![The Band Wagon (1953) trailer 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/The_Band_Wagon_%281953%29_trailer_1.jpg)
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American
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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...
, starring
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
and
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.
After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...
. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a
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 ...
show will restart his career. However, the play's director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of the ''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
'' legend and brings in a ''
prima ballerina
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
'' who clashes with the star. Along with ''
Singin' in the Rain
''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charis ...
'' (1952), it is regarded as one of the finest
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
musicals, although it was a modest box-office success on first release.
The songs were written by the team of composer
Arthur Schwartz
Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz.
Biography
Early life
Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on Novem ...
and lyricist
Howard Dietz
Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz.
Biography
Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia Colle ...
. Schwartz was a prolific Hollywood composer who teamed with numerous lyricists over the years, while Dietz, a studio publicist, generally collaborated with Schwartz. Some of the songs in the film had been created for the original 1931 Broadway musical by Schwartz and Dietz, also titled ''
The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...
,'' with a book by
George S. Kaufman and starring
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
and his sister
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
. The movie's dances and musical numbers were staged by
Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, stron ...
.
The song "
That's Entertainment!
''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and a ...
", which Schwartz and Dietz wrote specifically for the film, was a hit and has become a standard in popular music. Another song orchestrated by
Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger (August 30, 1901, Brookline, Massachusetts – June 17, 1962, Pacific Palisades, California) was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited wit ...
, "
Dancing in the Dark", is considered part of the
Great American Songbook
The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes.
Definition
According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...
and was from the original Broadway production. Astaire's early number in the film, "A Shine on Your Shoes", was written for a 1932 Broadway revue with music and lyrics by Dietz and Schwartz titled ''
Flying Colors''. (It was originally performed by the dancing team of
Buddy
Buddy may refer to:
People
*Buddy (nickname)
*Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present)
*Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992)
*Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...
and
Vilma Ebsen). In the film version of ''The Band Wagon'', the song was reworked as a specialty number by jazz arranger
Skip Martin
Lloyd Vernon "Skip" Martin (May 14, 1916, in Robinson, Illinois – February 12, 1976, in Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and music arranger.
Background
Martin was active principally as an arranger for some ...
to showcase all of Astaire's musical talents.
The musical director was
Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch (20 October 1897 – 1 January 1980) was a British-American composer, conductor and arranger.
Born Adolph Sender Charles Deutsch in London, England, he emigrated to the United States in 1911, and settled in Buffalo, New York ...
and the production was designed by
Oliver Smith working for the first time in motion pictures. The film was nominated for
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for
Best Costume Design, Color,
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.
Screenwriters
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 ...
, who received the nomination for the screenplay, patterned the film's characters Lester and Lily Marton after themselves; however, the fictional characters were a married couple, and Comden and Green were not romantically involved. The character of an overachieving impresario was developed with the successful producer-director-actor
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
in mind.
In 1995, ''The Band Wagon'' was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2006, this film ranked number 17 on the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
's
list of best musicals.
Plot
Tony Hunter, once a famous star of musical comedies on stage and later on screen, is largely forgotten after three years without appearing in a film. He returns from Hollywood to New York. At
Grand Central Station
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
, he is recognized but almost ignored by reporters who are there by chance as
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
is on the same train. However, he is greeted enthusiastically by his good friends Lester and Lily Marton, and they tell him they have written a stage show, a light musical comedy, that will be a perfect comeback for Tony. They will also act in it, and they already have caught the interest of Jeffrey Cordova, who they say can do anything: Currently he is starring in, as well as directing, a new adaptation of ''
Oedipus Rex
''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...
'' that he wrote based on the original Greek story.
As soon as Jeffrey hears Lily outline the play, he declares it to be a brilliant reinterpretation of the ''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
'' legend, which should star Tony and himself as the characters corresponding to Faust and the Devil. The Martons are delighted that he will be acting as well as directing, but Tony is dubious about the ''Faust'' idea. Jeffrey declares that the boundaries between genres in the theater are artificial, and "
Bill Shakespeare" and
Bill Robinson
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...
are all parts of the same whole—to prove his point, he leads the four in singing "
That's Entertainment!
''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and a ...
" Tony agrees, and Jeffrey has the Martons rewrite the play as a dark, pretentious musical drama (when Lester also becomes dubious, Lily insists that one person must be in charge and Jeffrey can succeed at anything).
Jeffrey does succeed in arranging for the beautiful and talented ballerina Gabrielle "Gaby" Gerard to join the production, along with Paul Byrd, who is her boyfriend, choreographer, and manager—even though he always insisted that a musical play would be beneath her. When Tony and Gaby meet, they become sarcastic and hostile to each other, but this is actually because they are insecure: Each of them feels much less talented than the other.
Eventually, it all proves too much for Tony, and he walks out. Gaby follows to meet him privately. In his hotel room, she comments that the paintings by famous artists on the wall are better reproductions than usual in a hotel; he says they are his own property, and are originals. She recognizes a painting of ballerinas as an early
Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...
. Tony and Gaby put their troubles aside, go for a horse-drawn carriage ride, dance together, and realize they can work together after all. They also begin to fall in love.
When the first out-of-town tryout in New Haven proves disastrous, Tony demands that Jeffrey convert the production back into the light comedy that the Martons had envisioned. Jeffrey says that while they will have to find new backers because the original ones have walked out, he will be happy to appear in that show—if Tony is in charge of it. Tony accepts, using his art collection to finance the production. Paul says the show is no longer suitable for Gaby and walks out, expecting her to follow, but she is pleased to stay and work with Tony.
After some weeks on tour to perfect the new lighthearted musical numbers, the revised show proves to be a hit on its Broadway opening. Afterwards, Gaby and Tony kiss in front of the entire cast and crew, and the finale is a reprise of "That's Entertainment!"
Cast
![The Band Wagon (1953) trailer 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/The_Band_Wagon_%281953%29_trailer_3.jpg)
*
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
as Tony Hunter
*
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.
After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...
as Gabrielle Gerard
*
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for reco ...
as Lester Marton
*
Nanette Fabray
Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...
as Lily Marton
*
Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...
as Jeffrey Cordova
*
James Mitchell as Paul Byrd
*
Robert Gist
Robert Marion Gist (October 1, 1917 – May 21, 1998) was an American actor and film director.
Life and career
Gist was reared around the stockyards of Chicago, Illinois, during the Great Depression. Reform school-bound after injuring an ...
as Hal Benton
Uncredited
*
India Adams
India Adams (March 5, 1927 – April 25, 2020) was an American singer, known as the ghost singer who dubbed the singing voices of Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford in the mid-1950s.
Career
She dubbed the singing voices for Charisse in ''The Band Wa ...
as the singing voice of Cyd Charisse
*
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
as herself (cameo)
*
Thurston Hall
Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187.
Career Stag ...
as Colonel Tripp
*
Douglas Fowley as auctioneer
*
Madge Blake
Madge Blake (née Cummings; May 31, 1899 – February 19, 1969) was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on the CBS/ ABC sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'', as Flora MacMichael on ...
as investor
*
Judy Landon
Judith Brenna Landon (born 1928-died 2021) was an actress and dancer who primarily played uncredited bit parts in films in the early 1950s, particularly a background dancer in movie musicals.
Career
Particularly notable roles include Eras in th ...
as dancer in troupe
*
Bobby Watson
Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator.
Music career
Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...
as Bobby
*
Sue Casey as tall girl in arcade
* Leroy Daniels as shoeshine man in arcade in "Shine on Your Shoes"
*
Henry Corden
Henry Corden (born Henry Cohen; January 6, 1920 – May 19, 2005) was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed's death in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was in the 1 ...
as orchestra leader
*
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer, August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real-estate mogul. She won the Tony ...
as model / chorine in "Girl Hunt Ballet"
*
Fred Aldrich
Fred Aldrich (December 23, 1904 – January 25, 1979) was an American character actor of both film and television. Born in New York. He would break into the film industry in 1939, appearing in two films that year in small roles: ''My Son Is ...
as hot dog vendor
*
Richard Alexander as stagehand
* Jimmy Thompson as Jimmy
*
Roy Engel
Roy Engel (September 13, 1913 – December 29, 1980) was an American actor on radio, film, and television. He performed in more than 150 films and almost 800 episodes of television programs.
Career
Engel's ancestry was Irish and Dutch. His ...
as reporter
*
Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.
Early years
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...
as man on train
*
Herb Vigran
Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances.
Early years
Vigran was a native of Cin ...
as man on train
* Dee Turnell as Barbara
*
Dee Hartford as model in "Girl Hunt Ballet"
Musical numbers
Source:
# "
By Myself" – Tony (introduced in the stage musical ''
Between the Devil'')
# "Shine on Your Shoes" – Tony and a shoeshine man (Leroy Daniels; the song was first introduced in the stage musical ''
Flying Colors'')
# "
That's Entertainment!
''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and a ...
" – Jeffrey, with Tony, Lester and Lily
# "The Beggars Waltz" – danced by Gabrielle, James Mitchell, and corps de ballet
# "High and Low" – Chorus
# "
Dancing in the Dark" – danced by Tony and Gabrielle
# "
You and the Night and the Music" – Chorus, danced by Tony and Gabrielle
# "Something to Remember You By" – Chorus
# "I Love Louisa" – Tony, Lester, and Lily
# "New Sun in the Sky" – Gabrielle
# "
I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan
"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" is a popular song published in 1929, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz.
Camp song
It originally was a summer camp song titled "I Love to Lie Awake in Bed," with Schwartz's music set to l ...
" – Tony and Jeffrey
# "Louisiana Hayride" – Lily and Chorus (the song was first introduced in the stage musical ''
Flying Colors'')
# "Triplets" – Tony, Jeffrey, and Lily (the performers dance on their knees, costumed in baby attire; the song was first introduced in the stage musical ''
Between the Devil'')
# "The Girl Hunt Ballet" (inspired by the novels of
Mickey Spillane
Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have ...
) – danced by Tony and Gabrielle
# "That's Entertainment!" (reprise/finale) – Lester, Gabrielle, Jeffrey, Tony and Lily
One musical number shot for the film, but dropped from the final release, was a seductive dance routine featuring Charisse performing "Two-Faced Woman". As with the other Charisse songs, her singing was dubbed by
India Adams
India Adams (March 5, 1927 – April 25, 2020) was an American singer, known as the ghost singer who dubbed the singing voices of Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford in the mid-1950s.
Career
She dubbed the singing voices for Charisse in ''The Band Wa ...
. Adams' recording of the song was reused for ''
Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...
'' (1953) for a musical number featuring
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
. The retrospective ''
That's Entertainment! III
''That's Entertainment! III'' is a 1994 American documentary film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 70th anniversary. It was the third in a series of retrospectives that began with the first ''That's Entertainment!'' (1974) ...
'' (1994) released the Charisse version to the public for the first time. This footage was included with the 2005 DVD release of ''The Band Wagon''.
Reception
In seven weeks at
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
in New York City, the film grossed $1,044,000, one of the higher grossing films at the theater. According to MGM records, the film earned them distributor rentals of $2.3 million in the U.S. and Canada and $1,202,000 in other countries, resulting in a loss of $1,185,000.
Stage adaptation
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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
stage adaptation, titled ''Dancing in the Dark'', ran at the
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...
in San Diego from March 4 to April 20, 2008, with plans to bring the show to Broadway.
Gary Griffin directed, with a book by
Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York. His works include the screenplay of ''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! J ...
and choreography by Warren Carlyle. The cast included
Patrick Page
John Patrick Page (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor, low bass singer, and playwright. He originated the roles of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', the Grinch in ''Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christm ...
as the "deliciously pretentious" director-actor-producer Jeffrey Cordova,
Mara Davi
Mara Davi (born January 22, 1984, Alameda County, California) is an American actress, singer, and dancer; she made her Broadway debut as Maggie Winslow in the 2006 revival of ''A Chorus Line''.
Biography
Mara Davi grew up in Highlands Ranch, Col ...
playing Gabrielle Gerard, and
Scott Bakula
Scott Stewart Bakula (; born October 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in two science-fiction television series: as Sam Beckett on '' Quantum Leap'' and as Captain Jonathan Archer on '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. For ''Quantu ...
as "song-and-dance man" Tony Hunter.
In the ''Variety'' review of the musical, Bob Verini wrote: "There's no reason this reconstituted ''Band Wagon'' can't soar once it jettisons its extraneous and self-contradictory elements."
A revised version of the stage adaptation under the name ''The Band Wagon'' was presented in a staged concert in November 2014 as part of a
New York City Center
New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and t ...
Encores!
Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Ha ...
special event. The cast starred
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 for ...
,
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...
,
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...
,
Tony Sheldon, and
Laura Osnes
Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, ''South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, '' Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcourt, ...
, with direction and choreography by
Kathleen Marshall
Kathleen Marshall (born September 28, 1962) is an American director, choreographer, and creative consultant.
Life and career
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1980 and ...
.
Impact
In
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's music videos for "
Smooth Criminal
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on November 14, 1988, as the seventh single from his seventh album, '' Bad'' (1987). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics add ...
" (1988) and "
You Rock My World
"You Rock My World" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his tenth and final studio album, ''Invincible'' (2001). It was released as the lead single from the album on August 22, 2001, by Epic Records.
"You Rock My World" peaked at ...
" (2001), he pays tribute to ''The Band Wagon'' with a similar dance and bar fight sequence performed in a 1920–1930s style lounge. Dancers perform similar moves and wear comparable period clothing in Jackson's videos. In "Smooth Criminal", Jackson wears a white suit with a blue-collared shirt and a white hat with a black stripe on it, replicating Astaire's outfit from "The Girl Hunt Ballet", ''The Band Wagon'' finale. For "You Rock My World", he imitates Astaire's choreography. Jackson's "
Billie Jean
"Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...
" music video features similar elements as those of the "Girl Hunt Ballet": The storefront scenery through which the paparazzo conducts his manhunt and the animal print cloth he finds for a clue are two allusions to the original work. Using the line "she came at me in sections" for the titular song of his album ''
Dangerous
Dangerous may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis
* '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson
* ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...
'', Jackson notably pays homage to the film on at least three successive albums.
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...
and
Gilda Radner performed a serio-comic parody homage to the "Dancing in the Dark" dance segment on an episode of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', originally broadcast on April 22, 1978.
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Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartzat
Masterworks Broadway
Masterworks Broadway is a record label created by the consolidation of Sony Music Entertainment's Broadway theatre music divisions, Columbia Broadway Masterworks and RCA Victor Records' Broadway series.
Masterworks Broadway's recent releases incl ...
''Newsweek'' discussion transcript about ''The Band Wagon''* (1931 stage musical)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Band Wagon, The
1953 films
1953 musical comedy films
1953 romantic comedy films
1950s American films
1950s English-language films
1950s romantic musical films
American musical comedy films
American romantic comedy films
American romantic musical films
Films about musical theatre
Films directed by Vincente Minnelli
Films produced by Arthur Freed
Films scored by Adolph Deutsch
Films set in New York City
Films with screenplays by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Musicals by Arthur Schwartz
United States National Film Registry films