0
Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
American composer of songs and Broadway musicals
1
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
American librettist, lyricist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) theatre director of musicals
2
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
American actor, singer (1921-1986)
3
Juanita Hall
Juanita Hall
American musical theatre and film actress; singer, recording artist (1901-1968)
4
Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
American singer and actress
5
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart
American songwriting partnership
6
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook
American actress and singer (1927-2017)
7
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
American lyricist
8
Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
British actress, singer, dancer and author
9
Mary Martin
Mary Martin
American actress (1913–1990)
10
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga
Filipina singer
11
John Raitt
John Raitt
American singer and actor (1917-2005)
Rodgers and Hammerstein
American songwriting team

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Intro
American songwriting team
Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein (right), with Irving Berlin (middle) and Helen Tamiris, watching auditions at the St. James Theatre in 1948

Rodgers and Hammerstein refers to the duo of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together were an influential, innovative and successful American musical theatre writing team. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, initiating what is considered the "golden age" of musical theatre. Five of their Broadway shows, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music, were outstanding successes, as was the television broadcast of Cinderella (1957). Of the other four shows that the team produced on Broadway during their lifetimes, Flower Drum Song was well-received, and none was an outright flop. Most of their shows have received frequent revivals around the world, both professional and amateur. Among the many accolades their shows (and film versions) garnered were thirty-four Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes (for Oklahoma!, 1944, and South Pacific, 1950) and two Grammy Awards.

Their musical theatre writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century.