Broadway (play)

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Written by
Date premieredSeptember 16, 1926 (1926-09-16)
Place premieredBroadhurst Theatre,
New York City, New York
Original languageEnglish
Broadway
First edition 1927
Written by
Date premieredSeptember 16, 1926 (1926-09-16)
Place premieredBroadhurst Theatre,
New York City, New York
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingThe private party room of the Paradise Night Club, New York City

Broadway is a 1926 Broadway play produced by Jed Harris and written and directed by George Abbott and Philip Dunning. It was Abbott's first big hit on his way to becoming "the most famous play doctor of all time" after he "rejiggered" Dunning's play.[1] The crime drama used "contemporary street slang and a hard-boiled, realistic atmosphere"[2] to depict the New York City underworld during Prohibition. It opened on September 16, 1926, at the Broadhurst Theatre and was one of the venue's greatest hits,[3] running for 603 performances.

Roy (Lee Tracy) questions Billie (Sylvia Field) about the bracelet she is wearing in the original production of Broadway (1926)
Sylvia Field, costarring with Lee Tracy in Broadway (1927)

Written and directed by Philip Dunning and George Abbott, and produced by Jed Harris, Broadway opened September 16, 1926, at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. The cast is listed in order of appearance:[4]

Broadway was a smash hit, running for 603 performances. In addition to having his first prominent stage role, cast member Joseph Calleia acted as the company's stage manager and, working for producer Jed Harris, he supervised some ten duplicate productions of Broadway in the United States and abroad.[6][7]

Adaptations

Film

Carl Laemmle paid $225,000 for the film rights[8] in 1927, a sum that set a record.[9] Universal Pictures released Broadway on September 15, 1929.[10]

Television

A one-hour adaptation of Broadway starring Joseph Cotten and Piper Laurie aired May 4, 1955, on the CBS TV series The Best of Broadway.[11]

Revivals

References

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