On the Town is based on the 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which Leonard Bernstein scored to accompany Jerome Robbins’s choreography. It tells the story of three soldiers who are set loose on New York City for their 24-hour leave. We go with them on their adventures with the women they meet along the way.
The history of On the Town: how the musical came to be
Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein went on to collaborate on many other projects, not least West Side Story. It was Robbins that first plucked Bernstein from obscurity though, as when when Robbins first commissioned him to write the score to Fancy Free, Bernstein was a relatively unknown composer.
The show ends with the sailors getting back on the ship, waving goodbye to their female companions, and three new sailors jump off the ship to start their 24-hour adventures in New York City. This musical comedy really is a love letter to New York, the city Bernstein thought of as his home.
On the Town was premiered on Broadway in 1944, with the film rights sold before the show even hit the stage. It was considered very progressive at the time, as it was the first musical that incorporated black and white characters performing alongside one another in equal roles, with a complete lack of racial stereotyping. Plus, the show’s first conductor, Everett Lee, was the first black conductor and musical director on Broadway.
The film adaptation of On the Town
The film rights to On the Town were sold to MGM before the show even hit Broadway. The film opened in December 1949, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin.
Only four of the original musical numbers from the Broadway show were incorporated into the film adaptation of On the Town. 'New York, New York' is probably the best known original Bernstein song from the musical to make it into the film.
New songs with music by Roger Edens was added to the film.
We recently named the best works by Leonard Bernstein.
The best recordings of Bernstein's On the Town
Bernstein: On the Town London Symphony Orchestra, London Voices/Michael Tilson Thomas DG 4791111
Bernstein: On the Waterfront Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Christian Lindberg BIS BIS-2278
