''Room Service'' is a farce written by

Allen Boretz Allen Boretz (1900–1985), was an American songwriter, playwright and screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwritin ...

and John Murray. It was originally produced by

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the ...

and debuted at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 48th Street (Manhattan), West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on May 19, 1937. Its initial production ran for 500 performances, closing on July 16, 1938."Room Service" (1937)
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

The play, starring

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

in the role of Leo Davis, was revived on Broadway for a short run of 16 performances in 1953.

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

purchased the film rights for a then-record $225,000 and used it as the basis for the film of the same title as a vehicle for the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

. In 1944, RKO released a

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

adaptation entitled '' Step Lively'' starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. The original 1937 Broadway production starred

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway, films, radio, and television actor and Television director, director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over ...

as Gordon Miller,

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Albert made his actin ...

as Leo Davis and Phillip Loeb as Harry Binion."Room Service" (1953)
at the

Original 1937–38 Broadway cast

*Reprised the role in the film adaptation.

In popular culture

*The basic plot of ''Room Service'' was used for the "Monkees, Manhattan Style" episode of ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

'' (season 1, episode 30, first broadcast April 10, 1967, also known as "Monkees in Manhattan").Staff (ndg
"Monkees, Manhattan Style: Connections"
''

IMDb.com IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

References

External links

''Room Service'' at the Internet Broadway Database
1937 plays Broadway plays American plays adapted into films Plays set in New York City Plays set in hotels Collaborative plays {{1930s-play-stub