Oklahoma City's Lyric Theatre will present 'Some Enchanted Evening' at the Plaza

A different performer will be featured at every performance. Among the scheduled guests are Marilyn Govich, Ben Williams, Charlotte Franklin, Jane Hall, John Steele, Lyn Cramer, Bob Windsor, Tommy Cunningham, Charlie Monnot, Jeanie Cooper and Billie Thrash.

Productive pairing

The Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration began in 1943 with the musical “Away We Go.” What might have been an inauspicious start suddenly achieved great momentum when the title of that show was changed. With “Oklahoma!,” Rodgers and Hammerstein had a major hit that ran more than five years.

During a partnership that would last until Hammerstein's death in 1960, the songwriters penned nine stage musicals and one score each for film and television.

Of their stage collaborations, five have become musical theater classics: “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music.”

“With ‘Some Enchanted Evening,' there's interaction among the characters and some fun tongue-in-cheek business,” Wells said.

“But it's really about the songs and the arrangements. We're featuring chandeliers and two grand pianos. It's an evening of old school elegance that celebrates the music and lyrics of Rodgers and Hammerstein.”