HOW do you choose the songs for Something Wonderful, a celebration of the greatest musical theatre partnership of the 20th century, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein?

This task faced York Musical Theatre Company director Paul Laidlaw, fresh from his summer season of musical director duties at Scarborough Spa, when preparing the musical revue for a run at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from tomorrow (October 18) to Saturday.

"We deliberated: there are so many things we could pick from their work, and of course Something Wonderful is a risk as a title as someone might say, 'Is that song wonderful?', but their music is wonderful, the lyrics are wonderful, they were so inventive," says Paul. "The songs are beautifully crafted and invariably they have a melody that lingers and as much as you might try, they won't go away!

"It's once copper-bottomed hit after another with Rodgers and Hammerstein and not content with that, there are no songs that aren't there for a reason, but the simple reason why they're still so popular is that they're damn good tunes."

So, Paul, how did you choose the songs for Something Wonderful. "It's what do you leave out?! So I said, 'OK, we have to do the big five and if you're telling the two-hour traffic on your stage plus an interval, you're telling 15 minutes from each show', so I decided we didn't need every part of each song, so you get a vignette of each musical but without telling its story in song order.

"You just need enough so that the fluidity of the music is echoed by the fluidity of the staging, and as much as there can be, there should be an element of surprise. It comes down to this: you have to have your big love song, your chorus number and a little delicate soupcon of various other things."

Devised by Laidlaw, the show covers Carousel, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King & I and The Sound Of Music in chronological order. "Our show will take audiences on a musical journey with an evening of glorious melodies, tears, laughter and lots of happy memories. Truly, Something Wonderful," promises Paul.

In the cast will be Kathryn Addison; Lisa Carruthers; Jenny Cohen; Kelly Derbyshire; Jane Holiday; Amy Lacy; Jessa Liversidge; Anna Mitchelson; Moira Murphy; Kayleigh Oliver; Jennifer Page; Angela Snaddon; Paula Stainton and Rachel Thackrah.

Taking part too will be Matthew Ainsworth; Ivan Chaplin; John Campbell Ricketts; Robert Fisher; Chris Gibson; Larry Gibson; Charles Marsh; Jamie Millan and Simon Trow.

Tickets for the 7.30pm evening performances and 2.30pm Saturday matinee of Something Wonderful: The Enchanting Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein cost £14, with concessions available, at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk or on 01904 501935.