"Балет пен джаз: «Аяқтарыңды биле» мюзиклі"

Musical

On Your Toes (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan III tries to persuade Sergei Alexandrovich, the director of the Russian Ballet, to stage the jazz ballet Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. After becoming involved with the company's prima ballerina Vera Barnova, Junior is forced to assume the male lead in Slaughter. Trouble ensues when he becomes the target of two thugs hired by Vera's lover and dance partner to kill him. On Your Toes marked the first time a Broadway musical made dramatic use of classical dance and incorporated jazz into its score.

On Your Toes originally was conceived as a film, and as a vehicle for Fred Astaire. His refusal of the part, because he thought that the role clashed with his debonair image developed in his contemporary films, caused it to be presented initially as a stage production. Richard Rodgers wrote: "Astaire at that point in his career was a pretty chic fellow who usually wore white ties and tails, and the producers felt that there was no chance in our script for him to appear that way." Astaire thought that the ballet background in the plot was too "highbrow" for his audiences. Ray Bolger was given the stage role, which allowed him to rise to stardom. Eddie Albert, not known as a dancer in his career, gave a remarkable performance opposite Vera Zorina in the 1939 film.

The first Broadway production, directed by C. Worthington Miner and choreographed by George Balanchine, opened on April 11, 1936, at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for seven months, then transferred to the Majestic, for a total run of 315 performances. The cast included Ray Bolger (Junior), Tamara Geva (Vera Barnova), and Monty Woolley (Sergei Alexandrovitch). The London West End production opened on February 5, 1937, at the Palace Theatre, with Jack Whiting (Junior) and Vera Zorina (Vera Barnova). The first Broadway revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Balanchine, opened on October 11, 1954 at the 46th Street Theatre, where it ran for 64 performances. The cast included Vera Zorina, Bobby Van, Elaine Stritch, and David Winters. The original score was embellished with "You Took Advantage of Me." The second revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Donald Saddler, started in 1982 with national previews. One of the original cast members, Natalia Makarova, was injured during the preview at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C. Valentina Kozlova filled in the role, and Leonid Kozlov, her former husband, replaced George de la Peña to complete the previews. After seven previews, the revival opened on March 6, 1983 at the Virginia Theatre with the original cast, where it ran for 505 performances. The cast included Natalia Makarova, Christine Andreas, George de la Peña, George S. Irving, Dina Merrill, Philip Arthur Ross, Betty Ann Grove and Lara Teeter. Makarova won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a musical. The same production opened at the Palace Theatre, London on June 12, 1984, starring Natalia Makarova, Tim Flavin, Siobhan McCarthy and Honor Blackman; it received rave reviews and ran for 539 performances.

In 1939, Warner Bros. filmed On Your Toes as adapted by Sig Herzig and Lawrence Riley and written by Richard Macauley and Jerry Wald, with Ray Enright directing. The film stars ballerina Vera Zorina (billed as Zorina), Eddie Albert, Alan Hale and Frank McHugh, and features Leonid Kinskey, Gloria Dickson, James Gleason, Erik Rhodes, Berton Churchill and Donald O'Connor. Although some of the songs from the Broadway score were used as background music, the film does not have any singing in it. The Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet does appear at the end of the film, with choreography by George Balanchine, one of eight films for which he created the dances. Eddie Albert's character dances the lead in the ballet, opposite Zorina. According to John Reid, "Albert is no dancer But with the aid of a visual double for one or two shots plus post synched taps, he actually manages rather well, and even duets with the great Zorina with reasonable facility."