WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
collaborators, Richard Rodgers (composer,
1902–1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II
(librettist/lyricist, 1895–1960) joined forces in
1943 to create the most successful partnership
in the American musical theater. Prior to his
work with Hammerstein, Rodgers collaborated
with lyricist Lorenz Hart on a series of
musical comedies that epitomized the wit
and sophistication of Broadway in its heyday.
Among their greatest successes were Pal Joey,
On Your Toes, and Babes In Arms. Throughout
the same era, Hammerstein brought new life
to the operetta, culminating in the masterpiece
Show Boat (music by Jerome Kern). Oklahoma!,
the rst Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, was
also the rst of a new genre, the musical play,
blending Rodgers’s musical comedy style
with Hammerstein’s innovations in operetta.
Oklahoma! was followed by Carousel, State
Fair ( lm 1945, 1962; Broadway 1996),
Allegro, South Paci c, The King and I, Me and
Juliet, Pipe Dream, Cinderella (television 1957,
1965, 1997; Broadway 2013), Flower Drum
Song, and The Sound of Music. Collectively,
the Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals have
earned Tonys®, Oscars®, Grammys®, Emmys®,
Pulitzers, and Olivier Awards.
HOWARD LINDSAY and RUSSEL
CROUSE (Book). The Lindsay and Crouse
partnership stands today as the longest
collaboration of any writers in theatrical history,
lasting for 32 years. Howard Lindsay was born
in 1889 and died in 1968. He became an actor
at 19 and went on to become a successful
Broadway playwright and director. Russel
Crouse was born in 1893 and died in 1966.
After serving in the Navy, he worked on New
York newspapers, gaining his rst renown
through a signed column in the Post. In 1932,
he became head of the publicity department
for the Theatre Guild and in 1933 wrote his
rst Broadway show, collaborating with Corey
Ford on the musical comedy Hold Your Horses.
From 1934 on, Crouse wrote only with Lindsay.
Their hits include The Sound of Music (with a
score by Rodgers & Hammerstein); Anything
Goes and Red, Hot, and Blue (with scores by
Cole Porter); Call Me Madam (score by Irving
Berlin); the long-running play Life With Father
(which originally starred Lindsay); the Pulitzer
Prize winning State of the Union; and The
Great Sebastians, written for the Lunts. Their
18 CENTERBILL • JUNE/JULY 2018
producing credits included The Hasty Heart,
Detective Story, and Arsenic and Old Lace.
JACK O’BRIEN (Original Director).
Upcoming Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
Carousel. Broadway: Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, The Front Page, It’s Only
a Play, Macbeth, The Nance, Dead Accounts,
Catch Me If You Can, Impressionism, The
Coast of Utopia (Tony Award®), Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels (Tony nomination), Henry IV
(Tony Award), Hairspray (Tony Award),
Imaginary Friends, The Invention of Love
(Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award), The
Full Monty (Tony nomination), More to Love,
Getting Away With Murder, Pride’s Crossing,
The Little Foxes, Hapgood (Lucille Lortel
Award), Damn Yankees, Two Shakespearean
Actors (Tony nomination), Porgy and Bess
(Tony nomination). Metropolitan Opera:
Il Trittico. Carnegie Hall: Guys and Dolls.
Public Theater Central Park: Much Ado About
Nothing. London: Love Never Dies, Hairspray
(Olivier nomination). National Theatre: His
Girl Friday. Artistic Director of the Old Globe
Theatre, 1981-2007. Six productions for PBS’s
American Playhouse. Books: Jack Be Nimble,
publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
MATT LENZ (Director). Broadway: Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, Hairspray, Catch
Me If You Can, The Velocity of Autumn
(Associate Director on original productions),
Beauty and the Beast (Resident Director). Off-
Broadway: Pageant: The Musical (Drama Desk
nomination), The Irish Curse (Soho Playhouse),
Idaho! (NYMF), The Great Daisy Theory,
Fingers and Toes (NYMF) and Alan Ball’s The
Amazing Adventures of Tense Guy. National
Tours: A Christmas Story: The Musical,
Cheers! Live On Stage, Catch Me If You Can
and Hairspray. Lenz also directed productions
of Hairspray in South Africa, U.K., Toronto,
Las Vegas and Germany. Regional: Paper Mill
Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, St. Louis
MUNY, Ogunquit Playhouse, Cape Playhouse,
North Carolina Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theater,
Zach Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Casa
Manana, Gateway Playhouse, Short North
Stage, Forestburgh Playhouse and Stamford
Center for the Arts. Lenz is a member of SDC
and a teaching artist with the Broadway Dreams
Foundation. mattlenzdirector.com
/mattlenzdirector.com