Happy 75th Birthday, Oklahoma!

Flier for Oklahoma! 1979-1980. Museum of the City of New York. Theatrical production files.

The lights come up on a picturesque farm scene. It’s March 31, 1943, opening night at the St. James Theatre on 44^th Street. The stage’s sole occupant is an older woman at work at a butter churn. She pauses her churning to listen to a sound drifting in from offstage. “There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow” sings a confident male voice. A few lines later, the singer, a handsome young cowboy, walks on stage and turns toward the audience, “Oh, what a beautiful morning.” And oh, what a beautiful opening night for Oklahoma!, the first musical from composer-lyrist team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

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