Bernstein: Wonderful Town

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.

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. (Wiki)