Editing Oklahoma! (section)

===Conception===
In 1931, the [[Theatre Guild]] produced [[Lynn Riggs]]'s ''[[Green Grow the Lilacs (play)|Green Grow the Lilacs]]'', a play about settlers in [[Oklahoma]] [[Indian Territory]]. Though the play was not successful, ten years later in 1941, [[Theresa Helburn]], one of the Guild's producers, saw a [[Summer stock theatre|summer-stock]] production supplemented with traditional [[folk song]]s and [[square dance]]s and decided the play could be the basis of a musical that might revive the struggling Guild. She contacted [[Richard Rodgers]] and [[Lorenz Hart]], whose first successful [[Rodgers and Hart|collaboration]], ''[[The Garrick Gaieties]]'', had been produced by the Theatre Guild in 1925.  Rodgers wanted to work on the project and obtained the rights for himself and Hart.  Rodgers had asked [[Oscar Hammerstein II]] to collaborate with him and Hart. During the tryouts of Rodgers and Hart's ''[[By Jupiter]]'' in 1941, Hammerstein had assured Rodgers that if Hart was ever unable to work, he would be willing to take his place.<ref name=Nolan>Nolan, pp. 1–25.</ref>  Coincidentally in 1942, Hammerstein had thought of musicalizing ''Green Grow the Lilacs'', but when he had approached [[Jerome Kern]] about it, the latter declined.  Hammerstein learned that Rodgers was seeking someone to write the book, and he eagerly took the opportunity.  Hart lost interest in the musical; he preferred contemporary, urbane shows that would showcase his witty lyric writing, and he found the farmers and cowhands in ''Green Grow the Lilacs'' corny and uninspiring. Moreover, spiraling downward, consumed by his longstanding alcoholism, Hart no longer felt like writing.  He embarked on a vacation to Mexico, advising Rodgers that Hammerstein would be a good choice of a new collaborator.<ref name=Kantor>Kantor and Malson, pp. 196–202</ref><ref name=Heritage/>

This partnership allowed both Rodgers and Hammerstein to follow their preferred writing methods: Hammerstein preferred to write a complete lyric before it was set to music, and Rodgers preferred to set completed lyrics to music. In Rodgers' previous collaborations with Hart, Rodgers had always written the music first, since the unfocused Hart needed something on which to base his lyrics. Hammerstein's previous collaborators included composers [[Rudolf Friml]], [[Herbert Stothart]], [[Vincent Youmans]], and Kern, who all wrote music first, for which Hammerstein then wrote lyrics.  The role reversal in the Rodgers and Hammerstein partnership permitted Hammerstein to craft the lyrics into a fundamental part of the story so that the songs could amplify and intensify the story instead of diverting it.<ref name=Nolan/> As Rodgers and Hammerstein began developing the new musical, they agreed that their musical and dramatic choices would be dictated by the source material, ''Green Grow the Lilacs'', not by musical comedy conventions.<ref name=Kantor/>  Musicals of that era featured big production numbers, novelty acts, and show-stopping specialty dances; the libretti typically focused on humor, with little dramatic development, punctuated with songs that effectively halted the story for their duration.<ref name=Kenrick2>Kenrick, John. [http://www.musicals101.com/1940bway2.htm "History of the Musical Stage, 1940s Part II: Oklahoma, OK!"] Musicals101.com, accessed October 11, 2011</ref>