Bright Lights of 1944
Encyclopedia
Bright Lights of 1944 was a 1943 Broadway
musical revue with music composed by Jerry Livingston
and lyrics by Mack David
.
It opened at the Forrest Theatre
where it played for a total of four performances. The cast featured James Barton, Buddy Clark
, and the vaudeville team Smith and Dale.
Act one is set in Sardi's
, a New York City theatre-district restaurant, where two producers are planning a show. Renee Carroll, an actual hat check girl at Sardi's, played herself in the musical. Smith and Dale played waiters. The second half of the revue is the show the producers were planning in act one, and included the Smith and Dale sketch "Doctor Kronkite".
Music was provided by John Kirby
and his orchestra.
Bright Lights of 1944, which cost $72,000 to produce, brought $5,200 in receipts. Writing for The New York Times, Lewis Nichols called the first half of the show "quite bad, being both dull and tedious."
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical revue with music composed by Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.-Biography:...
and lyrics by Mack David
Mack David
Mack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
.
It opened at the Forrest Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
where it played for a total of four performances. The cast featured James Barton, Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark was a popular American singer in the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:Clark was born Samuel Goldberg to Jewish parents in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He made his Big Band singing debut in 1934 with Benny Goodman on the Let's Dance radio program. In 1936 he started to perform on the...
, and the vaudeville team Smith and Dale.
Act one is set in Sardi's
Sardi's
Sardi's is a restaurant in New York City's theater district at 234 West 44th Street in Manhattan. Known for the hundreds of caricatures of show-business celebrities that adorn its walls, Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927....
, a New York City theatre-district restaurant, where two producers are planning a show. Renee Carroll, an actual hat check girl at Sardi's, played herself in the musical. Smith and Dale played waiters. The second half of the revue is the show the producers were planning in act one, and included the Smith and Dale sketch "Doctor Kronkite".
Music was provided by John Kirby
John Kirby (musician)
John Kirby , was a jazz double-bassist who also played trombone and tuba.-Background:Kirby may have been born in Winchester, Virginia, although other sources say he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, orphaned, and adopted. Kirby hit New York at 17, but after his trombone got stolen, he switched to...
and his orchestra.
Bright Lights of 1944, which cost $72,000 to produce, brought $5,200 in receipts. Writing for The New York Times, Lewis Nichols called the first half of the show "quite bad, being both dull and tedious."