James Hammerstein
Encyclopedia
James Hammerstein was an American
theatre director and producer. He was the son of Oscar Hammerstein II
and his wife Dorothy (née Blanchard).
Hammerstein attended the George School
in Newtown, Pennsylvania
, where he met fellow student Stephen Sondheim
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/mt/sondheim/sond/timeline.html. He began his Broadway
career as a stage manager, notably for shows such as South Pacific
, Me and Juliet
, and Flower Drum Song
co-written by his father Oscar Hammerstein II
and Richard Rodgers
. The first play he produced was Blue Denim
by James Leo Herlihy
and William Noble
and the first play he directed was Absence of a Cello. His other directing credits include The Indian Wants the Bronx
, Wise Child
, Butley, and State Fair
.
Among the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals he directed were Oklahoma!
(London
and Australia
), The King and I
(Tel Aviv
, US and UK tours), and Carousel
http://www.rnh.com/org/index.php?page=biographies&person_id=220.
For many years he directed staged reading
s on notable playwrights such as Jeff Wanshell, Ron Cowan, and Werner Liepolt "American Triptych," under the aupsices of George White and Lloyd Richards' National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Memorial theater Center in Waterford, Ct.
Hammerstein was nominated for the 1997 Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Musical Revue for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
and the 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical for The Sound of Music
.
Hammerstein had one child (Oscar Andrew) with his first wife Basia, two children (Will and Jennifer) with his second wife Millette Alexander
and one child (Simon) with his third wife Dena.
He died in Manhattan
after suffering a heart attack.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre director and producer. He was the son of Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
and his wife Dorothy (née Blanchard).
Hammerstein attended the George School
George School
George School is a private Quaker boarding and day high school located on a rural campus near Newtown, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded at its present site in 1893, and has grown from a single building to over 20 academic, athletic, and residential buildings...
in Newtown, Pennsylvania
Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Newtown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,248 at the 2010 census. It is located just west of the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area, and is part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is entirely surrounded by Newtown Township, from which...
, where he met fellow student Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/mt/sondheim/sond/timeline.html. He began his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
career as a stage manager, notably for shows such as South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
, Me and Juliet
Me and Juliet
Me and Juliet is a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and their sixth stage collaboration. The work tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back of her electrician boyfriend, Bob...
, and Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
co-written by his father Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
and Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
. The first play he produced was Blue Denim
Blue Denim
Blue Denim was a successful Broadway play by writer James Leo Herlihy, the author of the novels All Fall Down and Midnight Cowboy . It starred Carol Lynley, Warren Berlinger and newcomer Burt Brinckerhoff in the lead male role...
by James Leo Herlihy
James Leo Herlihy
James Leo Herlihy was an American novelist, playwright and actor.Born into a working class family in Detroit, Michigan, Herlihy is known for his novels Midnight Cowboy and All Fall Down and his play Blue Denim, all of which were adapted for cinema...
and William Noble
William Noble
William Noble may refer to:*William H. Noble , United States Representative from New York*William Noble , steeplechase rider who took part in the 1845 Grand National...
and the first play he directed was Absence of a Cello. His other directing credits include The Indian Wants the Bronx
The Indian Wants the Bronx
The Indian Wants the Bronx is a one-act play by Israel Horovitz.Gupta, the Indian of the title, has just arrived in New York City from his native country to visit his son and speaks only a few words of English. While waiting for a bus to the Bronx, he is approached by two young punks, Joey and...
, Wise Child
Wise Child
Wise Child is a play by Simon Gray.The plot concerns orphaned Jerry Artminster, who blackmails a criminal named Jock Masters by promising he won't reveal his identity if Jock agrees to impersonate the boy's mother in the Reading, Berkshire, hotel where the boy lives. The other characters are Mr...
, Butley, and State Fair
State Fair (musical)
State Fair is a musical with a book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and music by Richard Rodgers.Rodgers and Hammerstein originally adapted the Phil Stong novel of the same name for a 1945 movie musical, which was remade in 1962...
.
Among the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals he directed were Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, US and UK tours), and Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
http://www.rnh.com/org/index.php?page=biographies&person_id=220.
For many years he directed staged reading
Staged reading
A staged reading is a form of theatre without sets or full costumes. The actors, who read from scripts, may be seated, stand in fixed positions, or incorporate minimal stage movement....
s on notable playwrights such as Jeff Wanshell, Ron Cowan, and Werner Liepolt "American Triptych," under the aupsices of George White and Lloyd Richards' National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Memorial theater Center in Waterford, Ct.
Hammerstein was nominated for the 1997 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Musical Revue for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. It is the second-longest running Off Broadway musical...
and the 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical for The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
.
Hammerstein had one child (Oscar Andrew) with his first wife Basia, two children (Will and Jennifer) with his second wife Millette Alexander
Millette Alexander
Millette Alexander is an American actress and concert pianist, best known for being the third and longest-running actress to portray the role of Dr. Sara McIntyre on the serial The Guiding Light. Alexander played the role from December 1968 until June 1983, playing the adoptive mother of Kevin...
and one child (Simon) with his third wife Dena.
He died in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
after suffering a heart attack.