On the Town
Encyclopedia
On the Town is a musical with music by Leonard Bernstein
and book and lyrics
by Betty Comden
and Adolph Green
, based on Jerome Robbins
' idea for his 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which he had set to Bernstein's music. The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them "New York, New York
", "Lonely Town", "I Can Cook, Too", and "Some Other Time". The story concerns three American sailors
on a 24-hour shore leave
in New York City
during wartime 1944. Each of the three sailors becomes enamoured of a particular woman — and of the city itself.
On the Town was first produced on Broadway
in 1944 and was made into a film
in 1949 - although the film replaced all but three of the original Broadway songs with Hollywood-written substitutes. The show has enjoyed a number of major revivals. The musical integrates dance into its storytelling: Robbins made a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show, including the "Imaginary Coney Island" ballet.
ballet "Fancy Free" (1944), with music by Leonard Bernstein, was a hit for the American Ballet Theatre
, and Oliver Smith
(the set designer) and his business partner, Paul Feigay, thought that the ballet could be turned into a Broadway musical. They convinced Robbins and Bernstein, who in turn wanted their friends Comden and Green to write the book and lyrics. When the director George Abbott
was added to the project funding was secured, including funding from the movie studio MGM
in return for the film rights.
On the Town premiered on Broadway
at the Adelphi Theater
on December 28, 1944, directed by George Abbott
and with choreography
by Jerome Robbins. It closed on February 2, 1946, after 462 performances. The production starred John Battles
(Gabey), Cris Alexander
(Chip), Nancy Walker
(Hildy), Sono Osato
(Ivy), Betty Comden (Claire), and Adolph Green (Ozzie). The musical director was Max Goberman
.
The first Broadway revival opened at the Imperial Theatre on October 31, 1971, and closed on Jan 1, 1972 after 73 performances. Donna McKechnie
, Phyllis Newman
, and Bernadette Peters
co-starred as Ivy, Claire, and Hildy. The director and choreographer was Ron Field
. Peters received a nomination for the 1972 Tony Award
for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In his review for The New York Times
, Clive Barnes
wrote that "the book and lyrics...have ease and a decent few laughs...The music...has worn less well, too many of the nostalgic ballads sound like sub-Pucini filtered through Glenn Miller...Mr. Field has staged the musical numbers with zest and imagination, but, with respect, he is no great shakes as a choreographer...Where Mr. Field is most successful is in the performances of his six principals, and the women are markedly better than the men. Best of all is Bernadette Peters as the Bronxly nasal taxi driver...Phyllis Newman as Claire also danced and sang with just the right style and gusto. Donna McKechnie made a sweet and talented Ivy Smith."
The second Broadway revival opened on November 19, 1998, and ran for 69 performances. This began as a summer production of the Public Theater
; the show made use of its venue, Central Park
's Delacorte Theater
in beguiling ways that led critics to disparage the subsequent theater-bound Broadway edition as lifeless and bland by comparison. Lea Delaria
's performance as Hildy the taxi driver (and especially her all-stops-out rendition of "I Can Cook, Too") won wide praise, with Ben Brantley
writing "Working through the saucy double-entendres and scat embellishments of I Can Cook Too, Hildy's mating call of a solo, Ms. DeLaria makes an obliging captive of anyone watching her." That was not, however, on its own enough to extend the show's brief run. Mary Testa
was nominated for the 1999 Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical; Lea Delaria was nominated for the Drama Desk Award
as Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award
.
Although both of the show's Broadway revivals had their admirers, neither was commercially successful.
Other US
An Encores!
staged concert was presented at New York City Center
from November 19, 2008 through November 23, 2008, as part of a citywide celebration of Leonard Bernstein's 90th birthday. John Rando
was the director, Warren Carlyle the choreographer, with a cast that featured Justin Bohon (Chip), Christian Borle
(Ozzie), Tony Yazbeck (Gabey), Jessica Lee Goldyn (Ivy), Leslie Kritzer
(Hildy Esterhazy), Jennifer Laura Thompson
(Claire DeLoone), and Andrea Martin
(Madame P. Dilly).
In reviewing this production, Charles Isherwood
wrote: "The production is rich in dance ... and winning performances (particularly from Tony Yazbeck as the lovelorn sailor Gabey, and a scenery-devouring Andrea Martin as a nutso-dipso voice teacher), but it's richest of all in music. There are several ballet sequences, instant reprises, jazzy pop songs, classical spoofs and soaring ballads."
London
The first London production of On the Town opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre
on May 30, 1963, and ran for 63 performances. It was directed and choreographed by Joe Layton
and starred Elliott Gould
and Don McKay.
In 1992, Michael Tilson Thomas
led the London Symphony Orchestra
and an all-star, crossover cast of opera and theater performers in a semi-staged concert version produced by Deutsche Grammophon
and recorded for both CD and video release. Participants included Frederica von Stade
, Thomas Hampson, Tyne Daly
, Cleo Laine
, David Garrison
, Samuel Ramey
, and, as both narrators and performers, Comden and Green themselves. The resulting recordings included material cut at various stages of the musical's development. Thomas revived this concert edition of the work in 1996 with the San Francisco Symphony
, with many of the same performers.
On The Town is now part of English National Opera
's repertoire, most recently running April 20–May 25, 2007, at the London Coliseum, with Caroline O'Connor as Hildy.Choreographer Stephen Mear
as Gabey (who also co-directed with Stanley Donen
), Frank Sinatra
as Chip, and Jules Munshin as Ozzie, as well as Ann Miller
(Claire), Vera-Ellen
(Ivy) and Betty Garrett
(Hildy). The film dispensed with many of the Bernstein songs, other than "New York, New York," and replaced them with new songs by Roger Edens
.
").
They are assisted by, and become romantically involved with, two women, and pair up: Ozzie with Claire DeLoone (an anthropologist) and Chip with Hildy Esterhazy (an amorous and aggressive taxi driver). Hildy invites Chip to "Come Up to My Place". Claire and Ozzie get "Carried Away" in the museum. But for Gabey it's a "Lonely Town" until he can find Ivy ("Miss Turnstiles"). The group have a number of adventures before their leave ends and they must return to their ship to head off to war
, and a very uncertain future ("Some Other Time").
Act II
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and book and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
by Betty Comden
Betty Comden
Betty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
and Adolph Green
Adolph Green
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
, based on Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
' idea for his 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which he had set to Bernstein's music. The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them "New York, New York
New York, New York (On The Town)
"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
", "Lonely Town", "I Can Cook, Too", and "Some Other Time". The story concerns three American sailors
Sailors
Sailors is the plural form of Sailor, or mariner.Sailors may also refer to:*Sailors , a 1964 Swedish film*Ken Sailors , American basketball playerSports teams*Erie Sailors, baseball teams in Pennsylvania, USA...
on a 24-hour shore leave
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
during wartime 1944. Each of the three sailors becomes enamoured of a particular woman — and of the city itself.
On the Town was first produced on 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...
in 1944 and was made into a film
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
in 1949 - although the film replaced all but three of the original Broadway songs with Hollywood-written substitutes. The show has enjoyed a number of major revivals. The musical integrates dance into its storytelling: Robbins made a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show, including the "Imaginary Coney Island" ballet.
Background
The Jerome RobbinsJerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
ballet "Fancy Free" (1944), with music by Leonard Bernstein, was a hit for the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
, and Oliver Smith
Oliver Smith (designer)
Oliver Smith was an American scenic designer.Born in Waupun, Wisconsin, Smith attended Penn State, after which he moved to New York City and began to form friendships that blossomed into working relationships with such talents as Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Carson McCullers, and Agnes de...
(the set designer) and his business partner, Paul Feigay, thought that the ballet could be turned into a Broadway musical. They convinced Robbins and Bernstein, who in turn wanted their friends Comden and Green to write the book and lyrics. When the director George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
was added to the project funding was secured, including funding from the movie studio MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
in return for the film rights.
Productions
BroadwayOn the Town premiered on 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...
at the Adelphi Theater
Adelphi Theater
The Adelphi Theatre , originally named the Craig Theatre, opened on December 24, 1928. The Adelphi was located at 152 West 54th Street in New York City, with 1,434 seats. The theater was taken over by the Federal Theater Project in 1934 and renamed the Adelphi...
on December 28, 1944, directed by George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
and with choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
by Jerome Robbins. It closed on February 2, 1946, after 462 performances. The production starred John Battles
John Battles
John Battles was a musical and dramatic theater actor and a native of New York City, NY. Battles' breakout role and career highlight came in 1944 as Gabey in the original Broadway production of the hit musical comedy "On the Town." In 1947, he debuted as the lead in Rodgers' and Hammerstein's...
(Gabey), Cris Alexander
Cris Alexander
Cris Alexander is an American actor, singer, dancer, designer, and photographer.-Acting career:As an actor he co-starred as Chip in the original Broadway cast of On the Town. Subsequent Broadway appearances included Present Laughter opposite Clifton Webb, Wonderful Town, and Auntie Mame. Mr...
(Chip), Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker was an American actress and comedienne of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director...
(Hildy), Sono Osato
Sono Osato
Sono Osato is an American dancer and actress of half-Japanese, half European descent.Osato began her career at the age of fourteen with the Ballet Russe; she later went on to dance with American Ballet Theatre...
(Ivy), Betty Comden (Claire), and Adolph Green (Ozzie). The musical director was Max Goberman
Max Goberman
Max Goberman was an American conductor. He conducted ballets, Broadway musicals , and the classical repertoire...
.
The first Broadway revival opened at the Imperial Theatre on October 31, 1971, and closed on Jan 1, 1972 after 73 performances. Donna McKechnie
Donna McKechnie
Donna McKechnie is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on her most noted role, "Cassie" from the musical A Chorus Line, for which she...
, Phyllis Newman
Phyllis Newman
Phyllis Newman is an American actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Drama Desk Award and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.-Early life:...
, and Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
co-starred as Ivy, Claire, and Hildy. The director and choreographer was Ron Field
Ron Field
Ronald Field was an American choreographer, director, and dancer.-Biography:Field was born in New York City, New York where he made his Broadway debut as a child in Lady in the Dark with Gertrude Lawrence...
. Peters received a nomination for the 1972 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 Featured Actress in a Musical. In his review for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Clive Barnes
Clive Barnes
Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
wrote that "the book and lyrics...have ease and a decent few laughs...The music...has worn less well, too many of the nostalgic ballads sound like sub-Pucini filtered through Glenn Miller...Mr. Field has staged the musical numbers with zest and imagination, but, with respect, he is no great shakes as a choreographer...Where Mr. Field is most successful is in the performances of his six principals, and the women are markedly better than the men. Best of all is Bernadette Peters as the Bronxly nasal taxi driver...Phyllis Newman as Claire also danced and sang with just the right style and gusto. Donna McKechnie made a sweet and talented Ivy Smith."
The second Broadway revival opened on November 19, 1998, and ran for 69 performances. This began as a summer production of the Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
; the show made use of its venue, Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
's Delacorte Theater
Delacorte Theater
The Delacorte Theater, established in 1962, is an open-air theater located in Manhattan's Central Park and has a seating capacity of 1,800. The Delacorte is owned by the City of New York and operated by The Public Theater. It is an open-air amphitheater, with the Turtle Pond and Belvedere Castle...
in beguiling ways that led critics to disparage the subsequent theater-bound Broadway edition as lifeless and bland by comparison. Lea Delaria
Lea DeLaria
Lea DeLaria is an American comedienne, actress, and jazz musician. The "famously controversial" DeLaria was "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show....
's performance as Hildy the taxi driver (and especially her all-stops-out rendition of "I Can Cook, Too") won wide praise, with Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
writing "Working through the saucy double-entendres and scat embellishments of I Can Cook Too, Hildy's mating call of a solo, Ms. DeLaria makes an obliging captive of anyone watching her." That was not, however, on its own enough to extend the show's brief run. Mary Testa
Mary Testa
Mary Testa is an American stage actress. She is a two-time Tony Award nominee, for performances in revivals of Leonard Bernstein's On the Town and 42nd Street ....
was nominated for the 1999 Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical; Lea Delaria was nominated for the 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...
as Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
.
Although both of the show's Broadway revivals had their admirers, neither was commercially successful.
Other US
An Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
staged concert was presented at New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
from November 19, 2008 through November 23, 2008, as part of a citywide celebration of Leonard Bernstein's 90th birthday. John Rando
John Rando
John Rando is an American stage director, winning the Tony Award for his direction of the musical Urinetown in 2002.-Stage productions:* 1994 Broken Glass * 2000 The Dinner Party* 2001 A Thousand Clowns...
was the director, Warren Carlyle the choreographer, with a cast that featured Justin Bohon (Chip), Christian Borle
Christian Borle
Christian Borle is an American actor. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Borle has been primarily featured as an actor in Broadway productions....
(Ozzie), Tony Yazbeck (Gabey), Jessica Lee Goldyn (Ivy), Leslie Kritzer
Leslie Kritzer
Leslie Kritzer is an award-winning Broadway actress. She is from Livingston, New Jersey.-Biography:Kritzer, a 1999 graduate of the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, has also appeared on Broadway in Hairspray and was the character Serena in Legally Blonde The Musical...
(Hildy Esterhazy), Jennifer Laura Thompson
Jennifer Laura Thompson
Jennifer Laura Thompson is an American stage actress and singer. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and graduated in 1991....
(Claire DeLoone), and Andrea Martin
Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin is an American and Canadian actress and comedienne. She has appeared in films such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, on stage in productions such as My Favorite Year, Fiddler on the Roof and Candide, and in the television series, SCTV.-Personal life:Martin, the oldest of three...
(Madame P. Dilly).
In reviewing this production, Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwood
-External Links:* at The New York Times* at Variety...
wrote: "The production is rich in dance ... and winning performances (particularly from Tony Yazbeck as the lovelorn sailor Gabey, and a scenery-devouring Andrea Martin as a nutso-dipso voice teacher), but it's richest of all in music. There are several ballet sequences, instant reprises, jazzy pop songs, classical spoofs and soaring ballads."
London
The first London production of On the Town opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
on May 30, 1963, and ran for 63 performances. It was directed and choreographed by Joe Layton
Joe Layton
Joe Layton was an American director and choreographer known primarily for his work on Broadway.-Biography:Born Joseph Lichtman in Brooklyn, New York, Layton began his career as a dancer in Wonderful Town , and he appeared uncredited in the ensemble of the original live TV production of Rodgers and...
and starred Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
and Don McKay.
In 1992, Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
led the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and an all-star, crossover cast of opera and theater performers in a semi-staged concert version produced by Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
and recorded for both CD and video release. Participants included Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
, Thomas Hampson, Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
, Cleo Laine
Cleo Laine
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...
, David Garrison
David Garrison
David Gene Garrison is an American actor. His primary venue is live theatre, but he may be more widely known for his numerous television roles, particularly that of Steve Rhoades on Married... with Children...
, Samuel Ramey
Samuel Ramey
Samuel Edward Ramey is an American operatic bass with a long, distinguished career.During his best years, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing the music of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, yet power...
, and, as both narrators and performers, Comden and Green themselves. The resulting recordings included material cut at various stages of the musical's development. Thomas revived this concert edition of the work in 1996 with the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, with many of the same performers.
On The Town is now part of English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
's repertoire, most recently running April 20–May 25, 2007, at the London Coliseum, with Caroline O'Connor as Hildy.Choreographer Stephen Mear
Stephen Mear
Stephen Mear is an English dancer and choreographer best known for his award-winning work in musical theatre. In 2005, Mear and co-choreographer Matthew Bourne won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Choreography, for their work on the new West End musical Mary Poppins...
1949 film version
The MGM film opened on December 8, 1949. It starred Gene KellyGene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
as Gabey (who also co-directed with Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen ; is an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are Singin' in the Rain and On the Town, both of which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. His other noteworthy films include Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, Indiscreet, Damn...
), Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
as Chip, and Jules Munshin as Ozzie, as well as Ann Miller
Ann Miller
Johnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
(Claire), Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen
Vera-Ellen was an American actress and dancer, principally celebrated for her filmed dance partnerships with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor.-Early life:...
(Ivy) and Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett was an American actress, comedienne, singer and dancer who originally performed on Broadway before being signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(Hildy). The film dispensed with many of the Bernstein songs, other than "New York, New York," and replaced them with new songs by Roger Edens
Roger Edens
Roger Edens was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "golden era of Hollywood".-Early career and work with Judy Garland:Edens was born in...
.
Plot summary
On a summer morning during World War II, it's 6 a.m. at the Brooklyn navy yard ("I Feel Like I'm Not Out of Bed Yet"). Three sailors—Chip,Ozzie, and Gabey—begin their 24-hour shore leave, eager to explore "New York, New York". Gabey falls in love with the picture of "Miss Turnstiles," who is actually Ivy Smith. The sailors race around New York attempting to find her in the brief period they have ("New York, New YorkNew York, New York (On The Town)
"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
").
They are assisted by, and become romantically involved with, two women, and pair up: Ozzie with Claire DeLoone (an anthropologist) and Chip with Hildy Esterhazy (an amorous and aggressive taxi driver). Hildy invites Chip to "Come Up to My Place". Claire and Ozzie get "Carried Away" in the museum. But for Gabey it's a "Lonely Town" until he can find Ivy ("Miss Turnstiles"). The group have a number of adventures before their leave ends and they must return to their ship to head off to war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and a very uncertain future ("Some Other Time").
Musical numbers
Act I- I Feel Like I'm Not Out of Bed Yet—Workmen
- New York, New YorkNew York, New York (On The Town)"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
—Ozzie, Chip and Gabey - Miss Turnstiles Ballet (1971 revival)—Contestants, Ivy Smith and Manhattanites
- Gabey's Comin (not in 1971 revival)—Gabey
- Come Up to My Place—Hildy Esterhazy and Chip
- Carried Away—Claire DeLoone, Ozzie, Primitive Man and Primitive Woman
- Lonely Town—Gabey and Dance Ensemble
- Carnegie Hall Pavane (Do-Do-Re-Do)—Ivy Smith, Madame Maude P. Dilly, and Women of Carnegie Hall
- Lucky to Be Me—Gabey and Full Company
- I Understand (not in 1971 revival)—Pitkin W. Bridgework
- Carried Away Tag
- I Can Cook, Too—Hildy Esterhazy
- Times Square Ballet—Company
Act II
- Entr'acte—Orchestra
- So Long, Baby—Diamond Eddie's Girls
- I Wish I Was Dead (In English & Spanish)—Diana Dream, Senorita Dolores Dolores
- Ya Got Me—Hildy Esterhazy, Claire DeLoone, Ozzie, and Chip
- I Understand (Reprise)—Pitkin W. Bridgework and Lucy Schmeeler
- Playground of the Rich Ballet (1971 revival)—Gabey, Ivy Smith, and High Society Dancers
- Subway Ride (not in 1971 revival)—Gabey and the People of New York
- Imaginary Coney Island (not in 1971 revival)—Gabey, Ivy Smith, and Dance Ensemble
- Some Other Time—Claire DeLoone, Hildy Esterhazy, Ozzie, and Chip
- The Real Coney Island (not in 1971 revival)—Rajah Bimmy
- Coney Island Hep Cats (1971)—Flossie, Friend, and Zoot Suit Dancers
- I Feel Like I'm Not Out of Bed Yet (Reprise) (not in 1971 revival)
- Finale: New York, New York (Reprise)—Full Company