Richard Rodgers Collection
The New York Public Library acquired papers and photographs from the archives of Richard Rodgers, one of Broadway’s most successful and prolific musical theater composers. His collaborations with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein helped shape musical theater in the early to mid-1900s with shows still produced on a regular rotation today. Their songs still ring out from thousands of stages, from local theaters to revivals in some of the grandest theaters in the world.
Rodgers and his partners created prolific shows like Oklahoma! South Pacific, The King and I, Flower Drum Song, and the ubiquitous The Sound of Music. The photographs from the Rodgers collection, and others who captured the behind-the-scenes moments, lift the curtain for a peek at the massive effort to put together a spectacular show. They show Rodgers and his colleagues engaged in the business and labor of entertainment.