Each month, Jason Fortner spotlights one or more musical theatre composers and/or lyricists, offering his own unique perspective on the songwriting legends of musical theatre. Send your comments/questions on this column to happgood@aol.com.

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No, we're not dealing with alcoholic writers this month, although they have oft abounded in the theatre. Instead we're going to look at the way various established writers have taken new talent under their wings and helped them flourish on Broadway. And since its the Lusty Month of May we should sip some May wine and read on...

Of course, everybody is influenced by what they see and experience, and these bits and pieces help form a musical identity. Sometimes, it is from a distance, as in our first example - William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911). Now Gilbert (the words part of Gilbert & Sullivan) didn't directly work with any of the great 20th Century writers, but almost every person who ever penned a theater lyric has given credit to Gilbert for his masterful turns of phrase. In fact, G & S are the only popular writers of the 19th century whose works are still produced regularly (excluding Opera, of course). The songs from the G & S catalogue can still be performed today, although some of the references now require reference books to decipher, and though his contributions are often slighted, Arthur Sullivan's tunes provide the perfect marriage of words & music. These fun-filled operettas laid the way for future generations, and writers like the Gershwins in OF THEE I SING (the Act I Finaletto corn muffin sequence), Ira Gershwin & Kurt Weill in LADY IN THE DARK, and even Stephen Sondheim in PACIFIC OVERTURES (Please, Hello) have paid tribute to these highly influential writers. Without Gilbert, there'd be no Patter Songs, whether they appear in Cole Porter scores, HAIR, RENT or even the new score to THE WEDDING SINGER.

Next up would be the "father of American melody," Jerome Kern (1885-1945). Mister Kern created lush melodies that entertained and enthralled, but it was his work on the "Princess Theater" shows that proved most influential on future writers. The Princess Theater was a 299-seat theater that had very little backstage space and was mostly vacant after a repertory company had closed. Kern and his collaborators devised a series of very "American" musicals that used one stage set per Act and had smaller casts than the typical Broadway show. The combination of lush ballads and rhythmic dance and comedy numbers proved an instant hit with savvy New York audiences tired of the typical musical theater fare. These shows were very successful in the years 1915-1918 and influenced many of the future stars of American Musical Theater. Both the teenaged Richard Rodgers and twenty-something Lorenz Hart were often in attendance, while a young pianist named George Gershwin served as rehearsal pianist for some of the Princess Theater shows. What a great conflagration of talent under one roof!

Both of Rodgers major collaborators had young proteges who went on to great things. Alan Jay Lerner, the brilliant writer of MY FAIR LADY, BRIGADOON and CAMELOT had mentoring from both Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II at various times in his early career. Lerner's procrastination in writing was legendary, perhaps a bad habit he picked up from Lorenz Hart, also notorious for his tardiness. (Hammerstein was incredibly punctual, based on every report.) Lerner, after learning his craft, was able to turn PYGMALION into a hit musical with MY FAIR LADY, a feat that Rodgers & Hammerstein attempted and abandoned. Unfortunately, Lerner & Rodgers could not find a comfortable working relationship themselves and parted ways after toiling for over a year on I PICKED A DAISY (later to become ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER with Lerner's words and Burton Lane's music). Lerner & Loewe allegedly first met at the Lamb's Club in New York in 1942, when one of them stopped to ask directions to the men's room. Accounts vary as to who was asking whom (much of Loewe's early biography is highly fictionalized) but their subsequent work speaks for itself.

The other famous protege of a Rodgers collaborator was of course young Stephen Sondheim, whom Bucks County, PA neighbor Oscar Hammerstein famously took under his wing and steered toward a career on Broadway. There are numerous accounts of Sondheim's early years of study under Oscar, including his stint as a Production Assistant on ALLEGRO and his infamous angry outburst at a performance of CAROUSEL on Broadway that he attended as Oscar's guest. (SS misheard the lyric to June Is Bustin' Out All Over and thought he heard "Julie's Bustin' Out All Over" in reference to her pregnancy. After Oscar calmed him down and explained the correct lyric, Sondheim made a mental note to make sure that every word is heard and understood.) After Oscar's death Sondheim tried collaborating with Richard Rodgers as well, and although the show did indeed open, the ill-fated DO I HEAR A WALTZ? was a battlefield for the writers, often exploding over their differences in front of the performers and crew. After WALTZ Sondheim has been his own primary musical collaborator, occasionally contributing lyrics to friend's projects such as the 1973 CANDIDE revival.

Sometimes, the chance for Broadway success comes from accidental influences. After Jerome Kern's unexpected death during pre-production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, writers Herbert & Dorothy Fields and producers Rodgers & Hammerstein were stuck for a composer. Irving Berlin proposed himself, and although the creative team was skeptical of his ability to write a "modern" post OKLAHOMA style musical , he came back a few days later with some "sample" tunes that not only won him the job but also stayed in the show, including Doin' What Comes Naturally and You Can't Get A Man with a Gun. This turn of events influenced the latter part of Berlin's career, allowing him to create a masterpiece like CALL ME MADAM and the less successful but still interesting scores to that patriotic duo, MISS LIBERTY and MR. PRESIDENT.

Frank Loesser (GUYS & DOLLS, HOW TO SUCCEED) was one of the people who told Meredith Willson (already an established radio personality, composer and musical director) that he ought to write a musical about his childhood experiences in Iowa. It only took 8 years and 40+ rewrites to get THE MUSIC MAN produced on Broadway. Today it stands as one of the most highly produced musicals in history, with new productions playing almost every week of the year.

Mr. Loesser also served as the mentor to Robert Wright and George "Chet" Forrest, the brilliant composers and adaptors of such works as SONG OF NORWAY, KISMET, GRAND HOTEL/AT THE GRAND, KEAN and ANYA, among others. Their indebtedness to Mr. Loesser is expressed in the forward of a recent Wright & Forrest anthology. Wright says while writing KISMET, Frank Loesser heard our songs and "immediately decided to direct our careers, and we were with him until his death. In addition to making us a fortune from our songs, Frank was a true champion of us and our music. He was a friend, an inspiration and a mentor." In addition to Wright & Forrest, Mr. Loesser also took on another pair of young proteges that had great success right out of the gate. Songwriters Jerry Ross and Richard Adler were moderately successful writers on their own, but formed a collaboration in 1950. They both contributed to music and lyrics equally, and under Loesser's guidance, had tremendous success on Broadway with their scores for THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES. Unfortunately, Mr. Ross died in 1955 from lung disease at the age of 29, leaving behind a highly successful collaboration. Mr. Adler continued to write for the stage, but shows like the African influenced KWAMINA and the Shakespearean MUSIC IS failed to ignite at the Broadway box office.

When asked what came first, the music or the lyrics, it is generally known that Richard Rodgers replied to an interviewer with "the contract." This phrase was used by Furth & Sondheim in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG to show the shrewd businessman side of anti-hero "Franklin Shephard." It's interesting to note that while Ross & Adler both contributed to music and lyrics in their collaborations, it was recently revealed that Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane worked separately, each writing complete numbers on their own for such shows as MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and BEST FOOT FORWARD. Recent stories about Elton John and other writers working by fax, phone and e-mail certainly dispels the old Tin Pan Alley picture of two writers sweating over a piano to create musical magic.

Over the years of Broadway history, careful examination reveals links and ties previously unrealized, each adding to the influences and collaborations that came afterward. Marvin Hamlisch was a Broadway rehearsal pianist and dance arranger in his early years prior to A CHORUS LINE and his film scores to THE STING & THE WAY WE WERE. John Kander (the music half of Kander & Ebb) was also known for his arrangements and rehearsal pianist skills before making it big as a full-fledged writer himself. Jule Styne was furious when forced to work on movie songs with Frank Loesser at Republic Pictures, little realizing Frank's future greatness. Sondheim himself has been known to encourage and mentor many of today's writers, including the late Jonathan Larson, Andrew Lippa, and others.

Perhaps the most interesting influence, and the one with which we'll close this discussion is the familial lineage of the Rodgers/Guettel musical theater dynasty. Richard Rodgers was a giant in the musical theater world, making major contributions from the 1920s until the late 1970's. From his first hit Manhattan, composed for THE GARRICK GAIETIES with Lorenz Hart till his final score on Broadway with I REMEMBER MAMA, Mr. Rodgers was a master composer. An envious rival once stated that the melodious Rodgers "could piss melody" and his ease at finding wonderful tunes quickly often irked his hard working collaborators. His daughter, Mary Rodgers, wrote scores and songs to such shows as ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, HOT SPOT and THE MAD SHOW, later moving into other venues such as children's literature, where her books such as "Freaky Friday" proved highly successful. Her son Adam Guettel is currently represented on Broadway with the Best Score Tony award winning THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and previous shows such as FLOYD COLLINS and SATURN RETURNS. At just 41 years of age, his career holds unlimited promise for more scores to come from this musical theater dynasty.

And that's the extent of this month's look at music under the influence. Pull out some of these recordings, mix yourself a Cole Porter-esque Cosmopolitan and enjoy!