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Show iy . " ii y Mil La y alii u ! uy i lyOiSw yyyiyEi .illitlL. I o swrt - r ' iJaiM.!iT MJ O ", I , '' V (M, l irmz3i .' .; :: "' 4" ' ! - . ,4 -- , .''! ' 13 - f'1-- " . "' - . " 'i ' f- -" -. x ' ;, 7". -- ft ,,,.. i w " f " . . JOi r., U4MM l-- : ,. . j - . - iiwii nun- - lwimr nn mm imiir- -n ir n r 'inm " - ti mi ' ' I The foremost composer of the musical stage has teamed up with an outstanding lyricist for a partnership sure to make theater history Rodgers, the composer of "Oklahoma!" Pacific," thoughtfully sipped a glass of, tonic water and said: "Let's put it this way: the honeymoon hasn't started yet. So far we've just been courting, and we like it." This was not Rodgers' suggestion for a lyric for a new tune, but his description of his collaboration with Alan Jay Lerner, lyricist of the phenomenally successful show, "My Fair Lady." The chances are better than even that when you hum a tune from a Brpadway musical, one of the partners of this new team has had a hand in writing it. "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!" Rodgers wrote the tune in five minutes to Oscar Hammer-stei- n II's lyric; "Some Enchanted Evening" also Rodgers and Hammerstein and, incidentally, written so that Mary Martin would not have to strain by singing simultaneously with the powerful operatic voice of costar Ezio Pinza; "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" one of the many hits turned out' by Rodgers and Larry Hart during 24 years of collaboration that ended with Hart's death. "Gigi" Lemer's favorite love song he wrote the Richard "South 1? Family Weekly, September 24, 1961 of give and take. Lerner senses Rodgers' impatience to get down to composing, but it will be By PAT HERMAN lyrics to Frederick 'Loewe's music for the movie of that name; "The Rain in Spain" a show stopper from "My Fair Lady" along with several other numbers like "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and "Get Me to the Church on Time." If the list does not impress you, take it from the Internal Revenue Service: both Rodgers, 59, and Lerner, 42, in addition to entertaining audiences the world over, have made handsome fortunes by turning out musical comedies. Both men are such hot theatrical properties that their merger prompted by Hammerstein's death and Loewe's retirement has caused special curiosity. What are they like as collaborators? Will witty, urbane Mr. Lerner, who is given to working late at night and chain smoking, get along with the exacting Mr. Rodgers, who prefers working during the day and often is hard put to find a match? The answer is almost surely yes! Both men and therefore realize the importance several months before the lyricist has completed the book for their new show scheduled to open in the fall of 1962. So while Lerner is in Europe working on the book, Rodgers is going ahead with the music and lyrics for a show of his own called "No Strings." Samuel Taylor will write this book, and the musical is expected to open on Broadway in a few months. The important thing is that Rodgers will share only with Lerner the most exacting part of the musical comedy business: the collaboration on song and lyric. looking amazingly fit after a flying trip for the London opening of "The Sound of Music" and also to confer with Lerner, relaxed in a restaurant near his office and brought their artistic partnership up to date. "We won't really get to know each other until we get down to the words and music," he said. "What we did in London was to settle on an idea (Continued on page 14) Rodgers, s |