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Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!
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<h2 id="production">Production</h2> <p>After a try-out at the <a href="/facts/Shubert_Theatre_(Boston)/ot8aGF3n">Shubert Theatre</a> in Boston starting Thursday, December 25, 1947 <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> and at the <a href="/facts/Forrest_Theatre/mzK2aRVl">Forrest Theatre</a> in Philadelphia, starting Tuesday, January 13, 1948,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> <i>Look, Ma, I’m Dancin’!</i> premiered on <a href="/facts/Broadway_theatre/6USkK8x9">Broadway</a> at the <a href="/facts/Adelphi_Theatre_(New_York_City)/M1EFWwnn">Adelphi Theatre</a> on January 29, 1948, and closed on July 10, 1948, after 188 performances. It was produced by <a href="/facts/George_Abbott/Dyt0LBVx">George Abbott</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> The production was conceived by <a href="/facts/Jerome_Robbins/XTPmoQuw">Jerome Robbins</a> and staged and choreographed by Abbott and Robbins. The scenery was designed by <a href="/facts/Oliver_Smith_(designer)/JrJwzS3F">Oliver Smith</a> and the costumes by John Pratt. The ballet arrangements were by Trude Rittman and the musical director was Pembroke Davenport.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>The show starred <a href="/facts/Nancy_Walker/T10QVnDK">Nancy Walker</a> as Lily Malloy and <a href="/facts/Harold_Lang_(dancer)/C3xPl9dq">Harold Lang</a> as Eddie Winkler, and the cast included <a href="/facts/Alice_Pearce/ChFoIL24">Alice Pearce</a> as Dusty Lee.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="synopsis">Synopsis</h2> <p>"Lily Malloy, a brewery heiress, becomes the angel of a travelling ballet company and finally takes it over from its conservative Russian impresario. Both the company and the repertoire liven up."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="songs">Songs</h2> Act 1 <ul><li>“Gotta Dance”</li> <li>“I’m the First Girl”</li> <li>“I’m Not So Bright”</li> <li>“I’m Tired of Texas”</li> <li>“Tiny Room”</li> <li>“The Little Boy Blues”</li></ul> Act 2 <ul><li>“Jazz”</li> <li>“The New Look”</li> <li>“If You’ll Be Mine”</li> <li>“Pajama Dance”</li> <li>“Shauny O’Shay”</li> <li>“The Two of Us”</li></ul> <h2 id="reception">Reception</h2> <p><a href="/facts/Brooks_Atkinson/4Uy8mxVW">Brooks Atkinson</a> of <i><a href="/facts/The_New_York_Times/T9marWVX">The New York Times</a></i> called it "a good knockabout musical comedy" and "a top-drawer Broadway show." He said, "Miss Walker is hilarious and the best slap-stock comedian of her generation."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="sources">Sources</h2> <ul><li>Bordman, Gerald, <i>American Musical Theatre,</i> Oxford University Press, New York, 1978, pp. 560–561.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Burns_Mantle/0FJnk0HA">Mantle, Burns</a> (ed.) <i>The Best Plays of 1947–1948</i>, Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1948, pp. 379–380.</li> <li>Dietz, Dan, <i>The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals,</i> Rowman & Littlefield, New York, 2015, pp. 418–421.</li> <li>Stubblebine, Daniel J., <i>Broadway Sheet Music,</i> McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC 1996, #1352, p. 167.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/1648"><i>Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Broadway_Database/BwBDHXna">Internet Broadway Database</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.playbill.com/production/look-ma-im-dancin-adelphi-theatre-vault-0000003750"><i>Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!</i></a> at the <a href="/facts/Playbill/qecAYLq3"><i>Playbill</i> Vault</a></li> <li>Bayles-Yeager Online Archives of the Performing Arts: <a href="http://www.performingartsarchive.com/Broadway/Broadway-L/Look-Ma_1948/Look-Ma_1948.htm">http://www.performingartsarchive.com/Broadway/Broadway-L/Look-Ma_1948/Look-Ma_1948.htm</a></li> <li><a href="https://musicalcyberspace.com/2022/03/04/forgotten-musicals-friday-look-ma-im-dancin/">"Forgotten Musicals Friday: LOOK MA, I'M DANCIN'!"</a>. <i>Musical Cyberspace</i>. Retrieved April 9, 2023.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>The Boston Globe, Friday, December 26, 1947, p. 25, <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>The Philadelphia Inquirer, Wednesday, January 14, 1948, p. 29. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Look, Ma, I’m Dancin’!, Internet Broadway Database, accessed April 9, 2023. <a href="https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/look-ma-im-dancin-1648" target="_blank">https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/look-ma-im-dancin-1648</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Look, Ma, I’m Dancin’!, Internet Broadway Database, accessed April 9, 2023. <a href="https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/look-ma-im-dancin-1648" target="_blank">https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/look-ma-im-dancin-1648</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>The New York Times, January 30, 1948, p. 20. <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" target="_blank">/wiki/The_New_York_Times</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1947–1948, pp. 379–380. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>The New York Times, Friday, January 30, 1948, p. 20. <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" target="_blank">/wiki/The_New_York_Times</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>