Show guide
On the Town
On the Town is a 1944 musical comedy that follows three sailors on a whirlwind twenty four hour shore leave in New York City, each chasing romance before their ship departs.
- Broadway premiere
- 1944
- Music by
- Leonard Bernstein
- Genre
- Golden Age
- Setting
- 1940s
On the Town: quick answers
What is On the Town about?
- On the Town follows three Navy sailors, Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie, on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City, where Gabey hunts for Ivy Smith, the subway's poster girl Miss Turnstiles, while his buddies find romance of their own.
When did On the Town open on Broadway?
- On the Town opened on Broadway on December 28, 1944, at the Adelphi Theatre and ran 462 performances, closing on February 2, 1946. A 2014 revival at the Lyric Theatre ran 368 performances.
Is On the Town a Golden Age musical?
- Yes. It opened in 1944, a year into the Golden Age that began with Oklahoma! in 1943, expanding Jerome Robbins's ballet Fancy Free into a dance-driven musical comedy with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
Where and when is On the Town set?
- On the Town is set in New York City in 1944, during World War II, over a single 24-hour shore leave.
Has On the Town played in London's West End?
- On the Town first played London at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1963, running 63 performances. English National Opera staged it at the London Coliseum in 2007, and a 2017 Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.
Is there a On the Town movie?
- MGM's 1949 film, directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starred Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin as the sailors, with Vera-Ellen, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett; it kept only four of Bernstein's songs and replaced the rest with new songs by Roger Edens.
The story of On the Town
Three sailors, Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie, arrive in New York City with only twenty four hours of shore leave before their ship departs, and each sets out to make the most of it. Gabey becomes fixated on finding Ivy Smith, a subway poster girl crowned Miss Turnstiles, while Chip and Ozzie fall in with a cab driver and an anthropologist as the trio's search for romance carries them across the city.
Written during World War II, the show captures a wartime sense of urgency and carefree escapism at once, treating New York itself as a kind of character full of possibility. Its episodic, fast moving structure mirrors the sailors' race against the clock, mixing comedy, romance, and dance across a single frantic day and night.
The music and the makers
Leonard Bernstein composed the music, with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, expanding on the Jerome Robbins ballet Fancy Free, which shared the same premise of sailors on leave. Bernstein's score blends symphonic jazz, swing, and classical ambition, giving the show a sound far more sophisticated than typical 1940s musical comedy.
Signature numbers include the propulsive opening anthem New York, New York, the wistful ballad Lonely Town, and the comic duet I Can Cook Too, all of which showcase Bernstein's ability to move fluidly between concert hall complexity and Broadway showmanship.
On the Town on Broadway
On the Town opened on Broadway on December 28, 1944, at the Adelphi Theatre, with choreography by Jerome Robbins in his Broadway debut, and it became a wartime hit that captured the era's restless energy. A heavily altered 1949 film adaptation starred Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, replacing much of Bernstein's score with new songs.
The show has returned to Broadway in several revivals, most notably a 2014 production choreographed by Joshua Bergasse that ran for 368 regular performances, the longest run the show has had since its original production. On the Town remains notable as one of Broadway's earliest fusions of ballet, jazz, and classical composition.
On the Town: frequently asked questions
What musical is about sailors on shore leave?
On the Town is the 1944 musical about three sailors who spend a single 24-hour shore leave in New York City chasing romance before their ship departs.
Is On the Town a Golden Age musical?
Yes. On the Town opened in December 1944, soon after Oklahoma! (1943) ushered in Broadway's Golden Age, and its wartime New York story is an early example of that era's Americana. It grew out of Fancy Free, a 1944 ballet by Jerome Robbins set to Leonard Bernstein's music.
Did On the Town win a Tony Award?
No. The original 1944 production opened before the Tony Awards began in 1947, and none of its three Broadway revivals won one: the 2014 revival earned four nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, but no wins.
Is On the Town still running on Broadway?
No. The original production closed on February 2, 1946, after 462 performances. Its most recent Broadway revival, in 2014, closed on September 6, 2015, after 368 performances.
When did On the Town open on Broadway?
On the Town opened on Broadway on December 28, 1944, at the Adelphi Theatre.
Who composed On the Town?
Leonard Bernstein composed the music, with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
What is On the Town about?
It follows three sailors on a twenty four hour shore leave in New York City, each in search of romance before their ship departs.
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