Wonderful, Classy and Earnest!

 Wonderful Town

has a history and a half:

First came the short stories it was based on, My Sister Eileen,

written by Ruth McKenney and published in the New Yorker

back in 1938.

Then came the PLAY, My Sister Eileen (no music yet!)

done on Broadway in 1940.

Two years later, the first (!) movie version, with 

Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair (still no music),

and then a radio play done with the same cast. 

Come 1953, Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green

wrote the music for the Broadway musical,

Wonderful Town,

with Roz, Edie Adams, George Gaynes, et. al...

and after that, it was back to Hollywood for a 1955 version,

again called My Sister Eileen.

It seems that "they" couldn't get the rights to the musical,

so Jule Styne and Leo Robin were hired to write brand new music,

(and they had to place that music in different scenes, as well!).

That one starred Jack Lemmon, Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett,

Tommy Rall and Bob Fosse.

You wonder if Ruth McKenney had any idea of the legacy she began

with the writing of those little stories back in the day.

 Edie, Dody Goodman, and Roz.

Also in the cast: Nathaniel Frey (Damn Yankees),

Cris Alexander(On The Town) and Henry Lascoe (Silk Stockings!).

 Edie Adams was listed as Edith Adams

in the show's Playbill.

She was 26 years old and won a Theatre World Award for her work in the show.

 Roz and George Gaynes...

he "loved a quiet girl", she had "100 easy ways to lose a man."

The show won 5 Tony Awards,

including one for Roz and another for Best Musical. 

 A Class Act

is a show with songs written by Edward Kleban,

whose magnum opus was A Chorus Line

(Ed was the lyricist half, with Marvin Hamlisch on music).

When he died in 1987, he stated in his will that 

he would like his unpublished songs to be made into a musical.

Linda Kline and Lonny Price did just that.

Above, some of the cast:

Lonny (who starred as Ed), Randy Graff, Nancy Anderson 

and David Hibbard.

 Ed (above) suffered from mental illness and cancer,

passing away at the age of 48.

Thanks to A Class Act,

he was nominated for a Tony Award 14 years after he died.

From A Class Act, 

we'll hear "Better", "Broadway Boogie Woogie",

and "Gauguin's Shoes." 

The success of No, No, Nanette in 1971

started a nostalgia craze on Broadway.

Above Jack Gilford, Ruby Keeler, Bobby Van and Helen Gallagher.

We'll hear "Tea For Two."

This show has a long provenance as well:
1919: stage play

1925: Broadway play

1930: pre-code movie 

1940: another movie

1971: the REVIVAL! 

Music, Vincent Youmans, lyrics, Otto Harbach and Irving Caesar

 The above shot is NOT from the original Off-Broadway production of 

Ernest In Love,

which opened in 1960...

but that IS a cast recording pic, however, below

with Louis Edmonds and John Irving in the middle.

The show was written by Lee Pockriss and Anne Croswell,

who would work together again on Tovarich.

Lee (with other writers) produced the likes of 

"Catch A Falling Star", "Johnny Angel"

and "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."

 Brooks Atkinson's review of the show in the Times...

and below, the Tokyo version!