Oklahoma! was the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
The musical opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on March 31, 1943. It adapted Lynn Riggs’s play Green Grow the Lilacs, relocating its story to Indian Territory in 1906. The score included “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” and the title song.
Oklahoma! was influential because its songs, dances, dialogue, and dramatic story were integrated rather than presented as loosely connected specialty numbers. Agnes de Mille’s ballet, “Laurey Makes Up Her Mind,” helped establish dance as an important storytelling tool in musical theatre.
Rodgers and Hammerstein later created Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. A common mix-up is confusing Oklahoma! with their second show, Carousel, which opened in 1945. Oklahoma! won a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944 and became a landmark of the American musical theatre canon.