Rodgers, Hammerstein and Hart

As one of the most well known music writers of their time (and ours), Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein and Lorenz Hart changed the way that music was written for both theatre and film. Hammerstein first met Hart, and they both needed each other. Hart was a lyricist, Hamerstein was a composer. They tried their luck in Hollywood, but their place was in New York (for now).They collaborated in a way that allowed for songs to be more "in tune" with the plot of the show, and created better transition for stage actions. The pair produced about 30 musicals before Hart's death in 1943.
Not many people, including myself, give credit to Lorenz Hart, who was the first collaborator with Rodgers and wrote the music to many musicals. But not as many of them were as well known as the ones Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote.
Rodgers later met Hammerstein and the two of them were able to provide even more progress for musical theatre. Some of their most famous plays include: Oklahoma (1943), The King and I (1951), and Sound of Music (1959). Instead of fitting the words to music, as Rodgers and Hart did, the new duo did just the opposite which allowed for more creativity.
Unfortunately, Hammerstein died in 1960, and although Rodgers continued to compose, he was never as successful as he was with his partners.
It's amazing to think that only a few individuals are needed to be able to change the way of theatre as we know it. Those kinds of changes are not as common to day, because it is harder and harder to find originality. But when people do, that is what makes them great! And, scene...

Harmon, Justin, et. al. "Richard Rodgers." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2010. .