Christy Altomare, Derek Klena & Justin Guarini to Take Part in Fundraiser for Oscar Hammerstein II's Historic Farm & Legacy

The nonprofit Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center (OHMTEC) is raising funds to purchase, restore, and preserve Highland Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Oscar Hammerstein II's former home and creative epicenter. The mission is to honor Hammerstein's work as a librettist and lyricist, and his legacy of mentorship and social activism.

In 1940, as the United States faced the prospects of entering World War II, Oscar and his wife, Dorothy, bought the seventy-two-acre working farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Like many New York-based artists of the time, Hammerstein was seeking a quiet place to work outside of the city, as well as a refuge should the conflict come to American shores.

The Hammerstein family lived at Highland Farm for the last 20 years of Oscar's life. This is the place where he forged his legendary partnership with Richard Rodgers and that inspired many of their greatest musical works, including The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I, Oklahoma! and South Pacific. Here, Hammerstein wrote the lyrics to songs loved the world over, including the final lyrics he wrote before his death, "Bless my homeland forever," from the song "Edelweiss" in The Sound of Music.

It is also the place where Hammerstein mentored a young Stephen Sondheim, and where he contributed to society by increasing our awareness of social issues and the need for tolerance of diversity, as illustrated in songs like "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," from South Pacific.

Over 75 Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Pulitzer Prizes can be directly traced back to Highland Farm.

As a young emerging musician and lyricist in his teens, Stephen Sondheim lived in Doylestown, and during his time here he met and was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein. "Stevie" was a classmate of Oscar's son Jimmy, and a frequent visitor to the Hammerstein home. Sondheim often spoke of the great impact Oscar Hammerstein had on his life. He stated that he learned more about writing songs in one afternoon with Oscar than most people learn in a lifetime.

Although Highland Farm is currently privately owned and not yet open to the public, the work of the theatre education center has already begun. Last year, OHMTEC held its first ever Hammerstein International Youth Solo Contest. The contest serves the very important job of educating young musical theatre enthusiasts about the tremendous influence Oscar Hammerstein II had on the development of the modern Broadway musical as we know it. The inaugural event attracted 238 performers from 28 states and two countries. Early results from 2022 applications reveal participation from six countries.

A growing list of luminaries have joined the nonprofit's Honorary Advisory Board, including actress Shirley Jones, who said, "I owe my career to Oscar Hammerstein." Other notables on the board include Ted Chapin, the former head of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization; Melinda Mathias Walsh, granddaughter of Hammerstein; actress/author/film and television producer Mariel Hemingway; English actor and producer Gerald Charles Dickens; National Medal of the Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen; Broadway and television actor/singer Justin Guarini; teen actress Kassie Mundhenk; and most recently Grammy award-winning singer/actor Jonathan Groff.

With the goal to create a multifaceted and dynamic museum experience, with a strong theatre education component, serving as a place of inspiration for Broadway fans and humanitarians alike, OHMTEC has raised nearly $1 million towards the purchase of Highland Farm. The project is the recipient of a $500,000 matching grant from the state of Pennsylvania. An additional $1 million is needed to complete this first phase of the project, so that the home can be opened to the public as a museum. OHMTEC has coined the hashtag: #SaveOscarsHome as one way to build awareness.

A fundraising gala, featuring Broadway stars Christy Altomare (Anastasia), Derek Klena (Jagged Little Pill) and Justin Guarini (American Idol), hosted by Ted Chapin is planned for July 11, 2022. Tickets will be available to the general public starting April 30 on OHMTEC's website, hammersteinmuseum.org. For information on sponsoring the event, please email hammersteinmuseum@gmail.com.

"This very special event will be an opportunity to join the chorus of people who are lending their voices to support the preservation of this national treasure for generations to come," said Greg Roth, President of the OHMTEC Board of Directors. "The museum will be an inspiring place for musical theater enthusiasts and the theatre education center will provide an opportunity for children to learn, create, write, and perform - just as Stephen Sondheim was taught as a young man by Oscar himself in that very place."

A limited number of naming opportunities are being offered for rooms and spaces in the house and barn at Highland Farm. To find out availability and prices for naming, contact Christine Junker, Secretary/Treasurer at hammersteinmuseum@gmail.com. Donations of any amount are welcome and can be made by check, credit card or appreciated securities.

ABOUT CHRISTY ALTOMARE:

Christy Altomare starred as Anya in Anastasia, Sophia in Mama Mia, Wendla in Spring Awakening, Guinevere in Camelot at the Drury Lane Theatre, Sue Snell in Carrie at MCC and recently The Wanderer at Papermill Playhouse. https://christyaltomare.com

ABOUT DEREK KLENA:

Derek Klena received a Tony nomination for the role of Nick Healy in Broadway's Jagged Little Pill, performed Fiyero in Wicked, Michael in The Bridges of Madison County and Dmitry in Anastasia. He is also known for playing Adam Turnbull in The Code on CBS and for his appearances on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as DJ Fingablast.

ABOUT JUSTIN GUARINI:

Justin Guarini rose to national fame on the first season of American Idol. Broadway credits include In Transit as Trent, Romeo & Juliet as Paris, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown as Carlos, and Wicked as Fiyero. https://www.justinguarini.com.

ABOUT TED CHAPIN:

Ted Chapin served as the President and Chief Creative Officer of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization for forty years. Eight Tony Award-winning Broadway revivals and several television specials happened under his auspices. He serves on many boards, the American Theatre Wing, New York City Center, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, and was the head of the Advisory Committee for the Encores! series. He has appeared on many musical theatre documentaries and television programs, hosted the NJTV program American Songbook at NJPAC, and has lectured at colleges and universities from Yale to Duke. When his book, "Everything was Possible - the Birth of the Musical 'Follies'" was published, it won an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award and a Special Jury Prize for Distinguished Achievement by the Theatre Library Association.

Photo Credit: Grace-Anne Alfiero