 By the early 1940s , Hart had sunk into alcoholism and emotional turmoil , becoming unreliable and prompting Rodgers to approach Hammerstein to ask if he would consider working with him . Hammerstein was eager to do so , and their first collaboration was Oklahoma ! ( 1943 ) . Thomas Hischak states , in his The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia , that Oklahoma ! is " the single most influential work in the American musical theatre . In fact , the history of the Broadway musical can accurately be divided into what came before Oklahoma ! and what came after it . " An innovation for its time in integrating song , character , plot and dance , Oklahoma ! would serve , according to Hischak , as " the model for Broadway shows for decades " , and proved a huge popular and financial success . Once it was well @-@ launched , what to do as an encore was a daunting challenge for the pair . Movie producer Sam Goldwyn saw Oklahoma ! and advised Rodgers to shoot himself , which according to Rodgers " was Sam 's blunt but funny way of telling me that I 'd never create another show as good as Oklahoma ! " As they considered new projects , Hammerstein wrote , " We 're such fools . No matter what we do , everyone is bound to say , ' This is not another Oklahoma ! ' " 
