Independent Arts News Reporting Hammerstein Museum Reopens for Tours April 12th with New Historic Objects on Display
Reported Wednesday April 9, 2025
Pictured Above: Oscar Hammerstein on the front porch of Highland Farm. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: DOYLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
With tours resuming this spring at the Hammerstein Museum, treasures to be viewed include a Bar Cart owned by Hammerstein, Objects donated by Family Members, and Sondheim Memorabilia
(DOYLESTOWN, PA) – As this silver white Winter melts into Spring, nonprofit The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center will offer tours of Hammerstein’s Doylestown home at Highland Farm six times weekly this Spring, beginning with kickoff weekend events featuring entertainment by local high school theatre clubs. On Saturday, April 12 at 1:00 and 3:30, tour visitors to Highland Farm will enjoy songs by students from Central Bucks High School South’s Titan Players, featuring a medley from their upcoming production of Sweeney Todd, written by Highland Farm former childhood resident Stephen Sondheim. On Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 and 3:30, visitors can enjoy a medley from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella by the Harlequin Club students of Central Bucks High School West.
The tours will feature newly installed objects including Oscar & Dorothy Hammerstein’s bar cart, a gift from the Young/McCoy Family in honor of their mother, Jennifer Reiko Watanabe. “Jeney” was niece to Dorothy Hammerstein and lived at Highland Farm with the Hammerstein family as a child, attending The George School. Jeney married Richard Young at Highland Farm in 1957. In a family photo from the wedding, Oscar waits at the foot of the main staircase as bridesmaids and bride process down. Directly next to Oscar is the bar cart. Watanabe passed away in 2022.
“We are absolutely thrilled that thanks to the generosity of the Young/McCoy Family, Oscar and Dorothy’s bar cart has returned home and will now be on view to the public,” said Greg Roth, President of the Hammerstein Museum board. “It is a symbol of the many celebrations that undoubtedly took place at Highland Farm while the Hammerstein family lived there, including Jeney’s wedding. We are grateful to Kevin, Jimmy, and Jeney’s entire family for this historically significant contribution to Hammerstein Museum.”
Pictured Above: L: Oscar Hammerstein II (Philippe Halsman, 1954). R: Hammerstein’s Highland Farm/Hammerstein Museum in Doylestown, PA. Photo Credit: Contributed.
The nonprofit purchased the Highland Farm property in December 2023. Since then, board members have begun transitioning the home from its previous use as a bed-and-breakfast, to a house museum that honors Hammerstein’s legacy. On the first floor, visitors can explore a display of original cast albums and sheet music from Hammerstein’s early hits like Rose-Marie (1924) to the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborations from Oklahoma! to The Sound of Music–the lyrics for many of which were written at Highland Farm. Many of the albums are autographed by original cast members. Nearly all of the 40 objects on display are Gifts of Ron Jacobs, a retired educator and passionate collector who taught classes on the history of musical theatre, who made a sizable donation of priceless objects to the museum in 2024.
Also new on the tour is an inkwell set that sat on Hammerstein’s desk, donated by Hammerstein’s grandson William, of Solebury, PA. Will Hammerstein donated a large collection of family photos, portraits, and memorabilia which will be on view on a rotating basis as the museum develops. Along with the inkwell, a display in Hammerstein’s second-floor study, where he composed the lyrics to many of his best-loved musicals, will feature copies of books that served as source material for Hammerstein’s shows, Playbills from original Broadway productions, and more.
Pictured Above: Oscar Hammerstein II in his study, Doylestown, PA. Photo Credit: Contributed.
A bedroom on the third floor is known as the “Sondheim Room” because it was frequently used by future composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim during his childhood stays at the farm. There, visitors will see a painting of the Bucks County countryside by Sondheim’s mother and Stephen’s 1942-43 report cards from The George School–where he received highest marks in all categories, except, ironically, “Art of Expression.” Both objects were purchased by the nonprofit at the Sondheim Estate auction last year.
Public tours of Highland Farm will begin April 12 and run through the fall. Private and group tours can be arranged by appointment. Advance tickets are required for all tours. Information and tour tickets are available at https://www.hammersteinmuseum.org/tourinfo.
Pictured Above: Hammerstein Museum’s commemorative Mercer tile by the Moravian Tile Works. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Special Hammerstein Museum mementos will be available for purchase only by tour guests. One unique offering is a Hammerstein Museum commemorative Mercer tile, handmade at the Moravian Tile Works in Doylestown, PA. Only fifty of these tiles were produced for this limited-edition run.
ABOUT THE OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN MUSEUM AND THEATRE EDUCATION CENTER:
The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center is a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Oscar Hammerstein II’s Doylestown home and telling the story of his legacy as a librettist, lyricist, humanitarian, and mentor. The Hammerstein family resided at Highland Farm from 1940-1960. Hammerstein composed the lyrics to his best-loved musicals while in residence at the farm, including “The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma!” “South Pacific” (inspired by Doylestown’s James Michener’s novel Tales of the South Pacific), and others. A friendly neighbor, Hammerstein was known to fly a flag when local children could come to use his swimming pool or play tennis. He also met and mentored a young Stephen Sondheim while living at Highland Farm. Hammerstein’s role as a mentor and humanitarian will play a large role in the planned theatre education center at Hammerstein Museum.
The nonprofit is currently raising funds for the restoration and preservation of Highland Farm, and to
build the theatre education center on the site of the historic barn on the property. Individuals and entities interested in helping to Create Hammerstein Museum can contribute online at https://www.hammersteinmuseum.org/donate. Contributions of any amount can also be made by check, credit card or appreciated securities. Naming opportunities are available for rooms and spaces in the house and barn. Persons or institutions who have an object to donate for consideration in the museum’s collection may visit https://www.hammersteinmuseum.org/contact-us for instructions. For more information email hammersteinmuseum@gmail.com.
