On the Town

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On the Town
On the Town Cast Recording
Music	Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics	Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Book	Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Productions	Adelphi Theater--1944 Imperial Theatre--1971 Gershwin Theatre--1998

On the Town is a musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It was first produced on Broadway in 1944, and was made into a film in 1949.

Contents 1 On Stage 1.1 Revivals 2 Film 3 Characters 4 Plot summary 5 Musical numbers--Stage 6 Musical numbers--Movie [1] 7 External links 8 See also 9 References

[edit] On Stage

On the Town premiered on Broadway at the Adelphi Theater on December 28, 1944, directed by George Abbott with choreography by Jerome Robbins and played a total of 462 performances. The original production starred John Battles (Gabey), Cris Alexander (Chip), Nancy Walker (Hildy), Sono Osato (Ivy), and Betty Comden (Claire) and Adolph Green (Ozzie). It has been revived on Broadway twice, in 1971 and 1998.

[edit] Revivals

Although both of the show's Broadway revivals have had their admirers, neither was commercially successful.

The 1971 revival opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on October 31, 1971 and ran for 73 performances. Co-starring were Donna McKechnie, Phyllis Newman, and Bernadette Peters as Ivy, Claire, and Hildy. The director and choreographer was Ron Field. Peters received a nomination for the 1972 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

The 1998 revival opened on November 19, 1998 and ran for 69 performances. The 1998 version 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, but was not 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.

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, 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 with the next series of performances scheduled for Spring 2007.

[edit] Film

The MGM film opened on December 8, 1949. Many changes in script and score were made from the original stage version; much of Bernstein's music was dropped in favor of new songs by the studio's Roger Edens. It starred Gene Kelly 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). It is notable for its combination of studio and location filming, as a result of Gene Kelly's insistence that some scenes be shot in New York City itself. The movie was an instant success for MGM's "Freed Unit", which went on to produce many more popular musicals into the 1950s.

In 2006 the film version ranked #19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.

[edit] Characters

• Gabey -- sailor
• Ivy Smith -- "Miss Turnstiles"
• Claire DeLoone -- an archeologist
• Hildy Esterhazy -- taxi cab driver
• Ozzie -- sailor
• Chip -- sailor
• Pitkin W. Bridgework -- Claire's fiance

[edit] Plot summary

• The time: War-time 1944
• The setting: New York City
• The characters: Three sailors and their romantic adventures with the three women they meet

The musical integrates dance into its storytelling; Robbins choreographed a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show, including the now-famous "Imaginary Coney Island" ballet. The story concerns three American sailors on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City. Each of the three sailors becomes enamoured of a particular woman — and the City itself. They have a number of adventures before their brief period of time ends and they must return to their ship to head off to war, and a very uncertain future.

As the sailors begin their shore leave, Gabey falls in love with the picture of "Miss Turnstiles". They spend their time attempting to find her in the brief period they have. They are assisted, and become romantically involved with, two women, and pair up: Ozzie with Claire, Chip with Hildy, and finally, Gabey with Ivy ("Miss Turnstiles").

The musical produced several popular and classic songs, among them: "New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "I Can Cook Too", and "Some Other Time".

[edit] Musical numbers--Stage

Act I

• "I Feel Like I'm Not Out of Bed Yet" - Workmen
• "New York, New York" --Ozzie, Chip and Gabey
• "Miss Turnstiles Ballet" (1971 revival) -- Contestants, Ivy Smith and Manhattanites
• "Gabey's Comin" (not in 1971 revival)
• "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

• "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

[edit] Musical numbers--Movie ^[1]

• "I Feel Like I'm Not Out of Bed Yet"
• "New York, New York"
• "Miss Turnstiles Ballet" (instrumental)
• "Prehistoric Man"
• "Come Up to My Place"
• "When You Walk Down Mainstreet with Me"
• "You're Awful"
• "On the Town"
• "Count on Me"
• "A Day in New York" (instrumental)

[edit] External links

• "On the Town" at IBDb [1]
• On the Town at the Internet Movie Database
• Flyrope.com page for On the Town

[edit] See also

• Wikipedia articles on "Freed Unit" Arthur Freed, Musical film

[edit] References

1. ^ "Hollywood Musicals Year By Year", Second Edition, 1990, Green, Stanley, Revised and Updated by Elaine Schmidt, Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0634007653

Musicals of Leonard Bernstein
On the Town • Trouble in Tahiti • Wonderful Town • Candide • West Side Story • 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue • A Quiet Place • The Race to Urga