Ted Chapin was chosen by the Rodgers and Hammerstein families to run their office. He expanded it into the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, which is responsible for management of the copyrights created by Richard Rodgers and/or Oscar Hammerstein II. On his watch, there have been new major productions of their musicals on Broadway (seven Tony Awards for Best Revival so far), in London, and around the world. In addition, he brought in the representation of other extraordinary musical artists including Irving Berlin. In addition to revivals, he has encouraged new Broadway productions, among them Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, State Fair, A Grand Night for Singing, and Holiday Inn as well as major television productions such as The Sound of Music Live! on NBC.
I was thrilled when Ted accepted my invite to appear on my podcast, because I knew he’d drop some wisdom bombs for all of us to learn from, and boy did he. Tune in and listen to Ted talk about all things theater, R&H and more, including . . .
- His secret trick to pronouncing Hammerstein the correct way (and hear me get it right, then wrong, then right again . . . oh boy).
- What happens when the copyrights on the R&H classics expire?
- Would Oklahoma! be a hit if it were produced today?
- What the @#&$ is the Tony Administration Committee and what does it do anyway?
- How he decides what can be done and can’t be done in new R&H productions (and hear how he almost had to shut one down – and why it was a tougher decision than you’d think).
Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway