Ballroom is a musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 with a book by Jerome Kass and music by Billy Goldenberg and lyrics by Alan

Alan Bergman

Alan Bergman is an American lyricist and songwriter.-Life & career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UCLA. His involvement in the entertainment industry began in the early 1950s as a director of children's television shows...

 and Marilyn Bergman

Marilyn Bergman

Marilyn Bergman is a composer, songwriter and author.She was born Marilyn Keith in Brooklyn, New York and studied psychology and English at New York University...

.

Based on Kass' teleplay for the 1975 Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

-winning television drama Queen of the Stardust Ballroom

Queen of the Stardust Ballroom

Queen of the Stardust Ballroom is an American television movie directed by Sam O'Steen and produced by Roger Gimbel. It was broadcast by CBS on February 13, 1975...

, the plot focuses on lonely widow Bea Asher, who becomes romantically involved with Alfred Rossi, a mail carrier she meets at the local dance hall. Her dream of a happily-ever-after relationship is shattered when she discovers Alfred hasn't been as honest about his personal life as she thought.

After eleven previews, the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....

, opened on December 14, 1978 at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 116 performances. The cast included Dorothy Loudon

Dorothy Loudon

Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...

 as Bea and Vincent Gardenia

Vincent Gardenia

Vincent Gardenia was an Italian American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life:...

 as Alfred. The sets were by Robin Wagner

Robin Wagner (designer)

Robin Wagner is an American scenic designer.Born Robin Samuel Anton Wagner in San Francisco, he attended art school and started his career in theatres in that city with designs for Don Pasquale, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Tea and Sympathy, and Waiting for Godot, among others...

, and Theoni V. Aldredge

Theoni V. Aldredge

Theoni V. Aldredge was a Greek-American stage and screen costume designer.Born Theoni Athanasiou Vachlioti in Thessaloniki in 1922, Aldredge received her training at the American School in Athens. She emigrated to the United States in 1949 and attended the Goodman Theatre at DePaul University,...

 designed the costumes.

The production was Bennett's first project following A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....

three years earlier.

Song list

• A Terrific Band and a Real Nice Crowd
• A Song for Dancing
• One by One
• The Dance Montage
• Dreams
• Somebody Did Alright for Herself
• The Tango Contest
• Goodnight is Not Goodbye
• I've Been Waiting All My Life
• I Love to Dance
• More of the Same
• Fifty Percent
• The Stardust Waltz
• I Wish You a Waltz

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award
  Tony Award
  The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
  
   for Best Musical (nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Gardenia, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Loudon, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Lighting Design (Tharon Musser, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Choreography (winner)
• Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award
  Drama Desk Award
  The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
  
  for Outstanding Book (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Loudon, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Patricia Drylie, nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing