Editing Richard Rodgers (section)

==Legacy==
In 1990, the 46th Street Theatre was renamed the [[Richard Rodgers Theatre]] in his memory. In 1999, Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps. In 2002, the centennial year of Rodgers' birth was celebrated worldwide with books, retrospectives, performances, new recordings of his music, and a Broadway revival of ''Oklahoma!''. The [[BBC Proms]] that year devoted an entire evening to Rodgers' music, including a concert performance of ''Oklahoma!'' The [[Boston Pops Orchestra]] released a new CD that year in tribute to Rodgers, entitled ''My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration''.

[[Alec Wilder]] wrote the following about Rodgers:

{{blockquote|Of all the writers whose songs are considered and examined in this book, those of Rodgers show the highest degree of consistent excellence, inventiveness, and sophistication ... [A]fter spending weeks playing his songs, I am more than impressed and respectful: I am astonished.<ref>Wilder, Alec, 1973. ''American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950'', Oxford University Press: 163. {{ISBN|0-19-501445-6}}.</ref>}}

Rodgers is a member of the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaterhalloffame.org/members.html|title=Theater Hall of Fame members|access-date=February 9, 2014}}</ref>

Along with the Academy of Arts and Letters, Rodgers also started and endowed an award for non-established musical theater composers to produce new productions either by way of full productions or staged readings. It is the only award for which the Academy of Arts and Letters accepts applications and is presented every year. Below are the previous winners of the award:<ref name="Academy of Arts and Letters">{{cite web| title=Awards| url=https://artsandletters.org/awards/#| website=American Academy of Arts and Letters}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
!Year
!Show
!Awardee
|-
|rowspan=6|2018<ref>{{cite press release| url=https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/two-musicals-win-richard-rodgers-awards/| title=Two Musicals Win Richard Rodgers Awards| date=March 23, 2018| publisher=American Academy of Arts and Letters| access-date=August 23, 2018}}</ref>
|rowspan=2|Gun and Powder
|Ross Baum
|-
|Angelica Chéri
|-
|rowspan=4|KPOP
|Jason Kim
|-
|Helen Park
|-
|Max Vernon
|-
|Woodshed Collective
|-
|rowspan=2|2017
|rowspan=2|What I Learned from People
|[[Will Aronson]]
|-
|[[Hue Park]]
|-
|rowspan=4|2016
|rowspan=2|We Live in Cairo
|Patrick Lazour
|-
|Daniel Lazour
|-
|Costs of Living
|[[Timothy Huang]]
|-
|[[Hadestown (musical)|Hadestown]]
|[[Anaïs Mitchell]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2015
|rowspan=2|String
|Adam Gwon
|-
|Sarah Hammond
|-
|rowspan=2|2014
|rowspan=2|[[Witness Uganda]]
|Matthew Gould
|-
|Griffin Matthews
|-
|rowspan=3|2013
|[[Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812]]
|[[Dave Malloy]]
|-
|rowspan=2|The Kid Who Would Be Pope
|Tom Megan
|-
|Jack Megan
|-
|rowspan=2|2012
|rowspan=2|[[Witness Uganda]]
|Matthew Gould
|-
|Griffin Matthews
|-
|rowspan=4|2011
|rowspan=3|[[Dogfight (musical)|Dogfight]]
|[[Peter Duchan]]
|-
|[[Pasek and Paul|Benj Pasek]]
|-
|[[Pasek and Paul|Justin Paul]]
|-
|Gloryana
|[[Andrew Gerle]]
|-
|rowspan=6|2010
|rowspan=3|Buddy's Tavern
|[[Raymond De Felitta]]
|-
|Alison Louise Hubbard
|-
|[[Kim Oler]]
|-
|rowspan=3|Rocket Science
|Patricia Cotter
|-
|Jason Rhyne
|-
|Stephen Weiner
|-
|rowspan=4|2009
|rowspan=2|Cheer Wars
|Karlan Judd
|-
|Gordon Leary
|-
|rowspan=2|Rosa Parks
|Scott Ethier
|-
|Jeff Hughes
|-
|rowspan=6|2008
|rowspan=2|Alive at Ten
|Kirsten A. Guenther
|-
|[[Ryan Scott Oliver]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Kingdom
|Aaron Jafferis
|-
|Ian Williams
|-
|rowspan=2|See Rock City and Other Destinations
|[[Brad Alexander]]
|-
|Adam Mathias
|-
|rowspan=3|2007
|[[Calvin Berger]]
|Barry Wyner
|-
|rowspan=2|Main-Travelled Roads
|Dave Hudson
|-
|Paul Libman
|-
|rowspan=8|2006
|rowspan=3|[[Grey Gardens (musical)|Grey Gardens]]
|[[Scott Frankel]]
|-
|[[Michael Korie]]
|-
|[[Doug Wright]]
|-
|rowspan=3|True Fans
|Chris Miller
|-
|Bill Rosenfield
|-
|[[Nathan Tysen]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Yellow Wood
|Michelle Elliott
|-
|Danny Larsen
|-
|rowspan=6|2005
|rowspan=2|Broadcast
|Nathan Christensen
|-
|Scott Murphy
|-
|rowspan=2|Dust & Dreams: Celebrating Sandburg
|David Hudson
|-
|Paul Libman
|-
|rowspan=2|Red
|[[Brian Lowdermilk]]
|-
|Marcus Stevens
|-
|rowspan=6|2004
|rowspan=2|To Paint the Earth
|Daniel Frederick Levin
|-
|Jonathan Portera
|-
|rowspan=2|The Tutor
|[[Andrew Gerle]]
|-
|Maryrose Wood
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Unlock'd|Unlocked]]
|[[Carner and Gregor|Sam Carner]]
|-
|[[Carner and Gregor|Derek Gregor]]
|-
|rowspan=6|2003
|rowspan=2|The Devil in the Flesh
|Jeffrey Lunden
|-
|Arthur Perlman
|-
|rowspan=2|Once Upon a Time in New Jersey
|Susan DiLallo
|-
|Stephen A. Weiner
|-
|rowspan=2|The Tutor
|Andrew Gerle
|-
|Maryrose Wood
|-
|rowspan=4|2002
|rowspan=2|The Fabulist
|David Spencer
|-
|Stephen Witkin
|-
|rowspan=2|The Tutor
|Andrew Gerle
|-
|Maryrose Wood
|-
|rowspan=4|2001
|rowspan=2|Heading East
|[[Leon Ko]]
|-
|Robert Lee
|-
|rowspan=2|[[The Spitfire Grill]]
|[[Fred Alley]]
|-
|[[James Valcq]]
|-
|rowspan=6|2000
|rowspan=3|[[Bat Boy: The Musical|Bat Boy]]
|[[Kaythe Farley]]
|-
|[[Brian Flemming]]
|-
|[[Laurence O'Keefe (composer)|Laurence O'Keefe]]
|-
|[[The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin]]
|[[Kirsten Childs]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Suburb
|Robert S. Cohen
|-
|[[David Javerbaum]]
|-
|rowspan=9|1999
|rowspan=3|[[Bat Boy: The Musical|Bat Boy]]
|[[Kaythe Farley]]
|-
|[[Brian Flemming]]
|-
|[[Laurence O'Keefe (composer)|Laurence O'Keefe]]
|-
|Blood on the Dining Room Floor
|Jonathan Sheffer
|-
|The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin
|Kirsten Childs
|-
|rowspan=2|Dream True: My Life with Vernon Dexter
|[[Ricky Gordon|Ricky Ian Gordon]]
|-
|[[Tina Landau]]
|-
|rowspan=2|The Singing
|[[Lenora Champagne]]
|-
|Daniel Levy
|-
|rowspan=5|1998
|rowspan=3|[[Little Women (musical)|Little Women]]
|Alison Hubbard
|-
|[[Allan Knee]]
|-
|[[Kim Oler]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Summer
|Erik Haagensen
|-
|Paul Schwartz
|-
|rowspan=6|1997
|rowspan=2|The Ballad of Little Jo
|[[Mike Reid (singer)|Mike Reid]]
|-
|Sarah Schlesinger
|-
|rowspan=2|Barrio Babies
|Fernand Rivas
|-
|[[Luis Santeiro]]
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Violet (musical)|Violet]]
|Brian Crawley
|-
|[[Jeanine Tesori]]
|-
|rowspan=6|1996
|rowspan=2|Bobos
|[[James McBride (writer)|James McBride]]
|-
|Ed Shockley
|-
|rowspan=2|The Hidden Sky
|Kate Chisholm
|-
|Peter Foley
|-
|rowspan=2|The Princess & the Blac
|Andy Chuckerman
|-
|Karole Foreman
|-
|rowspan=3|1995
|rowspan=3|Spendora
|Mark Campbell
|-
|Stephen Hoffman
|-
|Peter Webb
|-
|rowspan=7|1994
|rowspan=2|Doll (not produced)
|[[Scott Frankel]]
|-
|[[Michael Korie]]
|-
|The Gig
|[[Douglas J. Cohen|Douglas Cohen]]
|-
|[[Rent (musical)|Rent]]
|[[Jonathan Larson]]
|-
|rowspan=3|The Sweet Revenge of ... 
|Mark Campbell
|-
|Burton Cohen
|-
|Stephen Hoffman
|-
|rowspan=8|1993
|rowspan=3|Allos Makar
|[[Scott Frankel]]
|-
|[[Michael Korie]]
|-
|Valeria Vasilevsky
|-
|rowspan=2|Avenue X
|John Jiler
|-
|Ray Leslee
|-
|Christina Alberta's
|Polly Pen
|-
|rowspan=2|They Shoot Horses ... 
|Nagle Jackson
|-
|Robert Sprayberry
|-
|rowspan=4|1992
|rowspan=2|Avenue X
|John Jiler
|-
|Ray Leslee
|-
|rowspan=2|The Molly Maquires
|Sid Cherry
|-
|William Strempek
|-
|rowspan=3|1991
|Opal
|Robert N. Lindsey
|-
|rowspan=2|The Times
|[[Joe Keenan (writer)|Joe Keenan]]
|-
|Brad Ross
|-
|rowspan=7|1990
|Down the Stream
|Michael Goldenberg
|-
|rowspan=3|Swamp Gas and Shallow Feelings
|Randy Buck
|-
|Shirlee Strother
|-
|Jack E. Williams
|-
|rowspan=3|Whatnot
|Howard Crabtree
|-
|[[Dick Gallagher]]
|-
|Mark Waldrop
|-
|rowspan=2|1989
|rowspan=2|[[Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass|Juan Darien]]
|[[Elliot Goldenthal]]
|-
|[[Julie Taymor]]
|-
|rowspan=5|1988
|rowspan=2|[[Lucky Stiff]]
|[[Lynn Ahrens]]
|-
|[[Stephen Flaherty]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Sheila Levine is Dead ... 
|Michael Devon
|-
|Todd Graff
|-
|[[Superbia (musical)|Superbia]]
|[[Jonathan Larson]]
|-
|rowspan=4|1987
|Henry and Ellen
|[[Michael John LaChiusa]]
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Lucky Stiff]]
|[[Lynn Ahrens]]
|-
|[[Stephen Flaherty]]
|-
|No Way to Treat A Lady
|[[Douglas J. Cohen]]
|-
|rowspan=3|1986
|Break/Agnes/Eulogy
|[[Michael John LaChiusa]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Juba
|Wendy Lamb
|-
|Russell Walden
|-
|rowspan=4|1984
|rowspan=3|[[Brownstone (musical)|Brownstone]]
|Andrew Cadiff
|-
|Peter Larson
|-
|Josh Rubens
|-
|Papushko
|Andrew Teirstein
|-
|rowspan=3|1982
|rowspan=3|Portrait of Jennie
|Enid Futterman
|-
|Howard Marren
|-
|Dennis Rosa
|-
|1981
|Child of the Sun
|Damien Leake
|-
|rowspan=2|1980
|rowspan=2|Nine (not produced)
|Maro Fratti
|-
|[[Maury Yeston]]
|-
|}

===Relationship with performers===
[[File:Rodgers and Hammerstein and Berlin and Tamiris NYWTS.jpg|right|thumb|[[Richard Rodgers]], [[Irving Berlin]], [[Oscar Hammerstein II]], and [[Helen Tamiris]] watching hopefuls who are being auditioned on stage of the St. James Theatre.]]
[[Rosemary Clooney]] recorded a version of "[[Falling in Love with Love]]" by Rodgers, using a swing style. After the recording session Richard Rodgers told her pointedly that it should be sung as a waltz.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Fine Romance|last=Lehman |first=David |year=2009|publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8052-4250-8|page=140,249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-nYWq-8qjHMC&q=A+Fine+Romance}}</ref> After [[Doris Day]] recorded "[[I Have Dreamed (song)|I Have Dreamed]]" in 1961, he wrote to her and her arranger, Jim Harbert, that theirs was the most beautiful rendition of his song he had ever heard.

After [[Peggy Lee]] recorded her version of "[[Lover (Rodgers and Hart song)|Lover]]", a Rodgers song, with a dramatically different arrangement from that originally conceived by him, Rodgers said, "I don't know why Peggy picked on me, she could have fucked up [[Silent Night]]".<ref>Lehman, p. 140.</ref> [[Mary Martin]] said that Richard Rodgers composed songs for her for ''South Pacific'', knowing she had a small vocal range, and the songs generally made her look her best. She also said that Rodgers and Hammerstein listened to all her suggestions and she worked extremely well with them.<ref>Lehman, p. 142–43.</ref> Both Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted Doris Day for the lead in the film version of ''South Pacific'' and she reportedly wanted the part. They discussed it with her, but after her manager/husband [[Martin Melcher]] would not budge on his demand for a high salary for her, the role went to [[Mitzi Gaynor]].