Wonderful Town is a 1953 Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov. It tells the story of two sisters, Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, who move from Ohio to Greenwich Village, New York City, in the 1930s to pursue careers in writing and acting.Key details about the musical include:
- Plot: The sisters navigate life in the Big Apple, dealing with a cramped basement apartment, romantic complications, and the challenges of achieving success in a bustling city.
- Basis: The musical is based on the 1940 play My Sister Eileen by Fields and Chodorov, which was derived from autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney.
- Score and Awards: The show features an infectious score with classic numbers like “Ohio,” “One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man,” and “A Little Bit in Love”. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
- Style: It is characterized as a bright, witty, and fast-paced “love letter to the city that never sleeps”.
The original production opened on February 26, 1953, and ran for 559 performances.
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