R AND J Musicals will be smashing the box office with another hit show in aid of a mentoring charity for young people in Swindon.

Each year Ray Dance and Judith Sharp present a special musical show for their chosen charity, and this year SMASH will receive the proceeds from An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Ray and Judith will present songs from Carousel, South Pacific, Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, The King And I, all written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, on Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6 at 7.30pm.

Judith said: “We will present the songs in the context of the show, creating the atmosphere with dialogue, lighting and projection.’’ Judith will be going back to her roots with the musical Carousel, as Julie Jordan was her first leading role, when she was 18-years-old in the Lake District.

Judith and Ray are business partners at Bartrop Consultants in Old Town and also members of SALOS. In 2001 they formed R and J Musicals to present an annual charity show.

“This year we are supporting SMASH, Swindon Youth Mentoring, whose mission is to give children and young people the chance to become everything they can be,’’ said Judith.

Rodgers and Hammerstein were the pioneers of what became known as the golden age of musical theatre, writing in America during the 1940s and 1950s.

Rodgers composed the music and Hammerstein hammered out the lyrics for the five outstandingly successful Broadway shows.

Oklahoma is based on the stage play Green Grow The Lilacs and was first performed as a musical in 1943, and in 1955 it was turned into the Academy award-winning film.

Carousel is based on the play Liliom and features the song You’ll Never Walk Alone which has become a football anthem.

South Pacific is actually two short stories, written by James A Michener, for his book Tales of the South Pacific. which Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted into a Broadway musical, with co-writer Joshua Logan. It won them the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950.

The King and I and The Sound of Music were based on real people, a teacher at the court of Siam and the story of the Von Trapp family. Both were showered with awards including an Oscar for Yul Brynner as the king. The Sound of Music scooped five Oscars and contains more hit songs than all the other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals.

The show is in the Swindon Arts Centre. The audience can nominate a song from the back catalogue of Rodgers and Hammerstein, to be sung on the night. Vote when you book your ticket which costs £12 by calling 01672 861654, 01793 524481 or by emailing randjmusicals@hotmail.com. — FLICKY HARRISON