Oscar the Lyricist | The Sondheim Project, 5.4

"What a generous man Oscar was. To write so many letters that actually went into detail about the art and the craft (and life itself) was a time-consuming job. Reading them makes me feel proud and privileged to have known him. And sad that he isn’t around."
Stephen Sondheim
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MARK EDEN HOROWITZ is a senior music specialist in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, where among the collections for which he’s been archivist or co-archivist are the papers of Leonard Bernstein, Vernon Duke, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, Hal Prince, Richard Rodgers, and Vincent Youmans. Among the collections he’s acquired for the Library are the papers of Howard Ashman, Adam Guettel, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Larson, Arthur Laurents, Andrew Lippa, and Jeanine Tesori. He’s the author of the award-winning book Sondheim on Music-described as “essential” in The New York Times-and for ten years was the contributing editor for The Sondheim Review. Horowitz taught the history of musical theater at Catholic and Georgetown universities, and has guest lectured at Harvard, Princeton, and Skidmore.
THE LETTERS OF OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
A collection of the letters from and to American musical theater's greatest innovator that provides an entertaining look behind the scenes of Broadway.
Oscar Hammerstein II virtually invented the modern American musical, first with Show Boat and then in his celebrated collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers on Broadway classics like Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The King and I that continue to fascinate audiences today. A brilliant lyricist and playwright, Hammerstein innovated the American musical with his sophisticated storytelling that single-handedly elevated musical theater to a serious art form. But there were many more sides to Hammerstein: He was also a canny businessman, a successful producer, a mentor to Stephen Sondheim, and a social activist.
This rich collection edited by Mark Eden Horowitz features hundreds of previously unpublished letters that show off all facets of Hammerstein's many engagements and his personality. Hammerstein's correspondence with major Broadway figures like Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Kern, and Josh Logan tells the history of twentieth-century American show business while his exchanges with politicians and activists shed light on social issues of the period. What unites these letters across their vast range of themes is Hammerstein's compelling voice that reveals a man who was sharp, opinionated, and funny but also cared deeply about addressing the social ills that his musicals explored beyond the stage.
"Reading this remarkable collection of letters is like making the acquaintance of a bright, ambitious young man embarking on what he hopes will be a useful, successful career in the American theater then, as one reads, gradually becoming friends with a prodigiously gifted, deeply decent, thoroughly admirable man. When one reaches the end-of the book, and of Hammerstein’s life-one feels both a profound sadness and a deep sense of gratitude for how much of that life, both personal and professional, Hammerstein has left behind in this volume. A wonderful resource for anyone interested in the history of the American theater. A wonderful read for anyone interested in the history of a uniquely consequential American life."
John Weidman, librettist of Pacific Overtures, Assassins, and Road Show

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So, a thing you do with oats 🤣

[@thesondheimproject]

We'll never hear it the same way again hahaha