On The Town, the energetic wartime musical about three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York City, features thrilling music by Leonard Bernstein with playful lyrics and book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The show's celebrated score includes a number of musical theatre standards, including "Come Up to My Place," "I Can Cook, Too," "Some Other Time" and "New York, New York."
Accolades
Winner! 1945 Theatre World Award
Nominee: 1972 Tony Award, Best Featured Actress (Bernadette Peters)
Nominee: 1998 Drama Desk Award, Best Featured Actress (Lea DeLaria)
Winner! 1998 Theatre World Award
Nominee: 1999 Tony Award, Best Featured Actress (Mary Testa)
Nominee: Four 2015 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical
Nominee: Three 2015 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical
On The Town opened on Broadway at the Adelphi Theatre on December 28, 1944, starring Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Nancy Walker. The show transferred to the Forty-Fourth Street, and Martin Beck Theatres, playing for a total of 462 performances. It was revived on Broadway in 1971 at the Imperial Theatre, and again in 1998 at the George Gershwin Theatre with Lea DeLaria as Hildy. In 2014, On The Town was revived on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre, featuring Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Clyde Alves, Elizabeth Stanley, Alysha Umphress, Megan Fairchild, Jackie Hoffman and Michael Rupert. The show opened on October 16, 2014 and played for 368 performances.
“Exuberant... dazzling... It's simply a helluva show.” – Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
“Gorgeous...vwill leave you both exhilarated and haunted...vgreat musical theater.” – Elysa Gardner, USA Today
“Jubilant... this merry mating dance of a musical feels as fresh as first sunlight... Bernstein’s score belongs equally to heaven and earth. It is by turns jazzy ('I Can Cook, Too'), parodistic ('Carried Away') and jaunty ('Lucky to Be Me'). And then, with an uplift that takes your breath away, it flies up into an empyrean where sexual itches are transformed into great romantic love and a concrete-hard city feels as soft as a bed of clouds.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“[It]'ll make you want to fall in love with the city — and musical theater — all over again. This is one walk down memory lane you’ll want to take.” – Dave Quinn, NBC New York
“There's so much to love in On The Town... gorgeous tunes, endearingly nutty characters and some of the loveliest dancing on Broadway.” – Roma Torre, NY 1
“When did you last see a big-budget musical that made you want to shout with joy?... everything a great show should be... On the Town is one of the Broadway musicals that I love best.” – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
"Whaddya know, it’s still a helluva show!” – Marilyn Stasio, Variety
"A breezy, peppy, pleasantly libidinous valentine to New York, New York.” – Linda Winer, Newsday
On the Town at the Tony's
Broadway Promo
