State Fair - Trafalgar Studios
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
RODGERS and Hammerstein’s State Fair will transfer to the West End’s Trafalgar Studios, where it runs from Tuesday, August 3 to Saturday, August 28, 2010.
Previously Posted: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair receives its European premiere at Finborough Theatre where it runs from August 6 (previews from August 4) to August 29, 2009.
Set against the colourful backdrop of an American heartland tradition, State Fair travels with the Frake family as they leave behind the routine of the farm for three days of adventure at the 1946 annual Iowa State Fair.
Mom and Pop have their hearts set on winning blue ribbons for best boar and best homemade mincemeat, whilst their daughter and son find both love and heartbreak in the romance of the busy fairground.
The Academy Award-winning score includes It Might as Well Be Spring and It’s a Grand Night for Singing.
The production is directed by Thom Southerland, who will be making his Finborough debut. As resident director of the Union Theatre, his work includes the European premiere of I Sing!, Divorce Me Darling!, Annie Get Your Gun, The Pajama Game and the all-male productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore and The Mikado.
Based on the 1945 and 1962 films with additional songs that were either featured in, or cut from, other Rodgers and Hammerstein shows such as Oklahoma!, Pipe Dream, Allegro and Me and Juliet, the stage version opened on Broadway in 1996 and went on to receive four Tony Award nominations, including Best Original Score.
Composer Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) was one of America’s most prolific composers. Best known for his partnerships with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, he composed forty Broadway scores and was one of only two people to win an Oscar, Grammy, an Emmy, a Tony Award and the coveted Pulitzer Prize award.
His collaboration with Hart produced shows such as Dearest Enemy, A Conneticut Yankee, On Your Toes, Babes in Arms, Pal Joey and By Jupiter; and hit songs like My Funny Valentine, The Lady is a Tramp, Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered and Blue Moon.
Rodgers began his collaboration with Hammerstein in 1943, the year of Hart’s death, beginning arguably the most successful writing partnership in musical theatre history.
As well as winning eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for his writing, lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) was also a celebrated producer and director of musicals for almost forty years. His credits include Always You with music by Otto Harbach; Show Boat with Jerome Kern; and the book and lyrics for Carmen Jones, an adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen for an all-black cast.
Rodgers and Hammerstein went on to produce such classic Broadway musicals as Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Allegro, Me and Juliet, Pipe Dream, Flower Drum Song and The Sound of Music as well as the musical film State Fair and the television musical Cinderella.
State Fair has a book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, based on the novel by Phil Stong and the screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II. The Finborough production is designed by Alison Brookes, with lighting by Steve Miller, musical direction by Alex Weatherhill and choreography by Sally Brooks.
Tickets: £13, £9 concessions, except Tuesday evenings £9 all seats and Saturday evenings £13 all seats. Previews £9 all seats. £5 tickets for under 30’s for the first week of the production when booked online.
Times: Tuesday to Saturday evenings at 7.30pm, Sunday matinees at 3pm, Saturday matinees at 3pm (from August 15).
Performance Length: Approximately 2½ hours.
For more information and tickets call the box office on 0844 847 1652 or visit the Website