There are few people who haven't run across the work of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in some form.
The Broadway composers - Rodgers wrote the music, Hammerstein the lyrics - are responsible for such timeless classics as O What a Beautiful Morning, Shall We Dance, and If I Loved You.
Now, thanks to New Westminster's own Peter Jorgensen, those works are coming to life in a new way for modern audiences.
Jorgensen, co-artistic producer of locally based Patrick Street Productions, created a new musical revue, Rodgers and Hammerstein: Out of a Dream, to present on the York Theatre stage last year.
This season, it's coming back - this time to the Gateway Theatre in Richmond, followed by runs at New West's own Anvil Centre, then stints in Coquitlam and Chilliwack.
For Jorgensen, the tribute to the classic writers was the perfect vehicle for his company, which is devoted to contemporary musical theatre.
"Contemporary musical theatre really began with them, and the risks they took as writers," he told the Record in a previous interview.
The revue features songs from every one of the duo's 11 collaborations, including the most famous - The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, and Carousel - along with lesser-known offerings such as State Fair, Allegro and Flower Drum Song.
The songs are tied together by a loose narrative based on the stages of love, from possibility to love in bloom to complications, separation and deeper love.
"My admiration for their work, their gifts and their contribution to the musical theatre form has been growing and ripening over many years," Jorgensen said in a press release. "This compilation brings out those aspects that thrill me most about their astonishing creations."
Sayer Roberts, a New Westminster performer, returns to the stage after appearing in the original version. The other cast members - Jennifer Andersen, Katie Murphy and Eva Tavares - are new.
And, this time out, Jorgensen himself appears onstage.
"This is a rare opportunity for audiences to watch one of the best local musical theatre actors interpret and perform his own work," the press release says.
Out of a Dream runs April 9 to 25 at the Gateway Theatre, 6500 Gilbert Rd. in Richmond.
Tickets are $45 regular, $20 for students with ID, or $40 apiece for groups of 10 or more. Call 604-270-1812 or see www.gatewaytheatre.com.
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The show then moves on to the Anvil Centre in New Westminster for an April 29 to May 3 run (www.ticketsnw.ca), followed by a May 5 to 9 run at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam (www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca) and a May 10 showing at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre (www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca).
Stay tuned to www.patrickstreetproductions.com for all the details.
