Concord Originals and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization announced today that the star-studded My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert will be broadcast on Sky Arts on Sunday, 26 May 2024 at 6 p.m. Directed for the screen by five-time BAFTA® winner Julia Knowles. The concert was captured on 12 December 2023 at London’s newly restored Theatre Royal Drury Lane – the same venue that premièred the original West End productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and The King and I. More information about the concert can be found at RH80Concert.com.
Included in Sky Arts’ celebration of the 80th anniversary of the legendry songwriting partnership of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II is the airing of three classic R&H films:
- Friday, 24 May at 6 p.m. – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965 film)
- Saturday, 25 May at 6 p.m. – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (1955 film)
- Monday, 27 May at 6 p.m. – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific (1958 film)
Additionally, the 42-track live recording of My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert will be released on 31 May on double CD and digital platforms worldwide from Concord Theatricals Recordings. The new album is now available to preorder on CD HERE.
The full concert will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 4 June. It can be preordered HERE.
The landmark concert event was headlined by recent R&H leading lady Joanna Ampil (Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific); two-time Olivier Award® winner Michael Ball; television, film and stage actor Daniel Dae Kim; four-time Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman; Emmy®, two-time GRAMMY® and six-time Tony Award® winner Audra McDonald; Olivier Award® nominee Julian Ovenden; West End sensation Lucy St. Louis; Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit; two-time Olivier Award nominee Marisha Wallace; and two-time Tony, two-time Golden Globe® and Emmy Award nominee Patrick Wilson. The performance also featured Anna-Jane Casey, Lily Kerhoas and Jordan Shaw, along with special appearances by EGOT winners Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rita Moreno.
Completing the company were Jade Albertsen, Alex Louize Bird, Matthew Caputo, Dan Cooke, Barry Drummond, Harry Francis, Matt Gibson, Bethany Huckle, Jonny Labey, Brenda Newhouse, Emily Ann Potter, Sophie Pourret, Stephen Quildan and Rachel Wang-Hei Lau.
The celebration of the historic partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II featured the 40-piece Rodgers & Hammerstein Concert Orchestra, conducted by Simon Lee, with stage direction by Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Christopher Gattelli, and associate choreography by Simon Hardwick.
Presented by The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the concert was produced by Concord Originals, Concord Theatricals, Kilimanjaro Live/JAS Theatricals, Austin Shaw and Rob Bagshaw.