''Broadway'' is a 1926 Broadway play produced by Jed Harris and written and directed 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 Philip Dunning. 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 (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 ...

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 b ...

. It opened on September 16, 1926, at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1917, the thea ...

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

Production

Written and directed by Philip Dunning and George Abbott, and produced by Jed Harris, ''Broadway'' opened September 16, 1926, at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. The cast is listed in order of appearance: * Paul Porcasi as Nick Verdis * Lee Tracy as Roy Lane * Clare Woodbury as Lil Rice * Ann Preston Bridgers as Katie * Joseph Calleia 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 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 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 German-American 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 ...

paid $225,000 for the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

rights in 1927, a sum that set a record.

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

released '' Broadway'' on September 15, 1929.

Television

A one-hour adaptation of ''Broadway'' starring Joseph Cotten and Piper Laurie aired May 4, 1955, on the CBS TV series '' The Best of Broadway''.

Revivals

A 1978 Broadway-bound revival of ''Broadway'', directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and musical staging by Dennis Grimaldi closed during its

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

tryout. A production directed by Abbott at the Great Lakes Theater Festival transferred to Broadway in 1987; it closed after three previews and four performances.

References

External links

*
''Oxford Companion to American Theatre'' entry
including plot summary 1926 plays Broadway plays American plays adapted into films {{1920s-play-stub