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OKLAHOMA! – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Adolph Deutsch, Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1943 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s “Oklahoma!” opened on Broadway and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances. Studios began a bidding war to acquire the film rights in hope of capitalizing on the play’s phenomenal success. Eventually Magna Theatre Corporation prevailed, purchasing the rights for an astounding $1 million. It would take eleven years to get the project off the ground as the company insisted on using a new widescreen filming process called “Todd-AO”. Arthur Hornblow Jr. was assigned production with a $6.8 million budget, Sonya Levien and William Ludwig were hired to write the screenplay, Agnes de Mille would stage the choreography, and Fred Zinneman would direct his first, and only musical of his career. A fine cast was assembled, which included Gordon MacRae as Curly McLain, Shirley Jones as Laurey Williams, Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie Carnes, Charlotte Greenwood as Aunt Eller, Rod Steiger as Jud Fry, Gene Nelson as Will Parker, and Eddie Albert as Ali Hakim. Read more…
Remembering Jay Blackton, 1909-1994
Composer, arranger, orchestrator and conductor Jay Blackton died at Granada Hills Community Hospital in Los Angeles ten years ago today, on January 8, 1994, at the age of 84, from heart failure.
One of the great behind-the-scenes figures of the American musical theatre, Blackton served as musical director, conductor or arranger on more than 25 Broadway productions, including Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Madam, Guys and Dolls and Hello, Dolly!. His comparatively small film career nevertheless brought him an Academy Award for the screen version of Oklahoma!.
Blackton was born Jacob Schwartzdorf in New York City on March 25, 1909. He studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School and initially intended to pursue a career in opera. In 1927 he became assistant conductor of the New York Opera Comique, and from 1937 until 1942 served as conductor at the St. Louis Municipal Opera, one of America’s most important summer musical-theatre companies.
It was in St. Louis that Blackton attracted the attention of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who brought him back to New York for their revolutionary first collaboration, Oklahoma! in 1943. Blackton conducted the original Broadway production and served as its musical director, helping shape the orchestral and vocal sound of a show that transformed American musical theatre by integrating songs, dance and drama more completely than had previously been customary. Read more…
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