On the Town (musical)

On the Town
Theatrical release poster (c. 1945)
Music	Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics	Betty Comden Adolph Green
Book	Betty Comden Adolph Green
Basis	Fancy Free, ballet by Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein
Productions	1944 Broadway 1949 Film 1963 West End 1971 Broadway revival 1998 Broadway revival 2007 English National Opera 2008 Encores! concert 2014 Broadway revival

On the Town is a musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on Jerome Robbins' idea for his 1944 ballet Fancy Free, which he had set to Bernstein's music. The musical introduced several popular and classic songs, among them "New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "I Can Cook, Too" (for which Bernstein also wrote the lyrics), and "Some Other Time". The story concerns three American sailors on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City during wartime 1944. Each of the three sailors meets and quickly connects with a woman.

On the Town was first produced on Broadway in 1944 and was made into a film in 1949, although the film replaced all but three of the original Broadway songs with Hollywood-written substitutes. The show has enjoyed a number of major revivals. The musical integrates dance into its storytelling: Robbins made a number of ballets and extended dance sequences for the show, including the "Imaginary Coney Island" ballet.

The Jerome Robbins ballet Fancy Free (1944), with music by Leonard Bernstein, was a hit for the American Ballet Theatre, and Oliver Smith, who designed the sets, and his business partner, Paul Feigay, thought that the ballet could be turned into a Broadway musical. They convinced Robbins and Bernstein, who in turn wanted their friends Comden and Green to write the book and lyrics. When the director George Abbott was added to the project, funding was secured, including funding from the movie studio MGM in return for the film rights.