''Up in Central Park'' is 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 ...
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 ...
with a book by
Herbert Fields
Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897March 24, 1958) was an American librettist and screenwriter.
Biography
Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage direction before turning to writing. From 1 ...
and
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...
, lyrics by
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...
, and music by
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928).
E ...
. The musical, originally called "Central Park" before Broadway (see image of sheet music), was Romberg's last stage work produced during his lifetime.
Produced by
Michael Todd, the
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 ...
production, staged by John Kennedy, and
choreographed
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
by
Helen Tamiris
Helen Tamiris (born Helen Becker; April 24, 1905 – August 4, 1966) was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher.
Biography
Tamiris was born in New York City on April 23, 1902. She adopted Tamiris, her stage name, from a fragment ...
, opened on January 27, 1945 at the
New Century Theatre
The New Century Theatre was a Broadway theater in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at 205–207 West 58th Street and 926–932 Seventh Avenue. Opened on October 6, 1921, as Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, the theater was desig ...
, where it ran for 504 performances. The cast included
Noah Beery Sr.,
Wilbur Evans
Wilbur Whilt "Wib" Evans (August 5, 1905 - May 31, 1987) was an American actor and singer who performed on the radio, in opera, on Broadway in films and early live television.
Biography
Evans was born in Philadelphia, the son of Walter Percy and ...
and
Betty Bruce.
The musical is set in the
Boss Tweed era of
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 ...
in the 1870s. Wilbur Evans plays John Matthews, a
''New York Times'' reporter investigating the Tweed’s crooked
political machine
In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
, especially the fraud connected with constructing
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
.
He falls in love with the daughter of one of the Boss’
ward heeler {{More footnotes, date=September 2019
A ward heeler is an American urban political operative who works for a political party in a political ward, the smallest electoral subdivision of a city, usually to achieve an election result. A ward heeler ...
s, who marries a politician, who is killed. She later rekindles her love for Matthews. The settings, costumes and dances evoked the lithographs of
Currier and Ives
Currier and Ives was a New York City printmaking business that operated between 1835 and 1907. Founded by Nathaniel Currier, the company designed and sold inexpensive, hand painted lithographic works based on news events, views of popular cult ...
.
Songs
;Act I
* Up from the Gutter
* Carousel in the Park
* It Doesn’t Cost You Anything to Dream
* Boss Tweed
* When She Walks in the Room
* Currier and Ives
* Close as Pages in a Book
* Rip Van Winkle
* The Fireman’s Bride
;Act II
* When the Party Gives a Party
* Maypole Dance
* The Big Back Yard
*April Snow
*Finaletto
*The Birds and the Bees
Film version
In 1948 the musical was made into a
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 ...
directed by
William A. Seiter
William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director.
Life and career
Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senne ...
and starring
Deanna Durbin
Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...
,
Dick Haymes
Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, ...
and
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
.
Mary Grant designed the film's costumes. The movie version omits much of the Broadway score and changes the story considerably. The film was not a success.
Recordings
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
released an album of eight songs from the show with original cast members
Wilbur Evans
Wilbur Whilt "Wib" Evans (August 5, 1905 - May 31, 1987) was an American actor and singer who performed on the radio, in opera, on Broadway in films and early live television.
Biography
Evans was born in Philadelphia, the son of Walter Percy and ...
and Betty Bruce, along with the show orchestra conducted by Max Meth. Also appearing on the album are
Eileen Farrell
Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed ...
and
Celeste Holm
Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress.
Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to ...
, who were not in the show.
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
put out an album with
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
and
Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993.
Early life
Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...
singing six selections from the score, with
Russell Bennett conducting. (78rpm set M-991, discs 10-1153/4/5)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Up In Central Park
1945 musicals
Broadway musicals
Musicals by Sigmund Romberg
Musicals by Herbert Fields
Central Park