You'd Be Surprised (1920; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[Fly With Me (1920; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

Poor Little Ritz Girl (1920) Music also by Sigmund Romberg. Lyrics by Lorenz Hart and Alex Gerber. Book by Henry B. Stillman and William J. O'Neil. Ran for 119 performances.

[Say Mama (1921; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[You'll Never Know (1921; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[Say It With Jazz (1921; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[The Chinese Lantern (1922; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[Jazz a la Carte (1922; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[If I Were King (1923; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[A Danish Yankee in King Tut's Court (1923; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[Temple Bells (1924; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

[The Prisoner of Zenda (1924; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

The Melody Man (1924) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Movie 1930.

[Bad Habits of 1925 (1925; Amateur) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart.]

The Garrick Gaieties (revue; 1925) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Benjamin M. Kaye, Arthur Sullivan, Morrie Ryskind, Louis Sorin, Sam Jaffe, Howard J. Green, and Edith Meiser. Produced by The Theatre Guild. Ran for 211 performances. "Manhattan"

Dearest Enemy (1925) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herbert Fields. Produced by George Ford. Ran for 286 performances. Movie 1955.

Fifth Avenue Follies (revue; 1926) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Harold Atteridge and Ballard MacDonald.

The Girl Friend (1926) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herbert Fields. Produced by Lew M. Fields. Ran for 301/409? performances.

The Garrick Gaities (2nd edition: revue; 1926) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Produced by The Theatre Guild. Ran for 86 performances. "Mountain Greenery"

Lido Lady (1926, London) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Ronald Jeans based on the book by Guy Bolton. Ran for 259 performances.

Peggy-Ann (1926) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herbert Fields. Produced by Lew M. Fields and Lyle D. Andrews. Ran for 333 performances.

Betsy (1926) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Irving Cesar and David Freedman. Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. Ran for 39 performances.

One Dam Thing after Another (revue; 1927, London) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Ronald Jeans. Ran for 237 performances. "My Heart Stood Still"

A Connecticut Yankee (1927) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herb Fields. Produced by Lew M. Fields and Lyle D. Andrews. Adapted from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Ran for 418 performances. (Revised version 1943; see below) "My Heart Stood Still"

She's My Baby (1928) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Bert Kalmar and Harry Rubin. Produced by Charles Dillingham. Ran for 71 performances.

Present Arms (1928) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herbert Fields. Produced by Lew M. Fields. Ran for 155 performances. Movie 1930.

Chee-chee (1928) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herbert Fields. Produced by Lew M. Fields. Ran for 31 performances.

Spring Is Here (1929) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Owen Davis, adapted from his play Shotgun Wedding. Produced by Alex A. Arons and Vinton Freedly. Ran for 104 performances. Movie 1930. "With a Song in My Heart"

Heads Up! (1929) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by John McGowan and Paul Gerard Smith. Produced by Alex A. Arons and Vinton Freedly. Ran for 144 performances. Movie 1931.

Simple Simon (1930) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Ed Wynn and Guy Bolton. Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. Ran for 135 performances. (Revival 1931, produced by Ed Wynn, ran for 18 performances).

Evergreen (1930, London) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Benn W. Levy based on an idea by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Movie 1935. Ran for 254 performances.

America's Sweetheart (1931) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herbert Fields. Produced by Laurence Schwab and Frank Mandel. Ran for 135 performances.

The Hot Heiress (Movie, 1931) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

Love Me Tonight (Movie starring Maurice Chevalier, 1932) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Samuel Hoffenstein, George Marion Jr. and Waldemar Young. "Mimi"

The Phantom President (Movie starring George M. Cohan, 1932) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Walter DeLeon.

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (Movie starring Al Jolson; 1933) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Written by S.N. Behrman & Ben Hecht. "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum"

Dancing Lady (Movie; 1933) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Allen Rivkin, Zelda Sears and P. J. Wolfson, from James W. Bellah's novel.

Hollywood Party (Movie starring Jimmy Durante; 1934) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Howard Dietz and Arthur Freed.

Manhattan Melodrama (Movie 1934) included a song by Rodgers and Hart ("The Bad in Every Man") which, with different lyrics, became "Blue Moon"

Mississippi (Movie starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields, 1935) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Francis Martin and Jack Cunningham.

Jumbo (1935) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Produced by Billy Rose. Ran for 233 performances. Movie (Billy Rose's Jumbo) 1962. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"

On Your Toes (1936) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart. Produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. Ran for 315 performances. (Revival 1954 produced by George Abbott ran for 64 performances) "The Heart is Quicker than the Eye", "On Your Toes", "There's a Small Hotel"

Dancing Pirate (Movie; 1936) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Francis E. Faragoh, Ray S. Harris and Boris Ingster.

Babes in Arms (1937) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. Ran for 289 performances. Movie 1939. "Babes in Arms", "I Wish I Were in Love Again", "Where or When", "My Funny Valentine", "The Lady is a Tramp", "Johnny One Note"

I'd Rather Be Right (1937) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Produced by Sam H. Harris. Ran for 290 performances. (The only Broadway musical in which George M. Cohan appeared which he did not write.)

Fools for Scandal (Movie; 1938) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Herbert and Joseph Fields, based on the play Food for Scandal.

I Married an Angel (1938) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. Ran for 338 performances. Movie 1942. "I Married an Angel"

The Boys from Syracuse (1938) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by George Abbott, based on William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors . Produced by George Abbott. Ran for 235 performances. (Revival 2002 produced by The Roundabout Theatre Company with new book by Nicky Silver ran for 73 performances.) Movie 1940. "Falling in Love With Love"

Too Many Girls (1939-1940) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by George Marion Jr. Produced by George Abbott. Ran for 249 performances. (Movie 1940) "I Didn't Know What Time it Was"

Ghost Town (Ballet; 1939)

Higher and Higher (1940) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan. Produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. Ran for 84 performances (and 24 in a return engagement later in the same year). "It Never Entered My Mind"

Pal Joey (1940-1941) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by John O'Hara. Produced by George Abbott. Starred Gene Kelley and Vivienne Segal. Ran for 374 performances. (Revival 1952-1953 produced by Jule Styne and Leonard Key in association with Anthony B. Farrell ran for 540 performances. Revival 1976 produced by Circle in the Square ran for 73 performances). Movie 1957. "I Could Write a Book", "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"

They Met In Argentina (Movie, 1941) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Screenplay by Jerry Cody.

By Jupiter (1942-1943) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on an adaptation of the play The Warrior's Husband by Julian F. Thompson. Produced by Dwight Deere Wiman and Richard Rodgers in association with Richard Kollmar. Ran for 427 performances. "Ev'rything I've Got"

Oklahoma! (1943-1948) Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs. Produced by The Theatre Guild. Starred Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts. Ran for 2212 performances. (Revival 1951, produced by The Theatre Guild, ran 100 performances; Revival 1979-1980 produced by Zev Bufman and James M. Nederlander in association with Donald C. Carter [directed by William Hammerstein] ran 293 performances. Revival 2002-present produced by Cameron Mackintosh.) Movie 1955. "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", "People Will Say We're in Love", "Pore Jud is Daid", "Lonely Room", "Oklahoma"

A Connecticut Yankee (1943-1944; revised) Lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Book by Herb Fields. Produced by Richard Rodgers. Ran for 135 performances. (Hart died shortly after the opening.)

Carousel (1945-1947) Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the play Liliom by Ferenc Molnar. Produced by The Theatre Guild. Starred John Raitt and Jan Clayton. Ran for 890 performances. (Revival 1994-5 produced by Lincoln Center Theater ran 337 performances.) Movie 1956. "Carousel Waltz", "If I Loved You", "You'll Never Walk Alone"

State Fair (Movie, 1945) Screenplay and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. (Remake 1962 see below; Produced on Broadway by The Theatre Guild 1996 , book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, ran for 110 performances) "Our State Fair", "It's a Grand Night for Singing"

Allegro (1947-1948) Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced by The Theatre Guild. Ran for 315 performances.

South Pacific (1949-1954) Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan, adapted from the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener. Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in association with Leland Hayward and Joshua Logan. Ran for 1925 performances. Starred Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza. Movie 1958. "Dites-Moi", "Some Enchanted Evening", "Bali Ha'i", "Younger than Springtime", "Happy Talk", "You've Got to Be Taught", "This Nearly Was Mine"

The King and I (1951-1954) Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Ran for 1246 performances. Starred Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. Movie 1956. (Revival 1977-1978 produced by Lee Gruber and Shelly Gross starring Yul Brynner and Constance Towers ran for 695 performances; Revival 1984-5 produced by The Mitch Leigh Company ran 191 performances; Revival 1996-8 ran for 780 performances) "I Whistle a Happy Tune", "Hello Young Lovers", "March of the Siamese Children", "A Puzzlement", "We Kiss in a Shadow", "Getting to Know You", "Something Wonderful", "Shall We Dance"

Victory at Sea (Television score, 1952)

Me and Juliet (1953-1954) Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Ran for 358 performances. "That's the Way It Happens", The Big Black Giant", "It's Me"

Pipe Dream (1955-1956) Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck. Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Ran for 246 performances. "All At Once You Love Her"

Cinderella (Television, 1957) Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Joseph Schrank. Starred Julie Andrews. (Remade 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren; remade 1997 starring Brandy) "The Prince is Giving a Ball", "In My Own Little Corner", "Impossible", "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful". Remade 1965, 1997.

Flower Drum Song (1958-1960) Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields. Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in association with Joseph Fields. Ran for 600 performances. (Revival 2002-present with book by David Henry Hwang) Movie 1961. "A Hundred Million Miracles", "Grant Avenue", "The Other Generation"

The Sound of Music (1959-1963) Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Von Trapp. Produced by Leland Hayward, Richard Halliday, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Ran for 1443 performances. Starred Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel. Movie 1965 and revival 1998 (listed below). "The Sound of Music", "Maria", "My Favorite Things", "Do-Re-Mi", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "The Lonely Goatherd", "How Can Love Survive?", "Edelweiss"

Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years (Television score, 1960)

No Strings (1962-1963) Lyrics by Richard Rodgers. Book by Samuel Taylor. Produced by Richard Rodgers in association with Samuel Taylor. Ran for 580 performances. Starred Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley. "The Sweetest Sounds", "Be My Host", "Love Makes the World Go Square", "An Orthodox Fool", "No Strings"

State Fair (Movie remake, 1962) Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Additional lyrics by Richard Rodgers.

Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurents, adapted from his play The Time of the Cuckoo . Produced by Richard Rodgers. Starred Elizabeth Allen and Sergio Franchi. Ran for 220 performances. "Someone Woke Up", "What Do We Do? We Fly!", "Here We Are Again", "Do I Hear a Waltz?"

The Sound of Music (Movie 1965) Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Additional Lyrics by Richard Rodgers. Starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. (Broadway revival with the additional songs 1998-1999 ran for 533 performances) "I Have Confidence", "Something Good"

Androcles and the Lion (Television, 1967) Lyrics by Richard Rodgers. Book by Peter Stone.

Two by Two (1970-1971) Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Book by Peter Stone, based on "The Flowering Peach" by Clifford Odets. Produced by Richard Rodgers. Starred Danny Kaye. Ran for 343 performances. "You Have Got to Have a Rudder on the Ark", "Two by Two", "I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You", "Hey Girlie", "An Old Man"

Rex (1976) Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Book by Sherman Yellen. Produced by Richard Adler in association with Roger Berlind and Edward R. Downe, Jr. Starred Nicol Williamson. Ran for 49 performances. "Away From You"

I Remember Mama (1979) Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Additional Lyrics by Raymond Jessel. Book by Thomas Meehan, based on the play I Remember Mama by John Van Druten. Produced by Alexander H. Cohen and Hildy Parks. Starred Liv Ullman. Ran for 108 performances. "I Remember Mama", "A Little Bit More", "Ev'ry Day (Comes Something Beautiful)", "It is Not the End of the World", "You Could Not Please Me More"

Let them bring on all their problems,
I'll do better than my best.
I have confidence. They'll put me to the test
But I'll make them see I have confidence in me!

--Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers

[Richard Rodgers' Later Plays]
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