I got a chance to be part of the audience for out latest Authors at GNL program. We invited Oscar Hammerstein III (AKA Andy) back for another talk In his first appearance at GNL, in October, 2010, he focused much of his talk on Oscar Hammerstein I, the theater impressario who was instrumental in the building of much of Time Square. This time, he focused on his famous grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein, the great lyricist for such shows as "Showboat," "Oklahoma" and "The King and I." Both of these remarkable men are profiled in Andy's book, The Hammersteins : a Musical Theatre Family. We have several copies in our collection. Check it out!
It's clear Andy has the show-biz gene in his blood in his wonderfully enthusiastic presentation, complete with video clips of favorite songs, of the classic musicals that made Rogers & Hammerstein a duo that set the bar for musicals that told a story. And such stories they were, too. They covered issues like race relations, culture clashes and always, the wonder and tragedy that comes with love found, lost and found again.
Andy told us that his grandfather insisted, from the time he first met Richard Rogers that he must always write the lyrics first and Rogers wrote the music to fit them. I found that to be a fascinating tidbit. He talked about the opening song for "Oklahoma" when Curley comes out and sings, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," breaking the mold for "typical" opening numbers from musicals in the 1930's that always featured a chorus of dancing girls.
Audience members uniformly praised the program. It was a celebration of music, family and the American Musical Theatre. We were happy to have you back, Andy.
Next Sunday, October 9, we are gearing up for another wonderful program. We are pleased to welcome Jimmy Breslin, Murray Polner and Robert Lipsyte who will be "Talkin' Baseball, Branch Rickey, and Journalism". This event will be held at Saddle Rock School at 2pm. We hope to see you all there.
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