Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical (Guest: Laurie Winer)

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Laurie Winer, founding editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, to discuss her new book, Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical. They chat about why Winer believes Hammerstein more than anyone else invented the musical. They also discuss his relationship with collaborators Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers and how Hammerstein’s optimistic humor, openness to strangers, and rejection of bitterness contributed to a vision that orchestrated a collective reimagining of America. 

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300223798/oscar-hammerstein-ii-and-the-invention-of-the-musical/

Show Notes: 

Los Angeles Review of Books: Tim Riley – “A Poet of the Anticipation of Joy: On Laurie Winer’s ‘Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical’”
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-poet-of-the-anticipation-of-joy-on-laurie-winers-oscar-hammerstein-ii-and-the-invention-of-the-musical/

New York Times: Brad Leithauser – “A Cockeyed Optimist: Oscar Hammerstein Was No Stephen Sondheim”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/books/review/oscar-hammerstein-ii-and-the-invention-of-the-musical-laurie-winer.html