''Broadway'' is a 1926

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 ...

play produced by

Jed Harris Jed Harris (born Jacob Hirsch Horowitz; February 25, 1900 – November 15, 1979) was an Austrian-born American theatrical producer and director. His many successful Broadway productions in the 1920s and 1930s include ''Broadway (play), Broadway' ...

and written and directed by

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 Yo ...

and

Philip Dunning Philip Hart Dunning (December 11, 1889 – July 20, 1968) was a playwright and theatrical producer. Early years and education Dunning, one of six children, was the son of John M. Dunn, an electrochemist, and Mary Dunn. Theater and films Dun ...

. It was Abbott's first big hit on his way to becoming "the most famous play doctor of all time" after he "rejiggered" Dunning's play. The crime drama used "contemporary street slang and a hard-boiled, realistic atmosphere" to depict the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

underworld during

Prohibition 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 ...

. It opened on September 16, 1926, at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for the Shubert brothers. The Bro ...

and was one of the venue's greatest hits, running for 603 performances.

Production

Sylvia Field LOC 7314071234 (cleaned-up version)

Written and directed by Philip Dunning and George Abbott, and produced by

, ''Broadway'' opened September 16, 1926, at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. The cast is listed in order of appearance: *

Paul Porcasi Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Nick Verdis *

Lee Tracy William Lee Tracy (April 14, 1898 – October 18, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is known foremost for his portrayals between the late 1920s and 1940s of fast-talking, wisecracking news reporters, press agents, lawye ...

as Roy Lane * Clare Woodbury as Lil Rice * Ann Preston Bridgers as Katie *

Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the British Transport ...

as Joe * Mildred Wall as Mazie Smith * Edith Van Cleve as Ruby * Eloise Stream as Pearl * Molly Ricardel as Grace * Constance Brown as Ann *

Sylvia Field Sylvia Field (born Harriet Louisa Johnson; February 14, 1901 – July 31, 1998) was an American actress whose career encompassed performances on stage, screen, and TV. She was best known for playing the understanding Mrs. Martha Wilson (Mr. Wilso ...

as Billie Moore * Robert Gleckler as Steve Crandall * Henry Sherwood as Dolph * William Foran as Porky Thompson * John Wray as Scar Edwards * Thomas Jackson as Dan McCorn * Frank Verigun as Benny *

Millard Mitchell Millard Mitchell (August 14, 1903 – October 13, 1953) was an American character actor whose credits include roughly 30 feature films and two television appearances. He appeared as a bit player in eight films between 1931 and 1936. Mitchell ...

as Larry * Roy R. Lloyd as Mike ''Broadway'' was a smash hit, running for 603 performances. In addition to having his first prominent stage role, cast member Joseph Calleia acted as the company's stage manager and, working for producer Jed Harris, he supervised some ten duplicate productions of ''Broadway'' in the United States and abroad.

Adaptations

Film

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

paid $225,000 for the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

rights in 1927, a sum that set a record.

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

released ''

'' on September 15, 1929.

Television

A one-hour adaptation of ''Broadway'' starring

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

and

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...

aired May 4, 1955, on the CBS TV series ''

The Best of Broadway ''The Best of Broadway'' is a 60-minute live television anthology series that aired on CBS Television on Wednesdays at 10p.m. Eastern Standard Time from September 15, 1954, to May 4, 1955, for a total of nine episodes. Each show was broadcast liv ...

''.

Revivals

A 1978

-bound revival of ''Broadway'', directed by

Robert Allan Ackerman Robert Allan Ackerman (June 30, 1944 – January 10, 2022) was an American film and theatre director. He directed numerous films since 1992. Ackerman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1944 and moved to Kew Gardens, Queens, when he wa ...

and musical staging by Dennis Grimaldi closed during its

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

tryout.Corry, John. "Broadway." ''The New York Times'', June 30, 1978.
/ref>

References

External links

*

including plot summary 1926 plays Broadway plays American plays adapted into films {{1920s-play-stub