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Musical

Wonderful Town is a 1953 musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be a writer and actress respectively, seeking success from their basement apartment in New York City's Greenwich Village. It is based on Fields and Chodorov's 1940 play My Sister Eileen, which in turn originated from autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney first published in The New Yorker in the late 1930s and later published in book form as My Sister Eileen. Only the last two stories in McKenney's book were used, and they were heavily modified. After a pre Broadway try out at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, Wonderful Town premiered on Broadway in 1953, starring Rosalind Russell in the role of Ruth Sherwood, Edie Adams as Eileen Sherwood, and George Gaynes as Robert Baker. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actress, and spawned three New York City Center productions between 1958 and 1966, the 1955 and 1986 West End production and 2003 Broadway revival. It is a lighter piece than Bernstein's later works, West Side Story and Candide, but none of the songs have become as popular.

Produced by Robert Fryer, the original production premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre on February 25, 1953, where it ran for 559 performances, closing on July 3, 1954. George Abbott served as director, with choreography by Donald Saddler. The original cast featured Rosalind Russell in the role of Ruth Sherwood, Edie Adams as Eileen Sherwood, and George Gaynes as Robert Baker. Carol Channing replaced Russell for the final 6 months of the run.

The West End premiere opened at The Prince's Theatre on February 25, 1955, running for 207 performances starring Pat Kirkwood as Ruth, Shani Wallis as Eileen, and Sid James as Wreck. The musical was produced by Jack Hylton with Cyril Ornadel as music director.

On November 30, 1958, CBS Television broadcast a live special of the musical, with Rosalind Russell (Ruth Sherwood), Jackie McKeever (Eileen Sherwood), Sydney Chaplin (Bob Baker), and Jordan Bentley (the Wreck).

In May 2000 City Center Encores! presented a staged concert starring Donna Murphy and Laura Benanti. With direction and choreography by Kathleen Marshall, the production was well received, eventually leading to a full revival. Again directed by Marshall, the 2003 Broadway Revival opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 23, 2003, and closed on January 30, 2005 after 497 performances. Murphy reprised her role as Ruth, with Jennifer Westfeldt as Eileen and Gregg Edelman as Robert. Brooke Shields took over the role of Ruth beginning September 28, 2004. As had happened when Shields was a replacement for Rizzo in the Broadway revival of Grease, the cast album was re released with Shields' voice replacing Murphy's.

Though there have been only two major Broadway productions of Wonderful Town, many recordings of the music have been made over the years. 1953: The Original Broadway Cast with Rosalind Russell as Ruth. 1958: The CBS TV Movie Cast with Rosalind Russell as Ruth. 1986: The Original London Cast with Maureen Lipman as Ruth. 1998: A Studio Cast recording with Karen Mason as Ruth. The first complete recording of the score. 1999: A Studio Cast recording with Kim Criswell as Ruth and Audra McDonald as Eileen, with Thomas Hampson, and Rodney Gilfry. The recording is conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. 2002: A live performance in Berlin on DVD with Kim Criswell as Ruth and Audra McDonald as Eileen, and with Thomas Hampson and Wayne Marshall, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. 2003: The cast recording of a new revival with Donna Murphy and Jennifer Westfeldt as Ruth and Eileen, respectively. 2004: A new recording of the 2003 production, with Brooke Shields and Jennifer Hope Wills as Ruth and Eileen, respectively. For this recording, the original orchestral tracks from the New Broadway recording were used, and only Ruth and Eileen's songs were rerecorded. 2017: Live recording with Danielle de Niese as Eileen and Alysha Umphress as Ruth, with Nathan Gunn as Bob, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.