It seems fitting that theater executive Bert Fink’s October 2005 appearance at Sweet Briar College was postponed due to a broken leg. OK, technically it was his ankle, but close enough.

Bert Fink and Actress Julie AndrewsThe date had been set and plans were made; theater buffs were abuzz with anticipation. Then Fink, vice president of public relations at the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization (R&H), had a little accident. On the way out of a new musical on New York’s Theater Row, he snagged his foot in a sidewalk crevice and broke his ankle. “Ah, the things we do for our art!” he said, recalling the incident.

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 27, in the Anne Gary Pannell Art Gallery, Fink will finally give his lecture titled “A Discussion of the American Musical Theater: Past, Present and Future.” The event is open to the public and admission is free. After the talk, audience members will also have a chance to ask questions.

Although some say that the musical’s golden era has long passed — a time when classics like “South Pacific,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Guys and Dolls,” “My Fair Lady” and “Oklahoma!” were the norm, and not the exception — Fink argues that there is still plenty of potential in this field.

“The musical, like jazz, is a homegrown American art form culled from many different cultures,” Fink said, “And, like jazz, it is our most popular and exportable contribution to world culture.”

Musicals resonate far beyond the 10 blocks of New York’s fabled theater district and, although Fink’s office is headquartered there, he sees musicals from a global perspective. “Musicals are being done everywhere, everyday,” he said. “Just last week my office licensed a production of ‘Oklahoma!’ in Estonia — where the cowboys will sing in Estonian.”

He also noted that musicals are drifting back into the mainstream. “The Oscar-winning Best Picture just a few years ago was a musical, ‘Chicago,’ ” he said. “This winter we saw ‘Rent’ and ‘The Producers’ on the big screen, and next Christmas, ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Dreamgirls.’ And in their own way, ‘American Idol’ and the new TV craze for ballroom dancing are extensions of our musical theater heritage, too.”

Musical theater’s influence has also shown up in some unlikely places. For example, “If I Was a Rich Man” from “Fiddler on the Roof” evolved into the hip-hop single “Rich Girl,” sung by Gwen Stefani, and made it to the Billboard charts.

Stefani wanted to change some of the lyrics and since “Fiddler” lyricist Sheldon Harnick is represented by Fink’s organization, those lyric changes were done through his office. “Sheldon said it made him feel ‘hip’ to his grandkids to have Gwen Stefani do one of his songs,” Fink said.

Something Fink found very rewarding this past year was his role as producer for the DVD “extras” found on the new two-disc 40th anniversary DVD of “The Sound of Music.” Working closely with Emmy Award-winning director Michael Kantor (PBS’ “Broadway: The American Musical”) Fink created nearly four hours of new material for this DVD, which hit stores last November and has been a huge success.

Fink had the privilege, he said, of working closely with Julie Andrews on two of the documentary features. Another highlight for him was when he took Charmian Carr (“Liesl” in the film) back to Salzburg, Austria, to film a documentary about the movie’s locales.

Founded by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II more than 50 years ago, R&H represents a wide array of entertainment copyrights.

For more information on the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, go to www.rnh.com/org/ . For more information on Fink’s upcoming lecture, contact Loretta Wittman, associate professor of theater and communications, at 381-6123 or Loretta Wittman .

– By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer