On Your Toes
Encyclopedia
On Your Toes is a musical
with a book by Richard Rodgers
, George Abbott
, and Lorenz Hart
, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.
While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan III tries to persuade Sergei Alexandrovich, the director of the Russian Ballet, to stage the jazz
ballet
"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
". After becoming involved with the company's prima ballerina, Vera Barnova, Junior is forced to assume the male lead in "Slaughter". Trouble ensues when he becomes the target of two thugs hired by Vera’s lover and dance partner to kill him.
On Your Toes marked the first time a Broadway
musical made dramatic use of classical dance
and incorporated jazz
into its score.
. His refusal of the part, because he thought that the role clashed with his debonair image developed in his contemporary films, caused it to be produced as a theatrical performance. Richard Rodgers wrote: "Astaire at that point in his career was a pretty chic fellow who usually wore white ties and tails, and the producers felt that there was no chance in our script for him to appear that way." Astaire thought that the ballet background in the plot was too "highbrow" for his audiences.Ray Bolger
was given the role, which allowed him to rise to stardom.
, opened on April 11, 1936 at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for seven months before transferring to the Majestic, for a total run of 315 performances. The cast included Ray Bolger
, Tamara Geva
, and Monty Woolley
.
The London West End production opened on 5 February 1937 at the Palace Theatre
, with Jack Whiting and Vera Zorina
as the dancers.
The first Broadway revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Balanchine, opened on October 11, 1954 at the 46th Street Theatre, where it ran for 64 performances. The cast included Vera Zorina, Bobby Van, and Elaine Stritch
. The original score was embellished with "You Took Advantage of Me
."
The second revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Donald Saddler
, started in 1982 with national previews. One of the original cast members, Natalia Makarova
, was injured during the preview at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Valentina Kozlova filled in the role and her former husband, Leonid Kozlov
, replaced George de la Peña
to complete the previews. After seven previews, the revival opened on March 6, 1983 at the Virginia Theatre with the original cast, where it ran for 505 performances. The cast included Natalia Makarova, Christine Andreas
, George de la Peña, George S. Irving
, Dina Merrill
, Philip Arthur Ross, Betty Ann Grove
and Lara Teeter
.
On a vaudeville stage, Phil Dolan II, his wife Lili, and his son Junior perform their nightly routine, but afterwards in the dressing-room, the parents tell Junior that he has to go to school. Fifteen years later, as predicted, Junior is a music teacher at Knickerbocker University. He has two talented students: Sidney Cohn and Frankie Frayne. Sidney has written a promising jazz ballet which Frankie catches Junior dancing to alone in the classroom (uncovering his "secret past"), and she trades an introduction to the Russian Ballet's manager in return for his listening to her song.
In the apartment of Vera Baranova, star of the Russian Ballet, Peggy, the manager, enthusiastically tells Sergei, the company's director, about the new jazz ballet. He is not interested in anything new - he doesn't even recognise that the Revolution has happened! Junior arrives as Vera and co-star/unfaithful lover Morrisone are having a Russian screaming match. The others leave, so that Vera and Junior can discuss the new ballet, but that leads to a new entanglement.
Back in the classroom, Frankie is jealous of Junior's stories about Vera and the Russians (Peggy has promised him a chance to dance in the corps de ballet), and they both wish they were away from it all. At the opening of the ballet, La Princesse Zenobia, Junior is told that one of the dancers is in jail and he has to take his place, but onstage he gets all his steps, rhythms and positions cock-eyed and makes a laughing-stock of the ballet. But the audience loves it, nevertheless.
Act II
Sergei, Peggy, Vera, Morrosine and Junior have listened to the jazz ballet. Opinions are mixed, and Vera and Morrosine are still arguing, as he becomes increasingly jealous of Junior. Poor Junior has got love problems, too: he upsets Frankie by going to lunch with Vera (for business reasons) instead of her, but she is "Glad to be Unhappy
".
Then Peggy, Sergei, and some of the company visit Junior's school. Sergei has come to break the bad news that he will not be doing the jazz ballet, but Peggy persuades him by threatening to pull out the million dollars she has put into the company. After Sergei's announcement that the next production will be Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, the class put on the title number "On Your Toes", in which the students' jazz and the company's classical routines are deftly combined.
At a rehearsal, Morrosine's jealousy of Junior gets out of control, there is a fight in which he is knocked out by Sergei, and suddenly Junior is the new star. The humiliated Morrosine plots with his gangster friend, Louie, to shoot Junior at the end of the performance. Joe, the stage doorman, overhears and warns Frankie. On-stage, Junior is tipped off and signals to the conductor to avoid the final loud climax which would cover the shot, so he keeps the orchestra playing the last few bars of the music over and over as Junior dances frantically to keep the shooter from firing. Finally, he is grabbed by the police. After the curtain call, Junior is embraced by Frankie, and is startled to see his parents waiting to congratulate him. The music-teacher has made it back to his home-ground - the stage.
Act II
and Lawrence Riley
and written by Richard Macauley and Jerry Wald
, with Ray Enright
directing. The film stars balletrina Vera Zorina
(billed as "Zorina"), Eddie Albert
, Alan Hale
and Frank McHugh
, and features Leonid Kinskey
and Gloria Dickson
, with James Gleason
, Erik Rhodes
, Berton Churchill
and Donald O'Connor
.
Although some of the songs from the Broadway score were used as background music, the film does not have any singing in it. The "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
" ballet does appear at the end of the film, with choreography by George Balanchine
, one of eight films he would create the dances for. Eddie Albert's character dances the lead in the ballet, opposite Zorina. According to John Reid, "Albert is no dancer...But with the aid of a visual double for one or two shots plus post-synched taps, he actually manages rather well, and even duets with the great Zorina with reasonable facility."
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
, and Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.
While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan III tries to persuade Sergei Alexandrovich, the director of the Russian Ballet, to stage the jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy On Your Toes. Slaughter is the story of a hoofer who falls in love with a dance hall girl who is then shot and killed...
". After becoming involved with the company's prima ballerina, Vera Barnova, Junior is forced to assume the male lead in "Slaughter". Trouble ensues when he becomes the target of two thugs hired by Vera’s lover and dance partner to kill him.
On Your Toes marked the first time a Broadway
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 made dramatic use of classical dance
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
and incorporated jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
into its score.
Background
On Your Toes was originally conceived as a film, and as a vehicle for Fred AstaireFred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
. His refusal of the part, because he thought that the role clashed with his debonair image developed in his contemporary films, caused it to be produced as a theatrical performance. Richard Rodgers wrote: "Astaire at that point in his career was a pretty chic fellow who usually wore white ties and tails, and the producers felt that there was no chance in our script for him to appear that way." Astaire thought that the ballet background in the plot was too "highbrow" for his audiences.Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
was given the role, which allowed him to rise to stardom.
Productions
The first Broadway production, directed by C. Worthington Miner and choreographed by George BalanchineGeorge Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
, opened on April 11, 1936 at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for seven months before transferring to the Majestic, for a total run of 315 performances. The cast included Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
, Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva was a Russian actress, ballet dancer and choreographer. She was the first wife of dancer/choreographer George Balanchine.-Biography:...
, and Monty Woolley
Monty Woolley
Monty Woolley was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his best-known role in the stage play and 1942 film The Man Who Came to Dinner...
.
The London West End production opened on 5 February 1937 at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
, with Jack Whiting and Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
as the dancers.
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
. The original score was embellished with "You Took Advantage of Me
You Took Advantage of Me
"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical Present Arms , where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Douglas Atwell....
."
The second revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler is an American choreographer, dancer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Van Nuys, California, Saddler studied dance at an early age to regain his strength after a bout of scarlet fever...
, started in 1982 with national previews. One of the original cast members, Natalia Makarova
Natalia Makarova
Nataliya Romanovna Makarova is the legendary Soviet-Russian-born prima ballerina. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that “Her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation.” She has also won awards as an...
, was injured during the preview at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Valentina Kozlova filled in the role and her former husband, Leonid Kozlov
Leonid Kozlov
Leonid Kozlov is a former principal dancer of the Bolshoi and New York City Ballet. He is also a choreographer, and the founder of Kozlov Dance International and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey.-Biography:...
, replaced George de la Peña
George de la Peña
George de la Peña is an American ballet dancer, musical theatre performer, choreographer, actor, and teacher. He was born in New York City, New York, U.S....
to complete the previews. After seven previews, the revival opened on March 6, 1983 at the Virginia Theatre with the original cast, where it ran for 505 performances. The cast included Natalia Makarova, Christine Andreas
Christine Andreas
-Biography:BroadwayAndreas was born in Camden, New Jersey. She made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Angel Street. The following year she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, for which she received the Theatre World Award...
, George de la Peña, George S. Irving
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
, Dina Merrill
Dina Merrill
-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...
, Philip Arthur Ross, Betty Ann Grove
Betty Ann Grove
Betty Ann Grove is an American actress and singer. A petite redhead with a powerful voice, she recorded in the 1950s. In 1950, she debuted on Broadway in the 1948 original production of Kiss Me Kate, playing Lois Lane/Bianca, a lead role that was originated by Lisa Kirk...
and Lara Teeter
Lara Teeter
Lara Teeter is an American dancer, actor, singer, theatre director and college professor.Born in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Teeter earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma City University. He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived 1980 musical Happy New Year, followed by another flop, the...
.
Synopsis
Act IOn a vaudeville stage, Phil Dolan II, his wife Lili, and his son Junior perform their nightly routine, but afterwards in the dressing-room, the parents tell Junior that he has to go to school. Fifteen years later, as predicted, Junior is a music teacher at Knickerbocker University. He has two talented students: Sidney Cohn and Frankie Frayne. Sidney has written a promising jazz ballet which Frankie catches Junior dancing to alone in the classroom (uncovering his "secret past"), and she trades an introduction to the Russian Ballet's manager in return for his listening to her song.
In the apartment of Vera Baranova, star of the Russian Ballet, Peggy, the manager, enthusiastically tells Sergei, the company's director, about the new jazz ballet. He is not interested in anything new - he doesn't even recognise that the Revolution has happened! Junior arrives as Vera and co-star/unfaithful lover Morrisone are having a Russian screaming match. The others leave, so that Vera and Junior can discuss the new ballet, but that leads to a new entanglement.
Back in the classroom, Frankie is jealous of Junior's stories about Vera and the Russians (Peggy has promised him a chance to dance in the corps de ballet), and they both wish they were away from it all. At the opening of the ballet, La Princesse Zenobia, Junior is told that one of the dancers is in jail and he has to take his place, but onstage he gets all his steps, rhythms and positions cock-eyed and makes a laughing-stock of the ballet. But the audience loves it, nevertheless.
Act II
Sergei, Peggy, Vera, Morrosine and Junior have listened to the jazz ballet. Opinions are mixed, and Vera and Morrosine are still arguing, as he becomes increasingly jealous of Junior. Poor Junior has got love problems, too: he upsets Frankie by going to lunch with Vera (for business reasons) instead of her, but she is "Glad to be Unhappy
Glad to Be Unhappy
"Glad to Be Unhappy" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was introduced in their 1936 musical On Your Toes by Doris Carson and David Morris, although it was not popular at the time, as there was only one 1936 recording of the tune. In the 1937 London...
".
Then Peggy, Sergei, and some of the company visit Junior's school. Sergei has come to break the bad news that he will not be doing the jazz ballet, but Peggy persuades him by threatening to pull out the million dollars she has put into the company. After Sergei's announcement that the next production will be Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, the class put on the title number "On Your Toes", in which the students' jazz and the company's classical routines are deftly combined.
At a rehearsal, Morrosine's jealousy of Junior gets out of control, there is a fight in which he is knocked out by Sergei, and suddenly Junior is the new star. The humiliated Morrosine plots with his gangster friend, Louie, to shoot Junior at the end of the performance. Joe, the stage doorman, overhears and warns Frankie. On-stage, Junior is tipped off and signals to the conductor to avoid the final loud climax which would cover the shot, so he keeps the orchestra playing the last few bars of the music over and over as Junior dances frantically to keep the shooter from firing. Finally, he is grabbed by the police. After the curtain call, Junior is embraced by Frankie, and is startled to see his parents waiting to congratulate him. The music-teacher has made it back to his home-ground - the stage.
Original song list
Act I- Two a Day for Keith
- Questions and Answers (The Three Bs)
- It's Got to Be Love
- Too Good for the Average Man
- There's a Small HotelThere's a Small Hotel"There's a Small Hotel" is a 1936 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart originally written for but dropped from the musical "Billy Rose's Jumbo" , then used in On Your Toes , where it was introduced by Ray Bolger and Doris Carson and also interpolated in the film...
- Princesse Zenobia Ballet
Act II
- The Heart is Quicker than the Eye
- Quiet Night
- Glad to Be UnhappyGlad to Be Unhappy"Glad to Be Unhappy" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was introduced in their 1936 musical On Your Toes by Doris Carson and David Morris, although it was not popular at the time, as there was only one 1936 recording of the tune. In the 1937 London...
- On Your Toes
- Slaughter on Tenth AvenueSlaughter on Tenth AvenueSlaughter on Tenth Avenue is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy On Your Toes. Slaughter is the story of a hoofer who falls in love with a dance hall girl who is then shot and killed...
1983 awards and nominations
- Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Reproduction (winner) - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Makarova, winner)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Teeter, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Andreas, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominee)
- Theatre World AwardTheatre World AwardThe Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
(Makarova, winner) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding RevivalDrama Desk Award for Outstanding RevivalThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, or legitimate not-for-profit theater revival of a production previously staged in New York City.It...
(winner) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a MusicalDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a MusicalThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
(Makarova, winner) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding ChoreographyDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography-1970s:* 1970: Ron Field – Applause** No nominees* 1971: Michael Bennett – Follies and Donald Saddler – No, No, Nanette** No nominees* 1972: Patricia Birch – Grease and Jean Erdman – Two Gentlemen of Verona...
(nominee) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a MusicalDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a MusicalThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
(winner) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding OrchestrationsDrama Desk Award for Outstanding OrchestrationsThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
(winner) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume DesignDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume DesignThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
(nominee)
Film adaptation
In 1939, Warner Bros. filmed On Your Toes as adapted by Sig HerzigSig Herzig
Sig Herzig was an American screenwriter and playwright.Born Siegfried Maurice Herzig in New York City, Herzig began his career as the director of the comedy short Husband and Strife , but he switched gears to create plot lines for more than three dozen silent films...
and Lawrence Riley
Lawrence Riley
Lawrence Riley was a successful American playwright and screenwriter. He gained fame in 1934 as the author of the Broadway hit Personal Appearance, which was turned by Mae West into the classic film Go West, Young Man , starring herself.-Biography:Riley was a Princeton University alumnus and a...
and written by Richard Macauley and Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald was an American producer and screenwriter for motion pictures and radio shows.Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at New York...
, with Ray Enright
Ray Enright
Ray Enright was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927 and 1953.He was born in Anderson, Indiana and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:...
directing. The film stars balletrina Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina was a Norwegian ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer.-Background:Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz was a German and her mother Billie Hartwig was Norwegian. Both were professional singers...
(billed as "Zorina"), Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
, Alan Hale
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale, Sr. was an American movie actor and director, most widely remembered for his many supporting character roles, in particular as frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. His wife of over thirty years was Gretchen Hartman , a child actress and silent film player and mother of their three children...
and Frank McHugh
Frank McHugh
Francis Curray "Frank" McHugh was an American film and television actor.Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company and as a young child he performed on stage...
, and features Leonid Kinskey
Leonid Kinskey
Leonid Kinskey was a Russian-born movie and television actor who enjoyed a long career. Kinskey is best known for his role as Sascha in the film Casablanca ....
and Gloria Dickson
Gloria Dickson
Gloria Dickson was an American stage and screen actress of the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Dickson began acting during high school in amateur theatre productions. Encouraged by her acting coaches, she moonlighted doing dramatic readings at social clubs and on KFOX...
, with James Gleason
James Gleason
James Austin Gleason was an American actor born in New York City. He was also a playwright and screenwriter.-Career:...
, Erik Rhodes
Erik Rhodes (actor)
Erik Rhodes was an American film and Broadway singer and actor. He is best remembered today for appearing in two classic Hollywood musical films with popular dancing team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat .-Biography:Born Ernest Sharpe at El Reno, Indian Territory,...
, Berton Churchill
Berton Churchill
Berton Churchill was a Canadian actor.Born in Toronto, Ontario. As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and later headed to New York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage...
and Donald O'Connor
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
.
Although some of the songs from the Broadway score were used as background music, the film does not have any singing in it. The "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy On Your Toes. Slaughter is the story of a hoofer who falls in love with a dance hall girl who is then shot and killed...
" ballet does appear at the end of the film, with choreography by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
, one of eight films he would create the dances for. Eddie Albert's character dances the lead in the ballet, opposite Zorina. According to John Reid, "Albert is no dancer...But with the aid of a visual double for one or two shots plus post-synched taps, he actually manages rather well, and even duets with the great Zorina with reasonable facility."