Taking the Town

Abstract

Betty Comden and Adolph Green returned to New York from Hollywood in 1944 unsure of what they would do next for work. They found some performing in nightclubs, but it wasn’t until they were approached by Leonard Bernstein, an old friend, and Jerome Robbins about developing a book for a musical that was to be inspired by Fancy Free, a ballet that the men had created together, that they found their genuine footing. The collaboration became, of course, the landmark musical On the Town, and not only did Comden and Green write the book and lyrics for it; they also had two of the primary roles in the show when it opened in December 1945.