The story of State Fair is based on the 1932 best-selling novel by Philip Stong. Three film versions were made, and another for TV. The 1933 non-musical version is the most faithful to the original novel and starred Will Rogers. The 1945 version was the first musical version, where the part of Margy was played by Jeanne Crain, but the singing was dubbed by Louanne Hogan. The 1962 version was a remake of the 1945 version, but the setting was changed to the Texas State Fair. The part of Margy was played by Pamela Tiffin and dubbed by Anita Gordon. (For some years the 1945 version was shown on TV as It Happened One Summer so as not to draw audiences away from the 1962 remake.) The TV version was made in 1976. (For a list of other state fairs, see this page.)
The character Emily has a different last name in the various versions. In the 1933 version, she is Emily Joyce; in the 1945 version, Emily Edwards (played by Vivian Blaine); in the 1962 version, Emily Porter (played by Ann-Margret); in the 1996 show version, Emily Arden. In the novel, we are not told her last name!
For the 1996 Broadway version, it was felt that there needed to be more songs; the original six from the 1945 movie version just weren’t enough for a stage show.
These songs were from the 1945 movie:
These songs were written for the 1945 movie, but cut, and not used in any subsequent version:
The following, with lyrics and music by Richard Rodgers, were added for the 1962 remake ("All I Owe Ioway" was not used in the 1962 remake, for the obvious reason that it was set in Texas!):
The following were added for the 1996 Broadway version; all (except "Driving at Night") are by Rodgers and Hammerstein, taken from other shows: