Everybody knows
Rodgers & Hammerstein's big hits, from Oklahoma! to The Sound Of Music. This show, based on
John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row, was their biggest flop. The most popular explanation for the musical's failure is that
Oscar Hammerstein II just wasn't comfortable with the low life of prostitution (however whimsically treated)
Steinbeck had depicted. Nevertheless, the music was standard
R&H, with songs reminiscent of South Pacific, especially, although none of them came to life outside the show.