Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein. It is based on Fields and Chodorov's 1940 play My Sister Eileen, which is itself based on the collection of short stories by Ruth McKenney of the same name.
Premiering on Broadway in 1953, Wonderful Town won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and spawned a 1986 West End production and 2003 Broadway revival. A lighter piece than Bernstein's later works, West Side Story and Candide, Comden and Green's lyrics are paired with Bernstein's music to produce some of the most popular songs of the 1950s.
The musical follows the story of sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, who travel to New York City from Columbus, Ohio in search of love and fortune. My Sister Eileen, the collection of short stories on which the play and musical are based, recounts Ruth's memories of growing up with her sister. The collection was published as a hardcover book in 1938, three years after the events depicted in the musical. Only the final two stories in the book have anything to do with the plot of Wonderful Town, and they are heavily modified for the musical. The stories also served as the basis of two films and a television series.
Rosalind Russell, Cris Alexander, Jordan Bentley (I), Ted Beniades, Isabella Hoopes, Dort Clark (I) and Michele Burke all reprise the roles they created on Broadway.
Legend has it that Edie Adams, who originated the role of Eileen on Broadway, was replaced for the TV production because Rosalind Russell was jealous of the reviews and attention that Adams had received for her performance. Jacquelyn McKeever was chosen to play the role.
