''Bright Lights of 1944'' was a 1943
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 Stre ...
musical revue with music composed by
Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist.
Life and career
Born in Denver, Colorado to Sam and Dora (Lazarus) Levinson, Jerry Livingston studied music at the ...
and lyrics by
Mack David
Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...
.
It opened at the
Forrest Theatre
The Forrest Theatre is a live theatre venue at 1114 Walnut Street in the Center City area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has a seating capacity of 1,851 and is managed by The Shubert Organization. where it played for a total of four performances. The cast featured
James Barton,
Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Worl ...
, and the vaudeville team
Smith and Dale
Smith and Dale were a famous American vaudeville comedy duo. They consisted of Joe Smith (born Joseph Sultzer on February 17, 1884February 22, 1981) and Charlie Dale (born Charles Marks on September 6, 1881November 16, 1971), who both grew up on th ...
.
Act one is set in
Sardi's
Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caric ...
, a New York City
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing a city's theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences ...
restaurant, where two producers are planning a show. Renee Carroll, an actual hat check girl at Sardi's, played herself in the musical. Smith and Dale played waiters. The second half of the revue is the show the producers were planning in act one, and included the Smith and Dale sketch "Doctor Kronkite".
Music was provided by
John Kirby and his orchestra.
''Bright Lights of 1944'', which cost $72,000 to produce, brought $5,200 in receipts. Writing for ''The New York Times'', Lewis Nichols called the first half of the show "quite bad, being both dull and tedious."
External links
*
References
*Botto, Louis, and Robert Viagas
''At This Theatre: 100 Years of Broadway Shows, Stories and Stars'' New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books/Playbill, 2002. ()
* Nathan, George Jean. ''The Theatre Book of the Year: A Record and an Interpretation''. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1944.
*"Premier Tonight of Bright Lights" By
Sam Zolotow
Samuel Tecumseh Zolotow (May 18, 1898 – October 21, 1993) was an American theater reporter for ''The New York Times'' who was known for his tenacity in getting the details about how Broadway shows were performing, relentlessly pursuing produ ...
, ''The New York Times'', September 16, 1943.
*"The Play" by Lewis Nichols. ''The New York Times'', September 17, 1943.
*"Career of 3 Nights for Bright Lights" by Sam Zolotow, ''The New York Times'', September 20, 1943.
* Sardi, Vincent, and Thomas Edward West. ''Off the Wall at Sardi's''. New York, NY: Applause Books, 1991. ()
1943 musicals
Broadway musicals
Revues
Musicals set in New York City
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