Having been fortunate to dance in a number of Richard Rodgers musicals, and having known the man ever so slightly, I would say that my favorite Richard Rodgers show is really none, but that my favorite Richard Rodgers songs are many.
Richard Rodgers always towered above many of the shows he wrote with Hammerstein. I'm sure I'll be branded a heretic, but I still think his best shows were the ones with Hart. They were light, fast and funny. While Stephen Sondheim says that the lyris of Hart were sloppy, I think they towered above Hammerstein's.
THE R&H shows were rather lugubrious even in their own day. But this was not noticed as much. Why? I can't even give a true answer: star presence, the times and economy, perhaps. But the one thing these shows did have was music, and that is what will ensure their longevity. If you can put up with the plodding librettos and wait for the music, you definitely have your reward.
I'd also like to say something about ALLEGRO. It has become something of a legend: a great production that failed, a musical ahead of its time. That is not true at all. It was one of the most plodding, boring shows to have ever been seen. The chorus was extraneous, the acting numbing and the songs not from the top shelf at all. What it did have was Lisa Kirk, who really gave the show a big kick when she appeared, and the dances of Agnes de Mille. I believe Allegro and Brigadoon were her best works, and it is too bad that that choreography for ALLEGRO has been lost.
Miriam
Every movement has a meaning--but what the hell does it mean!
