''Billion Dollar Baby'' is a
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...
with the book and lyrics by
Betty Comden
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...
and
Adolph Green
Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...
and the score by
Morton Gould. Comden and Green were fresh from their success with ''
On the Town'', and the production team was something of an ''On the Town'' reunion: once again,
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades.
Early years
Abbott was born in Forestville, New Y ...
directed and
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Among his nu ...
choreographed.
The musical is set on
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...
and in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. during the late 1920s. It follows the adventures of an ambitious young woman, Maribelle Jones, in her quest for wealth during the
Prohibition era
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...
.
Production
The musical opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the
Alvin Theatre on December 21, 1945, and ran for 220 performances. ''Billion Dollar Baby'' was not well-received, although Robbins' choreography — which included two
dream ballet
A dream ballet, in musical theater, is an all-dance, no- singing production number that reflects the themes of the production. The plot, themes, and characters are typically the same—although the people playing the characters may be different, a ...
s, a
Charleston, and a gangster's
funeral procession - was widely praised. (Decades later, Robbins incorporated the Charleston number into ''
Jerome Robbins' Broadway''.) The cast starred
Joan McCracken
Joan Hume McCracken (December 31, 1917 – November 1, 1961) was an American dancer and actress who became famous for her role as Sylvie ("The Girl Who Falls Down") in the original 1943 production of ''Oklahoma!'' She also was noted for her per ...
(as Maribelle),
Mitzi Green,
William Tabbert
William Tabbert (October 5, 1919 – October 18, 1974) was an American actor and singer primarily remembered as Lieutenant Joseph Cable in the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical ''South Pacific'', where he introduc ...
, and
David Burns. Early in the run, McCracken was replaced by
Virginia Gorski
Virginia Gibson (born Virginia Gorski; April 9, 1925 – April 25, 2013) was an American dancer, singer and actress of film, television and musical theatre.
Early years
Of Polish and Irish lineage, Gibson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. ...
(later
Virginia Gibson
Virginia Gibson (born Virginia Gorski; April 9, 1925 – April 25, 2013) was an American dancer, singer and actress of film, television and musical theatre.
Early years
Of Polish and Irish lineage, Gibson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jo ...
). Other dancers in the cast included
Danny Daniels,
Helen Gallagher
Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award.
Early years
Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the Br ...
, and
James Mitchell; Mitchell was Tabbert's dance double. The musical director was
Max Goberman.
There is no original cast recording, although there is a recording of the 1998
York Theatre Company
York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each seas ...
Mufti Series staged concert version with
,
Debbie Gravitte
Debbie Shapiro Gravitte is an American actress and singer. She was born in Los Angeles, California.
Career
Gravitte made her Broadway debut in the chorus of ''They're Playing Our Song'' in 1979. She performed on Broadway in '' Blues in the Nigh ...
,
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch (born September 22, 1966) is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.
Early life and education
Kudisch was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Florence and Raymond Kudisch. His fami ...
, and
Richard B. Shull
Richard Bruce Shull (February 24, 1929 – October 14, 1999) was an American character actor.
Biography Early life
Shull was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Zana Marie (née Brown), a court stenographer, and Ulysses Homer Shull, a manufa ...
.
The show gained notoriety for an event that happened in rehearsals: Robbins, walking backwards as he ranted at the dancers, failed to realize how close he was to the orchestra pit—and fell into it.
[Although the story has been attached to a number of other Robbins musicals, both Greg Lawrence and Deborah Jowitt have traced it to ''Billion Dollar Baby''. Lawrence, ''Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins'' (New York: Berkley, 2001), pp. 101-102; Jowitt, ''Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), pg. 116.]
Songs
;Act I
*Million Dollar Smile (Billion Dollar Baby)
*Who's Gonna Be the Winner
*Dreams Come True
*Charleston
*Broadway Blossom
*Speaking of Pals
*There I'd Be
*One Track Mind sung and danced by Shirley Van
*Bad Timing
*The Marathoners
*A Lovely Girl
;Act II
*Funeral Procession
*Havin' a Time
*The Marathon Dance Faithless
*I'm Sure of Your Love
*A Life With Rocky
*The Wedding
References
External links
Internet Broadway Database Entry at York Theatre Company store
{{Comden and Green
Broadway musicals
Musicals by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
1945 musicals