Just in love with Yazbeck period.

You do know that "the original" was a Broadway show with choreography by Jerome Robbins, don't you? The movie dropped a huge amount of Bernstein's wonderful score -- my personal favorite -- and put in songs by others. It is so frustrating to see people referencing a Hollywood production as if it had any real authority. Not to mention the censorship: "New York, New York, a helluva town" became "New York, New York, a wonderful town"! (Which gave Comden & Green the title for their next musical with Bernstein...)

Just came here because I heard Yazbeck sing Bernstein's MARIA last night at Tanglewood's 100th year tribute to Bernstein. At the end of the many-performer set, I turned to someone with a program and asked, "Who was THAT?!" The immediate answer -- "You mean Tony?" He looked in the program, and chuckled, "His real name is Tony." None of us had heard of Yazbeck - but he knew exactly which performer I meant. Wow -- this guy is a force!

And that Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote the fabulous lyrics and the book to On the Town? What a Broadway debut!

+Lily Welsh. Jay is energy!!

Hello, I haven't seen this revival. Live in California and won't be in NYC for a while so I prolly won't see. I do trust your analysis. I teach musical theatre and many shows from the 40s, 50s have long 1st acts. So what you say makes sense to me. Back then the top price was far less than $200.00. I will say the choreography is fresh and the performance effort in this clip very appealing.

Rusty Phresh For whatever reason the original first act was originally so long, there's no justification for it today. For instance, the very opening of Act One (after the playing of the National Anthem) meandered. There's a later scene where one of the sailors down by the waterfront bemoaned his romantic fate, but his singing range & style was all wrong for the part & this went on FOREVER. The degree of discomfort experienced that I remember today is almost indescribable; I was literally praying for this to end. As for the cost, had the show been a delight, it would have been worth the price as a once-a-season splurge. It didn't even come close. The chemistry between the actors (otherwise, save one, quite competent) was tepid. The set design was from Hackensack. And the casting of Alysha Umphress was an abomination that could simply not be ignored. For those of us who remember Betty Garret in the film role, in contrast, Umpress was just not right. Wait longer for something that is worth your hard-earned money, or come on in & get yourself front-row tickets for "An American In Paris," which was absolutely worth every penny spent. It was brilliant! We saw it about two weeks ago & the only thing wrong with it was unfixable --- the audience was a collection of cadavers, spoiled rotten rich folk who sat there like pillars of salt, smug & unappreciative of everything until something lit their callow, wet fuses at the very end of the show, at which time they rose as one to applaud & cheer. Boy, I can't wait to run into them again. The revival of "On The 20th Century" was also letter-perfect (we were kicking ourselves for not spending more for better seats; the decision was probably a reaction to "On The Town"). Their decision to shut it down after such a short run --- in June 2015, I think --- is inexplicable! They well may change their minds. Grab a copy of Cornelia Otis Skinner's "Life With [Howard] Lindsay & [Russel] Crouse" (Houghton Mifflin Co. 1976).

LOL on the Hackensack reference. Thanks for the thorough response.

My pleasure.

Don Reed A tremendous and perfect revival. I l loved every minute of it. Run to see this production. It is theater history and such a gift. It is a privilege to see and the first act and second act do not have one dull minute in it. So much to love every second. Thanks to everyone who put this production together, thanks to the heavenly cast and choreographer.

The amazingly talented Tony Yazbeck is Arab American; his father is Lebanese. To paraphrase Susan Hayward's Helen Lawson: "Broadway doesn't go for bigotry and racism."

Are you aware that hometown girl Ivy Smith was played in the original 1944 production by Sono Osato, an American dancer of Japanese and French-Irish heritage? And as it happens, the next time I saw On the Town after this superb Broadway revival was a terrific semi-staged version with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston, with an excellent, diverse cast. (I sat in the top balcony amid a large group of high school students, who loved the show.) Leonard Bernstein, whose orchestral song cycle Songfest celebrates the diverse culture(s) of this country -- including settings of Spanish-language poems -- would most certainly NOT have approved of your narrow-minded comment.