Richard Rodgers was one of the most successful, prolific composers of the last century. His songs are as well known today as when he created them over fifty years ago, for musicals such as South Pacific, Pal Joey, Carousel, The King and I, The Sound of Music, and Oklahoma! At sixteen he began a long working relationship with the brilliant but tormented lyricist Lorenz Hart and then went on to collaborate for another twenty years with the sturdier and equally inspired Oscar Hammerstein II. Late in his extraordinary life, Rodgers wrote what has since become a celebrated autobiography and a classic of the theatre world, Musical Stages.<BR>Here is a tale of creativity, spirit, and great partnerships, one that travels from Broadway to Hollywood to Europe and back again, revealing glimpses of legendary figures like Noel Coward, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. Rodgers leads us through the golden age of the American musical, sharing with unfailing honesty both the joys and trials of collaborating, writing, and composing, as well as those of marriage, parenthood, and aging.<BR>In this special edition of Musical Stages, celebrating the centennial of Richard Rodgers' birth, the composer's own words are accompanied by an updated introduction from his daughter, Mary, and a new afterword by the distinguished theater critic John Lahr.