Tap dance (or tap ) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be a cappella , with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own music.
120-453: June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman ; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She signed with MGM in 1943, and rose to fame the following year in Two Girls and a Sailor . Allyson's " girl next door " image was solidified during the mid-1940s when she
240-569: A "tactical master stroke", she asked Mayer to give her away at the wedding. He was so disarmed that he agreed but put Allyson on suspension anyway. The Powells had two children, Pamela Allyson Powell (adopted in 1948 through the Tennessee Children's Home Society in an adoption arranged by Georgia Tann ) and Richard Powell, Jr., born December 24, 1950. In the mid 1950s, Allyson reportedly had an affair with actor Alan Ladd . Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway ,
360-472: A 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon " matinée " performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony
480-428: A Catholic, but a discrepancy exists relating to her early life, and her studio biography was often the source of the confusion. Her paternal grandparents, Harry Geisman and Anna Hafner, were immigrants from Germany although Allyson claimed her last name was originally "Van Geisman", and was of Dutch origin. Studio biographies listed her as Jan Allyson born to Franco-English parents. Upon her death, her daughter said Allyson
600-839: A Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , Broadway theaters closed on March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The Broadway League shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021, and later to June 1, 2021. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most sectors of New York would have their restrictions lifted on May 19, 2021, but he stated that Broadway theatres would not be able to immediately resume performances on this date due to logistical reasons. In May 2021, Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters would be allowed to reopen on September 14, and
720-449: A booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory." Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. All those changes would prove painful for many, including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience." Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style,
840-663: A cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of The New York Times noted: Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for The Addams Family . In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments. According to Mark Shenton, "One of
960-434: A challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of
1080-481: A comedy with David Niven . She then made A Stranger in My Arms (1958) with Jeff Chandler . The box office failure of these films effectively ended her reign as an A-list movie star . The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1959–60) ran for one season on CBS and was an attempt to use a high budget formula. She later called it "the hardest thing I ever did." Her efforts were dismissed by an entertainment critic in
1200-540: A company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia , and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist . The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida . During the Revolutionary War , theatre was suspended in New York City. But after
1320-403: A continuous base material along the underside of the shoes; a split-sole tap shoe has a gap in the base material under the arch of the foot, making them more flexible. Modern tap shoes have soles with heels of varying height (one inch or more) and are commonly made of wood or stacked leather. Some beginner tap shoes have heels made of plastic. The toe box of the tap shoe is located on the front of
SECTION 10
#17327876047681440-565: A discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square , in Lower Manhattan , and at Lincoln Center . This service is run by Theatre Development Fund . Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full—and their grosses as high—as possible. According to The Broadway League , total Broadway attendance
1560-906: A few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I . A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01. In the early years of the twentieth century, translations of popular late-nineteenth century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s, by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse , Guy Bolton , and Harry B. Smith . Victor Herbert , whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas ( The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)). Beginning with The Red Mill , Broadway shows installed electric signs outside
1680-502: A film about a tap dancing penguin. Another well-known tap film is 1989's Tap , starring Gregory Hines and many old-time hoofers. Early tappers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly introduced ballet elements and style into tap. This style of tap led to what is today known as Broadway style , which is popular in American culture. It often involves high heeled tap shoes and show music, and
1800-401: A form of dance called "jigging", which was taken up by minstrel show dancers in the 1800s. Tap dance then became a popular stage entertainment. As minstrel shows began to decline in popularity, tap dance moved to the increasingly popular Vaudeville stage. Due to Vaudeville's unspoken "two-colored rule", which forbade blacks to perform solo, many Vaudeville tap acts were duets. One such duo
1920-532: A larger theatre. Other productions are first developed through workshops and then out-of-town tryouts before transferring to Broadway. Merrily We Roll Along famously skipped an out-of-town tryout and attempted to do an in-town tryout—actually preview performances —on Broadway before its official opening, with disastrous results. After, or even during, successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with new casts and crew for
2040-526: A more experimental, challenging, and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals Hair , Little Shop of Horrors , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Rent , Avenue Q , In the Heights , Fun Home , A Chorus Line , Dear Evan Hansen , and Hamilton , began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in
2160-539: A negative COVID-19 test (PCR within 72 hours or antigen within six hours of the performance start time). Beginning November 8, those ages 5–11 also had the option to provide proof of at least one vaccination shot. Effective December 14, in accordance with NYC's vaccination mandate, guests ages 5–11 were required to have at least one vaccination shot until January 29, 2022, where they had to be fully vaccinated. The vaccine mandate lasted until April 30, and attendees were also required to wear face masks until July 1. During
2280-1152: A new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill , whose plays Beyond the Horizon , Anna Christie , The Hairy Ape , Strange Interlude , and Mourning Becomes Electra proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice , Maxwell Anderson , Robert E. Sherwood , Clifford Odets , Tennessee Williams , and Arthur Miller , as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart . Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in Hamlet and Richard III , John Gielgud in Hamlet , The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing , Walter Hampden and José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac , Paul Robeson and Ferrer in Othello , Maurice Evans in Richard II and
2400-475: A protégé of Alice Whitman of The Whitman Sisters around 1904 (then known as "Willie Robinson"). Well versed in both Buck and Wing dancing and Irish Step dancing, Robinson joined the Vaudeville circuit in 1902 in a duo with George W. Cooper. The act quickly became famous, headlining events across the country, and touring England as well. In 1908, the partnership ended and Robinson began dancing solo, which
2520-520: A pullback, pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, Waltz Clog, the paddle roll, the paradiddle, stomp, brushes, scuffs, spanks, single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks toe stands, over-the-tops, military time step, New Yorkers, and Shiggy Bops. In the earliest years of tap dancing, tap shoes often had wooden soles. The soles of modern tap shoes are either full-sole or split-sole. A full-sole tap shoe has
SECTION 20
#17327876047682640-500: A rate acceptable to the producers, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers—with the permission of their unions—take reduced salaries, to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend money to
2760-431: A run of 253 performances. The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook , which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and
2880-481: A show to keep it running. Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season— Lincoln Center Theatre , Roundabout Theatre Company , Manhattan Theatre Club , and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of
3000-518: A stint as an understudy for the lead, Betty Hutton , and when Hutton contracted measles , Allyson appeared in five performances of Panama Hattie . Broadway director George Abbott caught one of performances and offered Allyson one of the lead roles in his production of Best Foot Forward (1941). After her appearance in the Broadway musical, Allyson was selected for the 1943 film version of Best Foot Forward . When she arrived in Hollywood ,
3120-424: A variation with a pickup, which is essentially adding an additional brush sound. Popular steps with many variations include pullbacks, timesteps, riffs, and drawbacks. Time steps is an umbrella term that is widely used in tap for any combination of steps that follows a specific rhythm or pattern. These consist of a rhythm that is changed to make new time steps by adding or removing steps. There are many variations of
3240-580: A venue for plays under the name Burton's Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery Theatre objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper-class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for
3360-448: A wheelchair to crutches to braces, Allyson's true escape from her impoverished life was to go to the cinema, where she was enraptured by Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies. As a teen, Allyson memorized the trademark dance routines of Ginger Rogers. She claimed later to have watched The Gay Divorcee 17 times. She also tried to emulate the singing styles of movie stars, but never mastered reading music. When her mother remarried and
3480-665: Is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters , each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway , in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Broadway and London 's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare
3600-404: Is an African-American artform that evolved alongside the advent of jazz music . Tap is a type of step dance that began with the combination of Southern American and Irish dance traditions, such as Irish soft-shoe and hard-shoe step dances , and a variety of both slave and freeman step dances. The fusion of African rhythms and performance styles with European techniques of footwork led to
3720-475: Is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City . According to The Broadway League , shows on Broadway sold approximately US$ 1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022-2023 and the 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each. Most Broadway shows are musicals . Historian Martin Shefter argues that "Broadway musicals, culminating in
June Allyson - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-453: Is currently considered to be modern tap, but has since declined in popularity. Basic tap steps are known as "one-sound steps" and are either weight shifting or non-weight-shifting steps. Common basic tap steps include heel drops, toe drops, a brush, scuff, chug, pull, hop, leap and step. In advanced tap dancing, basic steps are often combined together to create new steps. Many steps also have single, double, and triple variations, or can have
3960-562: Is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square . Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: Broadway Theatre , Palace Theatre , and Winter Garden Theatre . The rest are located on the numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street , and Vivian Beaumont Theater , at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist,
4080-576: Is made by shoes that have a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. Different shoes may differ in their sound. Tap dance is an indigenous American dance form with roots that go back 300 years to Irish and West African musical and step dance traditions, which themselves have medieval and ancient roots . During the 17th – 19th centuries, it was primarily developed from European step dance forms, such as jigs and clogs . These dances were brought to America by immigrants and eventually grew to incorporate African rhythms and styles . These fused and evolved into
4200-571: Is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule. In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney , change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on
4320-465: Is usually the type of tap first taught to beginners. Examples of this style are found in Broadway musicals such as Anything Goes and 42nd Street . "Soft-Shoe" is a rhythm form of tap dancing that does not require special shoes, and though rhythm is generated by tapping of the feet, it also uses sliding of the feet (even sometimes using scattered sand on the stage to enhance the sound of sliding feet) more often than modern rhythm tap. It preceded what
4440-614: The LA Examiner as "reaching down to the level of mag fiction ." However, TV Guide and other fan magazines such as TV Magazine considered Allyson's foray into television as revitalizing her fame and career for a younger audience, and remarked that her typecasting by the movie industry as the "girl next door" was a "waste and neglect of talent on its own doorstep." She also appeared on shows like Zane Grey Theater , The Dick Powell Theatre , The Judy Garland Show , and Burke's Law before retiring for several years after
4560-610: The American Theatre Wing , a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York. Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four ( Lincoln Center Theater , Manhattan Theatre Club , Roundabout Theatre Company , and Second Stage Theatre ) belong to
4680-580: The League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. ( Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.) The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization , a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres;
4800-503: The Nederlander Organization , which controls nine theatres; and ATG Entertainment , which owns seven Broadway houses. Both musicals and straight plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from film and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving
4920-476: The Roaring Twenties , borrowing from vaudeville, music hall , and other light entertainment, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of
June Allyson - Misplaced Pages Continue
5040-536: The chorus line at the Copacabana Club with acting roles at Vitaphone , the diminutive 5'1", below-100-pound Allyson landed a chorus job in the Broadway show Sing Out the News in 1938. The “legend” around her stage name is that the choreographer gave her a job and a new name: Allyson, a family name, and June, for the month, although like many aspects of her career resume, the story is highly unlikely as she
5160-889: The "sad-looking before part" in a before-and-after bathing suit magazine ad. Her first career break came when Educational cast her as an ingenue opposite singer Lee Sullivan , comic dancers Herman Timberg, Jr. , and Pat Rooney, Jr. , and future comedy star Danny Kaye in a series of shorts. These included Swing for Sale (1937), Pixilated (1937), Ups and Downs (1937), Dime a Dance (1938), Dates and Nuts (1938) and Sing for Sweetie (1938). When Educational ceased operations, Allyson moved to Vitaphone in Brooklyn and starred or co-starred (with dancer Hal Le Roy ) in musical shorts . These included The Prisoner of Swing (1938), The Knight Is Young (1938), Rollin' in Rhythm (1939) and All Girl Revue (1940). Interspersing jobs in
5280-409: The 1920s were lighthearted productions such as Sally ; Lady Be Good ; Sunny ; No, No, Nanette ; Harlem ; Oh, Kay! ; and Funny Face . Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin , Cole Porter , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , and Rodgers and Hart , among others, and Noël Coward , Sigmund Romberg , and Rudolf Friml continued in
5400-672: The Black Widow (1977), Three on a Date (1978), Vega$ (1978), Blackout (1978), House Calls , The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982) Simon & Simon , The Love Boat , Hart to Hart , Murder, She Wrote , Misfits of Science , Crazy Like a Fox , and Airwolf . Her last appearance was in These Old Broads (2001). Allyson made a special appearance in 1994 in That's Entertainment III , as one of
5520-673: The Blackburn Twins. Allyson played the tomboy Jo March in Little Women (1949), which was a huge hit. She was adept at crying on cue, and many of her films incorporated a crying scene. Fellow MGM player Margaret O'Brien recalled that she and Allyson were known as "the town criers". "I cried once in a picture and they said 'Let's do it again', and I cried for the rest of my career", she later said. The same year, MGM announced Allyson would be in Forever by Mildred Crann, but
5640-536: The Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs. For Broadway national tours of top-tier cities,
5760-619: The Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians' union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be eighteen, while at the Music Box Theatre it is nine. Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that
5880-738: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
6000-574: The Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards , John Walter Bratton , and George M. Cohan ( Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with
6120-903: The Emmy award winning PBS documentary of 1979, helped begin the recent revival of tap dance. The outstanding success of the animated film , Happy Feet , has further reinforced the popular appeal. National Tap Dance Day in the United States, now celebrated May 25, was signed into law by President George Bush on November 7, 1989. (May 25 was chosen because it is the birthday of famous tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson .) Prominent modern tap dancers have included Sarah Reich , Brenda Bufalino , Melinda Sullivan , The Clark Brothers , James "Buster" Brown , Savion Glover , Gregory and Maurice Hines , LaVaughn Robinson , Jason Samuels Smith , Chloe Arnold , Michelle Dorrance , Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards , and Dianne "Lady Di" Walker . Indie-pop band Tilly and
SECTION 50
#17327876047686240-456: The Erlanger syndicate. During this time, the play Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925. The motion picture mounted
6360-499: The June Allyson Foundation for Public Awareness and Medical Research and worked to raise money for research for urological and gynecological diseases affecting senior citizens. During the 1980s, Allyson also became a spokesperson for Depend undergarments , in a successful marketing campaign that has been credited in reducing the social stigma of incontinence . She made her final onscreen appearance in 2001. Allyson
6480-583: The June Allyson Foundation in 1998, made possible by a grant from Kimberly-Clark . The foundation raises money for incontinence education and research. As the first celebrity to undertake the role of public spokesperson for promoting the use of the Depend undergarment, Allyson did "more than any other public figure to encourage and persuade people with incontinence to lead fuller and more active lives". On her arrival in Hollywood, studio heads attempted to enhance
6600-457: The League confirmed that performances would begin to resume in the fall season. Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre . Pass Over then had its first preview on August 4, and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open. Hadestown and Waitress were
6720-604: The Opera at the Majestic Theatre became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking Cats . The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway on April 16, 2023, soon after celebrating its 35th anniversary, after a total of 13,981 performances. Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases, next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at
6840-535: The Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy". Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 ( The Mulligan Guard Picnic ) and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham . These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from
6960-553: The Wall also features a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, tapping as percussion. During the 1930s and the 1940s, Americans were able to watch tap dancers perform on film. However, Black tap dancers found it difficult to be a part of these White films because segregation was prominent in America. This led to the creation of two different styles of tap dance: White tap dancers formed a Broadway style and Black dancers continued to evolve with
7080-492: The authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven 's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa 's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits. Charles H. Hoyt 's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion when it surpassed Adonis and its 603 total performances in 1893, holding
7200-509: The basic time step, including the single, double, and triple time steps. Time steps consist of single- and multi-sound step combinations. In tap, various types of turns can be done, including step heel turns, Maxi Ford turns, cramp-roll turns, and drag turns. All tap turns can be practiced in both directions. Other common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, double shuffle, leap shuffle, flap, flap ball change, running flaps, flap heel, cramp-roll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, Maxi Ford with
7320-435: The beginning of the nineteenth century, the area that now comprises the Theater District was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street and invited Manhattanites to "enjoy the pure clean air." Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I built the iconic Victoria Theater on West 42nd Street. Broadway's first "long-run" musical
SECTION 60
#17327876047687440-476: The biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has [sic] gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm." The minimum size of
7560-550: The bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district . In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation. Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating
7680-406: The creation of tap dance. This fusion began in the mid-17th century but did not become popular until the mid-19th century. There are two major versions of tap dance: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely performed in musical theater . Rhythm tap focuses on musicality , and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the jazz tradition. The sound
7800-670: The death of Powell in 1963. Allyson returned to acting with an appearance in The Name of the Game . In 1970, she briefly starred in Forty Carats on Broadway. Throughout the 1970s, she appeared regularly on television shows such as See the Man Run (1971), The Sixth Sense (1972), and Letters from Three Lovers (1973), as well as a cameo in the film They Only Kill Their Masters (1972). Later appearances include Curse of
7920-422: The decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals." Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway." By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals). In
8040-414: The edge of the shoe more, making them heavier as a result. A tap's "tone" is influenced by its weight as well as its surface shape, which may be concave or convex. The tonal quality of a tap can also be influenced by the material it is made from, and the presence of a soundboard. Taps are mounted to the sole of the shoe with screws, and sometimes adhesive as well. The screws are driven into a soundboard –
8160-679: The effort. At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress , entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site". The legislation would have provided certain U.S. government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district. Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests,
8280-415: The entire Broadway production is transplanted almost entirely intact and may run for many months (or years) at each stop. For example, the first U.S. tour of The Phantom of the Opera required 26 53-foot-long (16.1 m) semi-trailers to transport all its sets, equipment, and costumes, and it took almost 10 days to properly unload all those trucks and install everything into a theater. Tap dance It
8400-456: The everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high-quality professional singers ( Lillian Russell , Vivienne Segal , and Fay Templeton ), instead of the amateurs, often sex workers, who had starred in earlier musical forms. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night,
8520-847: The family was reunited with a more stable financial standing, Allyson was enrolled in the Ned Wayburn Dancing Academy and began to enter dance competitions with the stage name of Elaine Peters. With the death of her stepfather and a bleak future ahead, she left high school midway through her junior year to seek jobs as a dancer. Her first $ 60-a-week job was as a tap dancer at the Lido Club in Montreal . Returning to New York City, she found work as an actress in movie short subjects filmed by Educational Pictures at its Astoria, Queens NY studio. Fiercely ambitious, Allyson tried her hand at modeling, but to her consternation became
8640-428: The film's narrators. She spoke about MGM's golden era and introduced vintage film clips. Until 2003, Allyson remained busy touring the country making personal appearances, headlining celebrity cruises, and speaking on behalf of Kimberly-Clark, a long-time commercial interest. Allyson became the spokesperson for Depend , a diaper line for adults with incontinence, in 1984. The American Urogynecologic Society established
8760-492: The first black tap dancers to be acknowledged by America was Bill "Bojangles" Robinson , who performed duets with Shirley Temple . However, Bill Robinson's career was reduced to "minstrelsy," which can be defined as White performers using makeup to mock black culture or using black stereotypes in a performance. Black Americans joined these minstrel performances, where they would be forced to act on black stereotypes in their performances. James "Buster" Brown , got his start in
8880-467: The first musicals to resume performances on September 2, 2021. The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed; the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, and took place on September 26, 2021. On July 30, 2021, it was announced that all Broadway theaters required attendees to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination . The rule applied to guests ages 12+. Those under age 12 were required to provide
9000-649: The latter is known as " a cappella " tap dancing. Hoofers are tap dancers who dance primarily "closer to the floor", using mostly footwork and not showing very much arm or body movement. This kind of tap dancing, also called rhythm tap , was employed by slaves in America. Steve Condos developed an innovative rhythmic tap style that influenced the work of later tap dancers such as Gregory Hines and Savion Glover . The majority of early hoofers, such as Sammy Davis Jr. , Glover, Hines, and LaVaughn Robinson were African American men. Savion Glover helped bring tap dance into mainstream media by choreographing Happy Feet ,
9120-447: The mid-to-late 1950s, the style of entertainment changed. Jazz music and tap dance declined, while rock and roll and the new jazz dance emerged. What is now called jazz dance evolved out of tap dance , so both dances have many moves in common. But jazz evolved separately from tap dance to become a new form in its own right. Well known dancers during the 1960s and 1970s included Arthur Duncan and Tommy Tune . No Maps on My Taps ,
9240-557: The middle-class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle-class." The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet . Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with
9360-425: The movement as they perform, and the choreography is not prepared beforehand. There was also the "two-color rule," which made sure that black tap dancers were not able to perform solos onstage. This led to some tap dancers performing comedic tap duets. There were stereotypes placed on black Americans such as the "Uncle Tom" stereotype, and many tap dancers were forced to wear " black-face " onstage to perform. One of
9480-510: The movie "Stormy Weather" features the pair dancing up a staircase and then descending the staircase in a series of leapfrogs over each other into a full split from which they rise with no hands. "Stormy Weather" was a six-minute performance performed in one go with no retakes. The Nicholas Brothers danced on pianos and many other structures during this performance. During the 1930s, tap dance mixed with Lindy Hop . "Flying swing outs" and "flying circles" are Lindy Hop moves with tap footwork. In
9600-420: The next sixteen years. However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the nineteenth century. A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (inspired largely by the routines of the minstrel shows ), followed by the ragtime -tinged Clorindy: The Origin of
9720-557: The number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan 's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York (by
9840-606: The pairing of Van Johnson and Allyson by sending out the two contracted players on a series of "official dates", which were highly publicized and led to a public perception that a romance had been kindled. Although dating David Rose , Peter Lawford , and John F. Kennedy , Allyson was actually being courted by Dick Powell , who was 13 years her senior and had been previously married to Mildred Maund and Joan Blondell . On August 19, 1945, Allyson caused MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer some consternation by marrying Dick Powell. After defying him twice by refusing to stop seeing Powell, in
9960-556: The performers, or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's August: Osage County , 2009's God of Carnage , 2012's Newsies , and 2022's Take Me Out . Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e., non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of
10080-468: The plays of George Bernard Shaw , and Katharine Cornell in such plays as Romeo and Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra , and Candida . In 1930, Theatre Guild 's production of Roar, China! was Broadway's first play with a majority Asian cast. As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful
10200-628: The production due to pregnancy. She was replaced initially by Judy Garland , who in turn was replaced by Jane Powell . Allyson played a doctor in The Girl in White (1952), which lost revenue, and a nurse in Battle Circus (1953), a hit. She starred in Remains to Be Seen (1953) with Johnson, which was a flop. In May 1953, she and MGM agreed to part ways by mutual consent. In 1954, Allyson
10320-454: The production had not started, so MGM "placed her on the payroll" of Girl Crazy (1943). Despite playing a " bit part ", Allyson received good reviews as a sidekick to Best Foot Forward' s star, Lucille Ball , but was still relegated to the "drop list." MGM's musical supervisor Arthur Freed saw her screen test sent up by an agent and insisted that Allyson be put on contract immediately. Another musical, Thousands Cheer (1943),
10440-423: The production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at
10560-645: The productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein , became enormously influential forms of American popular culture " and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world . New York City's first significant theatre was established in the mid-18th century, around 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan , which held about 280 people. They presented William Shakespeare 's plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera . In 1752, William Hallam sent
10680-693: The project was dropped. Instead, she starred in The Stratton Story (1949) with James Stewart , which she later said was her favorite film. She made two films with Dick Powell : The Reformer and the Redhead (1950) and Right Cross (1950), after which she was reunited with Johnson in Too Young to Kiss (1951). In 1950, Allyson had been signed to appear opposite her childhood idol Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding , but had to leave
10800-531: The run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln ), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr. ). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving , Tommaso Salvini , Fanny Davenport , and Charles Fechter . Theatre in New York moved from Downtown gradually to Midtown Manhattan , beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At
10920-473: The season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with
11040-426: The segregated clubs of the 1930s, but eventually earned international mainstream recognition and mentored younger more modern tap dancers in the 1990s. Tap dancers make frequent use of syncopation . Choreography typically starts on the eighth or first beat count. Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation . Tap dancing can either be done with music following the beats provided, or without musical accompaniment;
11160-486: The shoe for the purpose of reinforcing the shoe; however there are tap shoes that use a soft leather instead. A single tap shoe has two taps: one under the heel, and another under the toes. Popular tap shoe makers include Bloch and Capezio . There are several styles of tap shoes: Depending on manufacturer and model, tap characteristics can vary considerably. For example, some taps have relatively low weight and small footprint whereas others may be thicker and fill out
11280-470: The stage for 657 performances. Chinatown itself was surpassed by the musical Irene (1919) in 1921 as the longest-running Broadway musical, and even earlier, in March 1920, by Lightnin' (1918) as the longest-running Broadway show. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate , which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the U.S. for
11400-434: The term "Broadway theatre" is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway , regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway , a term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde , or productions held outside of traditional theater venues. The Theater District
11520-534: The theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way". In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from
11640-481: The theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater , led the "Save the Theatres" campaign. It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests. Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for
11760-461: The time, the average age of theatergoers was 40.4; nearly two-thirds of the audience were women; and 29% identified as a racial minority. The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theater District, which are the criteria that define Broadway theatre. Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows often provide
11880-411: The traditional rhythm based style. Broadway tap dance was performed in mainly Broadway musicals and film, and it did not emphasize classic jazz rhythms. Rhythm tap integrated more of the classic African roots of tap dance, and it emphasized jazz rhythms, musicality, and improvisation. Musicality is the dancer's understanding of the music they are performing to. Improvisation is where a dancer makes up
12000-568: The twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left. During this time, many Broadway productions struggled due to low attendance rates, which resulted in perceived mediocrity among such plays. For this reason, the Theatre Development Fund was created with the purpose of assisting productions with high cultural value that likely would struggle without subsidization, by offering tickets to those plays to consumers at reduced prices. In early 1982, Joe Papp ,
12120-568: The vein of Victor Herbert. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema. Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre . It represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances. The 1920s also spawned
12240-692: The war's end, theatre resumed in 1798, when the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street on present-day Park Row . A second major theatre, Bowery Theatre , opened in 1826, followed by others. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as
12360-428: Was The McConnell Story (1955) with Alan Ladd at Warner Bros. In 1956, Allyson did some musical remakes of classic films, The Opposite Sex, a remake of The Women at MGM, and You Can't Run Away from It, a remake of It Happened One Night at Columbia , which was directed by Powell. In 1957, she signed with Universal and did two more remakes: Interlude , a drama for Douglas Sirk , and My Man Godfrey ,
12480-571: Was Lillian Hellman 's Watch on the Rhine , which opened in April 1941. After the lean years of the Great Depression , Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma! , in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick 's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand,
12600-399: Was "Buck and Bubbles," which consisted of John "Bubbles" Sublett tap dancing and Ford "Buck" Washington playing a piano. The duo performed a "Class Act", a routine in which the performers wore tuxedos, effectively distinguishing them from the older minstrel show concept of tap dancers as "grinning-and-dancing clowns." Another notable figure during this period is Bill "Bojangles" Robinson ,
12720-448: Was "farmed" to her grandparents or other relatives. In 1925 (when Allyson was eight), a tree branch fell on her while she was riding her tricycle with her pet terrier in tow. Allyson sustained a fractured skull and broken back, and her dog was killed. Her doctors said she never would walk again and confined her to a heavy steel brace from neck to hips for four years. She ultimately regained her health, but when Allyson had become famous, she
12840-539: Was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018. The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades. By 2018, about 20% of Broadway tickets were sold to international visitors, although many visitors reported not being able to use their tickets. In 2022–2023, the first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters sold 12.3 million tickets, of which 35% were to local residents and 17% to international visitors. At
12960-644: Was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square , and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square . Theatres arrived in the Times Square area in the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres consolidated there after a large number were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene 's "musical burletta" The Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with
13080-422: Was a showcase for her singing, albeit still in a minor role. As a new starlet , although Allyson had already been a performer on stage and screen for over five years, she was presented as an "overnight sensation", with Hollywood press agents attempting to portray her as an ingenue, selectively slicing years off her true age. Studio bios listed her variously as being born in 1922 and 1923. Allyson's breakthrough
13200-701: Was already dubbing herself "June Allyson" prior to her Broadway engagement. At one point she attributed the name to a director she worked with even later. Allyson subsequently appeared in the chorus in the Jerome Kern – Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May (1939). When Vitaphone discontinued New York production in 1940, Allyson returned to the stage to take on more chorus roles in Rodgers and Hart 's Higher and Higher (1940) and Cole Porter 's Panama Hattie (1940). Her dancing and musical talent led to
13320-783: Was billed after Robert Walker and Hedy Lamarr in the romantic comedy Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945). Allyson was top-billed along with Walker in The Sailor Takes a Wife (1945). She had a role in Two Sisters from Boston (1946) with Kathryn Grayson and Peter Lawford , and was one of several MGM stars in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). She also appeared in her first drama , The Secret Heart , in 1946 with Claudette Colbert and Walter Pidgeon . She
13440-527: Was born "Eleanor Geisman to a French mother and Dutch father." In an interview with Larry King Allyson denied being of German Jewish descent. In April 1918 (when Allyson was six months old), her alcoholic father, who had worked as a janitor, abandoned the family. Allyson was brought up in near poverty, living with her maternal grandparents. To make ends meet, her mother worked as a telephone operator and restaurant cashier. When she had enough funds, she occasionally reunited with her daughter, but more often Allyson
13560-592: Was extremely rare for a black man at that time. Despite this, he had tremendous success and soon became a world-famous celebrity. He went on to have a leading role in many films, notably in the Shirley Temple franchise. Shortly thereafter, the Nicholas Brothers came on the scene. Consisting of real life brothers Fayard and Harold, this team wowed audiences with their acrobatic feats incorporated into their classy style of dancing. A notable scene in
13680-677: Was in Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) where the studio image of the " girl next door " was fostered by her being cast alongside long-time acting chum Van Johnson , the quintessential "boy next door." As the "sweetheart team", Johnson and Allyson were to appear together in four later films. Allyson supported Lucille Ball again in Meet the People (1944), which was a flop . It was on this film she met Dick Powell , whom she later married. She supported Margaret O'Brien in Music for Millions (1944) and
13800-616: Was in a huge Universal Pictures hit, The Glenn Miller Story , as well as another successful MGM film, Executive Suite . She also starred the Fox Film Woman's World , which was less successful. Allyson was teamed with Stewart again in Strategic Air Command (1955) at Paramount , another success. She had a change of pace in The Shrike (1955) with José Ferrer at Universal; it flopped. More popular
13920-470: Was married four times (to three husbands) and had two children with her first husband, Dick Powell . She died of respiratory failure and bronchitis in July 2006 at the age of 88. Allyson was born Eleanor Geisman, nicknamed Ella, in The Bronx , New York City. She was the daughter of Clara (née Provost) and Robert Geisman. She had a brother, Henry, who was two years older. She said she had been raised as
14040-680: Was paired with actor Van Johnson in six films. In 1951, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959 to 1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own anthology series , The DuPont Show with June Allyson , which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1961. In the 1970s, she returned to the stage, starring in Forty Carats and No, No, Nanette . In 1982, Allyson released her autobiography June Allyson by June Allyson , and continued her career with guest starring roles on television and occasional film appearances. She later established
14160-490: Was reunited with Johnson in High Barbaree (1947) and followed with the musical Good News , also in 1947. Allyson starred with Johnson in the 1948 comedy The Bride Goes Wild , then played Constance in the hugely popular 1948 The Three Musketeers (1948). Her song " Thou Swell " was a high point of the Rodgers and Hart biopic Words and Music (1948), as performed in the " A Connecticut Yankee " segment with
14280-410: Was terrified that people would discover her background from the "tenement side of New York City", and she readily agreed to studio tales of a "rosy life", including a concocted story that she underwent months of swimming exercises in rehabilitation to emerge as a star swimmer. In her later memoirs, Allyson describes a summer program of swimming that did help her recovery. After gradually progressing from
14400-720: Was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones . In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne , The James Earl Jones Theatre was rededicated in September 2022, while the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November. Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with
#767232