WONDERFUL TOWN
Composer: Leonard
Bernstein
Lyricists: Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Opened: February 25, 1953, Winter Garden Theatre, NYC
Performances: 559
Note: Only numbers not found on the original Broadway cast recording are noted below.
Conquering New York (aka "Conquering The City") (dance; lyric cut prior to opening):
1. Leonard Bernstein
Revisited, Painted Smiles PS-1377 (Chorus) [reissued as
CD/Painted Smiles PSCD-107]
2. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY CDJAY2 1281 (National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards)
3. Wonderful Town, CD/DRG 12999 (Villagers with orchestra
conducted by Rob Fisher) [also found on Wonderful Town, CD/DRG
94776]
4. Wonderful Town, CD/EMI Classics 5 56753 2 (Kim Criswell with
the London Voices and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
conducted by Sir Simon Rattle)
5. Wonderful Town, CD/LSO Live LS00813 (2017 Barbican concert
cast with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sr. Simon
Rattle)
Entr'acte:
1. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY
CDJAY2 1281 (National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen
Edwards)
2. Wonderful Town, CD/EMI Classics 5 56753 2 (Birmingham
Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon Rattle)
3. Wonderful Town, CD/LSO Live LS00813 (London Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Sr. Simon Rattle)
Exit Music:
1. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY
CDJAY2 1281 (National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen
Edwards)
Finale Act Two (reprise of "It's
Love"):
1. Wonderful Town,
CD/First Night OCR CD11 (Emily Morgan, Ray Lonnen, Maureen
Lipman, and The Company with orchestra directed by David
Steadman)
2. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY CDJAY2 1281 (Company with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards)
3. Wonderful Town, CD/DRG 12999 (Company with orchestra
conducted by Rob Fisher) [also found on Wonderful Town, CD/DRG
94776]
4. Wonderful Town, CD/EMI Classics 5 56753 2 (Kim Criswell,
Audra McDonald, Thomas Hampson, and Company with the Birmingham
Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon Rattle)
5. Wonderful Town, CD/LSO Live LS00813 (2017 Barbican concert
cast with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sr. Simon
Rattle)
Ohio (reprise):
1. Wonderful Town,
CD/First Night OCR CD11 (Maureen Lipman and Emily Morgan with
orchestra directed by David Steadman)
2. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY CDJAY2 1281 (Karen Mason and Rebecca
Luker with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John
Owen Edwards)
3. Wonderful Town, CD/DRG 12999 (Donna Murphy and Jennifer
Westfeldt with orchestra conducted by Rob Fisher)
4. Wonderful Town, CD/DRG 94776 (Brooke Shields and Jennifer
Hope Wills with orchestra conducted by Rob Fisher)
5. Wonderful Town, CD/EMI Classics 5 56753 2 (Kim Criswell and
Audra McDonald with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
conducted by Sir Simon Rattle)
6. Wonderful Town, CD/LSO Live LS00813 (2017 Barbican concert
cast with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sr. Simon
Rattle)
Overture:
1. Wonderful Town,
Columbia (S) OS-2008 (orchestra directed by Lehman Engel)
[reissued as CD/Sony Broadway SK 48021]
2. Wonderful Town, Location Recording Services (M) 1261-368
(orchestra conducted by Homer R. Hummel)
3. Curtain Going Up, Columbia (S) CS-8094 (orchestra conducted
by Lehman Engel) [reissued as Another Openin', Another Show:
Broadway Overtures, CD/Sony Broadway SK 53540]
4. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY CDJAY2 1281 (National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards)
5. Wonderful Town, CD/DRG 12999 (orchestra conducted by Rob
Fisher) [also found on Wonderful Town, CD/DRG 94776]
6. Wonderful Town, CD/EMI Classics 5 56753 2 (Birmingham
Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon Rattle)
7. Wonderful Town, CD/LSO Live LS00813 (London Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Sr. Simon Rattle)
Quiet Incidental:
1. Wonderful Town, CD/EMI
Classics 5 56753 2 (Kim Criswell and Audra McDonald with the
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon
Rattle)
2. Wonderful Town, CD/LSO Live LS00813 (2017 Barbican concert
cast with London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sr. Simon
Rattle)
Quiet Ruth (reprise of "A Quiet Girl"):
1. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY
CDJAY2 1281 (Karen Mason with the National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by John Owen Edwards)
Ruth's Stories (aka "Story Vignettes"):
1. Wonderful Town, CD/JAY
CDJAY2 1281 (Ron Raines and Karen Mason with the National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards)
The Story Of My Life (cut; later used
in BY BERNSTEIN):
1. Leonard Bernstein
Revisited, Painted Smiles PS-1377 (Chita Rivera) [reissued as
CD/Painted Smiles PSCD-107]
2. Leonard Bernstein's New York, CD/Nonesuch 79400-2 (Judy
Blazer with the Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Eric Stern)
3. Our Private World: Sally Mayes Sings Comden & Green,
CD/Varese Sarabande VSD-5529 (Sally Mayes with musical direction
by Patrick Brady)
Untitled Opening Ballet (cut; music
originally written for "Prelude, Fugue And Riffs" for which
recordings are listed below):
1. Prelude, Fugue And
Riffs, CBS MS 6677 (Benny Goodman, clarinet, with the Columbia
Jazz Ensemble conducted by Leonard Bernstein) [reissued as
CD/Sony 60559]
2. Angel DS-47991 (Michael Collins, clarinet, with the London
Sinfonietta conducted by Simon Rattle) [reissued as Angel CDC7
47991-2]
3. American Classics: Music For Clarinet, CD/Teldec 88482
(Sharon Kam, clarinet, with the London Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Gregor Buhl)
4. Homage To Benny Goodman, CD/EMI 56652 (Sabine Meyer and
Wolfgang Meyer, clarinets, with the Bamberg Symphony conducted
by Ingo Metzmacher)
5. Bernstein Conducts Bernstein: Symphonic Dances From "West
Side Story"; On The Waterfront; Candide Overture, CD/Deutsche
Grammophon 4479522 (Peter Schmidl, clarinet, with the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein)
6. Bernstein: Orchestral Works, CD/Virgin 45295 (Sabine Meyer,
clarinet, with the City of Birmingham Orchestra conducted by
Paavo Jarvi)
7. Berstein: West Side Story; Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue,
CD/Chandos 9210 (Harmen de Boer, clarinet, with the Netherland
Wind Ensemble conducted by Richard Dufallo)
8. Brass Americana, CD/Regis 1209 (London Symphony Brass
conducted by Eric Crees)
9. Copland, Corigliano: Clarinet Concertos; Bernstein: Prelude,
Fugue & Riffs, CD/RCA Red Seal 7762 (Richard Stoltzman,
clarinet, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Lawrence Leighton Smith)
10. New World Jazz, CD/RCA 902668798 (Ted Calcara and Jerome
Simas, clarinets, with the New World Symphony conducted by
Michael Tilson Thomas)
11. Ebony Concerto, CD/Reference Recordings 55 (John Bruce Yeh,
clarinet, with the DePaul University Jazz & Wind Ensemble)
12. Genus, CD/Panton 810884 (Jiri Hlavac, clarinet, with the Suk
Chamber Orchestra and the Barock Jazz Quintet conducted by
Stanislav Bogunia and Peter Altricher)
13. Mostly Blue, CD/Mark Custom 2792 (Bruce Marking, clarinet,
with the University of Florida Wind Symphony conducted by David
A. Waybright)
14. Prelude, Fnugg & Riffs, CD/Bis 1625 (Oystein Baadsvik,
clarinet, with the Swedish Wind Ensemble conducted by Christian
Lindberg)
Unrecorded Numbers:
Chic (cut)
Lallapalooza (cut; same song as "Hallapalooza" cut from PETER
PAN)
Let It Come Down (cut; replaced by "Ballet At The Village
Vortex")
Life In The Village (unused opening; replaced by "Christopher
Street)
Police Station (cut)
Self-Expression (cut; replaced by "Christopher Street")