IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Oscar Hammerstein II

An inspiration to generations of songwriters.

A portrait of Oscar Hammerstein II, image c/o Wikimedia Commons

Oscar Hammerstein II, born the grandson and namesake of an operatic impresario, was born in New York City in 1985. Despite Hammerstein's father's wishes for him to pursue a career outside of the arts, he ended up at Columbia, writing the Varsity show the same year that a younger Richard Rodgers was in attendance.

"He's a meticulously hard worker and yet he'll roam the grass of his farm for hours and sometimes for days before he can bring himself to put a word on paper." —Rodgers on Hammerstein

He was a large, sturdy man with brilliant eyes and keen fashion sense that showed his imagination and professionalism everywhere he went. As noted by Richard Rodgers, he was a careful and meticulous man. His appreciation for the outdoors often inspired his lyrics, and he was acutely attune to his surroundings as inspiration for his award-winning words.

A Veteran of the Spotlight

Hammerstein’s skills as a librettist quickly established his reputation as a change maker. In a way, he forced the revolution from makeshifts scripts built around specific actors and dance numbers to scripts that told a story. He recognized early on that a score was, indeed, important, but a winning book is what made a show a hit in its season. He collaborated with several theater makers over the course of his career (in stark opposition to Rodgers monogamous style). Hammerstein was all over Broadway for a decade before settling down in his partnership with Rodgers. Show Boat, a collaboration with Jerome Kern in 1927, was Hammerstein’s biggest hit before the Rodgers and Hammerstein years. Hammerstein brought a unique operatta style to his lyric-writing, sometimes spending weeks on just one song... but hey, they’re sure worth the wait.