Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.
Loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story Ninotchka and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired, it focuses on special envoy Nina Yaschenko, who is dispatched from the Soviet Union to rescue three foolish commissars from the pleasures of Paris. Romanced by theatrical agent Steven Canfield, she eventually comes to recognize the virtues of capitalist indulgence. Other characters include Peter Boroff, Russia's greatest composer, who is being wooed by Janice Dayton, America's swimming sweetheart, to write the score for her first non-aquatic picture, a musical adaptation of War and Peace.
Following tryouts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit, the Broadway production, directed by Cy Feuer and choreographed by Eugene Loring, opened on February 24 1955 at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 478 performances. The cast included Hildegarde Neff, Don Ameche, Gretchen Wyler, George Tobias, David Opatoshu, Julie Newmar, and Onna White. An original cast recording was released by RCA Victor.
Silk Stockings is a 1957 MGM musical film remake of Ninotchka. It was directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The supporting cast included Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin, and George Tobias repeating his Broadway role.
It received Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Film and Best Actress (Charisse) in the Comedy/Musical category.
The score was embellished with the song "The Ritz Roll and Rock," a parody of the then-emerging rock and roll genre. The number ends with Astaire symbolically smashing his top hat, considered one of his trademarks, signaling his retirement from movie musicals, which he announced following the film's release.
A musical remake of Ninotchka: After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka is sent to complete their mission and to retrieve them. She starts out condemning the decadent West, but gradually falls under its spell, with the help of Steve Canfield, an American movie producer. Written by John Oswalt
