Editing Carousel (musical) (section)

=== Inception ===
In the 1920s and 1930s, Rodgers and Hammerstein both became well known for creating [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] hits with other partners.  Rodgers, with Lorenz Hart, had produced a string of over two dozen musicals, including such popular successes as ''[[Babes in Arms]]'' (1937), ''[[The Boys from Syracuse]]'' (1938) and ''[[Pal Joey (musical)|Pal Joey]]'' (1940).<ref>Secrest, pp. 403–04</ref>  Some of Rodgers' work with Hart broke new ground in musical theatre:  ''[[On Your Toes]]'' was the first use of ballet to sustain the plot (in the "[[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]]" scene), while ''Pal Joey'' flouted Broadway tradition by presenting a knave as its hero.<ref>Block (ed.), pp. 194–95</ref>  Hammerstein had written or co-written the words for such hits as ''[[Rose-Marie]]'' (1924), ''[[The Desert Song]]'' (1926), ''[[The New Moon]]'' (1927) and ''[[Show Boat]]'' (1927).  Though less productive in the 1930s, he wrote material for musicals and films, sharing an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for his song with [[Jerome Kern]], "[[The Last Time I Saw Paris (song)|The Last Time I Saw Paris]]", which was included in the 1941 film ''[[Lady Be Good (1941 film)|Lady Be Good]]''.<ref name="HOF">[http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C13 "Oscar Hammerstein II"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217193407/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C13 |date=2010-12-17 }}.  Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved on December 22, 2010</ref>

By the early 1940s, Hart had sunk into alcoholism and emotional turmoil, becoming unreliable and  prompting Rodgers to approach Hammerstein to ask if he would consider working with him.<ref>Layne, Joslyn. [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p84807|pure_url=yes}} Lorenz Hart Biography] at Allmusic. Retrieved on December 22, 2010</ref>  Hammerstein was eager to do so, and their first collaboration was ''[[Oklahoma!]]'' (1943).<ref name="Nolan1">Nolan, pp. 1–25.</ref>  Thomas Hischak states, in his ''The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia'', that ''Oklahoma!'' is "the single most influential work in the American musical theatre.  In fact, the history of the Broadway musical can accurately be divided into what came before ''Oklahoma!'' and what came after it."<ref name="h202">Hischak, pp. 201–02</ref>  An innovation for its time in integrating song, character, plot and dance, ''Oklahoma!'' would serve, according to Hischak, as "the model for Broadway shows for decades",<ref name="h202" /> and proved a huge popular and financial success.  Once it was well-launched, what to do as an encore was a daunting challenge for the pair.  Film producer [[Samuel Goldwyn]] saw ''Oklahoma!'' and advised Rodgers to shoot himself, which, according to Rodgers, "was Sam's blunt but funny way of telling me that I'd never create another show as good as ''Oklahoma!''"<ref name="shoot">Rodgers, p. 234</ref>  As they considered new projects, Hammerstein wrote, "We're such fools.  No matter what we do, everyone is bound to say, 'This is not another ''Oklahoma!''' "<ref name="Fordin, p. 224">Fordin, p. 224</ref>

''Oklahoma!'' had been a struggle to finance and produce.  Hammerstein and Rodgers met weekly in 1943 with [[Theresa Helburn]] and [[Lawrence Langner]] of the Theatre Guild, producers of the blockbuster musical, who together formed what they termed "the Gloat Club".  At one such luncheon, Helburn and Langner proposed to Rodgers and Hammerstein that they turn Molnár's ''Liliom'' into a musical.  Both men refused—they had no feeling for the Budapest setting and thought that the unhappy ending was unsuitable for musical theatre.<ref name="n153" />  In addition, given the unstable wartime political situation, they might need to change the setting from Hungary while in rehearsal.<ref name="tunnel">Fordin, p. 220</ref>  At the next luncheon, Helburn and Langner again proposed ''Liliom'', suggesting that they move the setting to Louisiana and make Liliom a [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]].  Rodgers and Hammerstein played with the idea over the next few weeks, but decided that Creole dialect, filled with "zis" and "zose", would sound corny and would make it difficult to write effective lyrics.<ref name="tunnel" />

A breakthrough came when Rodgers, who owned a house in [[Connecticut]], proposed a [[New England]] setting.<ref name="h157">Hyland, p. 157</ref>  Hammerstein wrote of this suggestion in 1945,
<blockquote>
I began to see an attractive ensemble—sailors, whalers, girls who worked in the mills up the river, clambakes on near-by islands, an amusement park on the seaboard, things people could do in crowds, people who were strong and alive and lusty, people who had always been depicted on the stage as thin-lipped puritans—a libel I was anxious to refute&nbsp;... as for the two leading characters, Julie with her courage and inner strength and outward simplicity seemed more indigenous to Maine than to Budapest.  Liliom is, of course, an international character, indigenous to nowhere.<ref name="turn">Hammerstein, Oscar II. [https://www.nytimes.com/1945/04/15/archives/turns-on-a-carousel-an-account-of-adventures-in-setting-the-play.html?sq=carousel&scp=16&st=p "Turns on a Carousel; an account of adventures in setting the play 'Liliom' to music].  ''The New York Times'', April 15, 1945, Arts and Leisure, p. X1.  Retrieved on December 20, 2010.  Fee for article.</ref>
</blockquote>

Rodgers and Hammerstein were also concerned about what they termed "the tunnel" of Molnár's second act—a series of gloomy scenes leading up to Liliom's suicide—followed by a dark ending. They also felt it would be difficult to set Liliom's motivation for the robbery to music.<ref name="tunnel" /> Molnár's opposition to having his works adapted was also an issue; he had famously turned down [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s request to adapt ''Liliom'' as an opera, stating that he wanted the piece to be remembered as his, not Puccini's.<ref name="n153" /> In 1937, Molnár, who had recently emigrated to the United States, had declined another offer from [[Kurt Weill]] to adapt the play into a musical.<ref name="Hyland, p. 158" />

The pair continued to work on the preliminary ideas for a ''Liliom'' adaptation while pursuing other projects in late 1943 and early 1944—writing the film musical ''[[State Fair (1945 film)|State Fair]]''<ref>Nolan, pp. 144–45</ref> and producing ''[[I Remember Mama (play)|I Remember Mama]]'' on Broadway.<ref>Fordin, pp. 223–24</ref>  Meanwhile, the Theatre Guild took Molnár to see ''Oklahoma!''  Molnár stated that if Rodgers and Hammerstein could adapt ''Liliom'' as beautifully as they had modified ''[[Green Grow the Lilacs (play)|Green Grow the Lilacs]]'' into ''Oklahoma!'', he would be pleased to have them do it.<ref>Fordin, pp. 221–22</ref>  The Guild obtained the rights from Molnár in October 1943.  The playwright received one percent of the gross and $2,500 for "personal services".<ref>Hyland, pp. 157–58</ref>  The duo insisted, as part of the contract, that Molnár permit them to make changes in the plot.  At first, the playwright refused, but eventually yielded.  Hammerstein later stated that if this point had not been won, "we could never have made ''Carousel''."<ref>Secrest, p. 273</ref>

In seeking to establish through song Liliom's motivation for the robbery, Rodgers remembered that he and Hart had a similar problem in ''Pal Joey''. Rodgers and Hart had overcome the problem  with a song that Joey sings to himself, "I'm Talking to My Pal". This inspired "[[Soliloquy (song)|Soliloquy]]".  Both partners later told a story that "Soliloquy" was only intended to be a song about Liliom's dreams of a son, but that Rodgers, who had two daughters, insisted that Liliom consider that Julie might have a girl.  However, the notes taken at their meeting of December 7, 1943, state: "Mr. Rodgers suggested a fine musical number for the end of the scene where Liliom discovers he is to be a father, in which he sings first with pride of the growth of a boy, and then suddenly realizes it might be a girl and changes completely."<ref name="edsel">Fordin, pp. 156–57</ref>

[[File:Liliom prologue.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The opening carnival scene in ''Liliom'' inspired the [[Mime artist|pantomime]] that begins ''Carousel''; 1921]]
Hammerstein and Rodgers returned to the ''Liliom'' project in mid-1944.  Hammerstein was uneasy as he worked, fearing that no matter what they did, Molnár would disapprove of the results.<ref name="Fordin, p. 224" />  ''Green Grow the Lilacs'' had been a little-known work; ''Liliom'' was a theatrical standard.  Molnár's text also contained considerable commentary on the Hungarian politics of 1909 and the rigidity of that society.  A dismissed carnival barker who hits his wife, attempts a robbery and commits suicide seemed an unlikely central character for a musical comedy.<ref name="Hyland, p. 158" />  Hammerstein decided to use the words and story to make the audience sympathize with the lovers.  He also built up the secondary couple, who are incidental to the plot in ''Liliom''; they became Enoch Snow and Carrie Pipperidge.<ref>Hyland, pp. 158–59</ref>  "This Was a Real Nice Clambake" was repurposed from a song, "A Real Nice Hayride", written for ''Oklahoma!'' but not used.<ref name="b162">Block, p. 162</ref>

Molnár's ending was unsuitable, and after a couple of false starts, Hammerstein conceived the graduation scene that ends the musical.  According to [[Frederick Nolan (writer)|Frederick Nolan]] in his book on the team's works: "From that scene the song "[[You'll Never Walk Alone (song)|You'll Never Walk Alone]]" sprang almost naturally."<ref name="n157">Nolan, p. 157</ref>  In spite of Hammerstein's simple lyrics for "You'll Never Walk Alone", Rodgers had great difficulty in setting it to music.<ref>Block (ed.), p. 184</ref>  Rodgers explained his rationale for the changed ending,
<blockquote>
''Liliom'' was a tragedy about a man who cannot learn to live with other people.  The way Molnár wrote it, the man ends up hitting his daughter and then having to go back to purgatory, leaving his daughter helpless and hopeless.  We couldn't accept that.  The way we ended ''Carousel'' it may still be a tragedy but it's a hopeful one because in the final scene it is clear that the child has at last learned how to express herself and communicate with others.<ref>Block (ed.), p. 180</ref>
</blockquote>

When the pair decided to make "This Was a Real Nice Clambake" into an ensemble number, Hammerstein realized he had no idea what a clambake was like, and researched the matter.  Based on his initial findings, he wrote the line, "First came codfish chowder".  However, further research convinced him the proper term was "codhead chowder", a term unfamiliar to many playgoers.  He decided to keep it as "codfish".  When the song proceeded to discuss the lobsters consumed at the feast, Hammerstein wrote the line "We slit 'em down the back/And peppered 'em good".  He was grieved to hear from a friend that lobsters are always slit down the front.  The lyricist sent a researcher to a seafood restaurant and heard back that lobsters are always slit down the back.  Hammerstein concluded that there is disagreement about which side of a lobster is the back.  One error not caught involved the song "June Is Bustin' Out All Over", in which sheep are depicted as seeking to mate in late spring—they actually do so in the winter.  Whenever this was brought to Hammerstein's attention, he told his informant that 1873 was a special year, in which sheep mated in the spring.<ref>Fordin, pp. 227–28</ref>

Rodgers early decided to dispense with an overture, feeling that the music was hard to hear over the banging of seats as latecomers settled themselves.<ref>Fordin, p. 222</ref>  In his autobiography, Rodgers complained that only the brass section can be heard during an overture because there are never enough strings in a musical's small orchestra.  He determined to force the audience to concentrate from the beginning by opening with a [[Mime artist|pantomime]] scene accompanied by what became known as "The Carousel Waltz".<ref>Rodgers, p. 239</ref>  The pantomime paralleled one in the Molnár play, which was also used to introduce the characters and situation to the audience.<ref name="h161" /> Author [[Ethan Mordden]] described the effectiveness of this opening:
<blockquote>
Other characters catch our notice—Mr. Bascombe, the pompous mill owner, Mrs. Mullin, the widow who runs the carousel and, apparently, Billy; a dancing bear; an acrobat.  But what draws us in is the intensity with which Julie regards Billy—the way she stands frozen, staring at him, while everyone else at the fair is swaying to the rhythm of Billy's spiel.  And as Julie and Billy ride together on the swirling carousel, and the stage picture surges with the excitement of the crowd, and the orchestra storms to a climax, and the curtain falls, we realize that R & H have not only skipped the overture ''and'' the opening number but the exposition as well.  They have plunged into the story, right into the middle of it, in the most intense first scene any musical ever had.<ref>Mordden, p. 75</ref>
</blockquote>