On the Town Archives - TheaterScene.net

On the Town

No Singing in the Navy

April 7, 2026

"School Pictures," Milo Cramer’s last New York show, a solo musical, was wildly inventive, hilarious funny, and extremely insightful about the New York education system, based on his own experiences as a tutor. Unfortunately, his new musical show again premiering at Playwrights Horizons seems to be out of his comfort zone though he has been a fan of musicals for years. "No Singing in the Navy" is a three-character revue which purports to be a tribute to Golden Age musicals, but its format is a series of very slight skits, à la 'Saturday Night Live," all with the same three sailors. It does use the premise from "On the Town": three sailors on leave for 24 hours before shipping out to the war, also used in a series of original Hollywood musicals, usually about sailors who become involved in putting on a show in either New York or on the coast. This show claims to have parodies of songs from "The Music Man," 'Peter Pan" and "The Sound of Music" but most theatergoers will not recognize them. A charming idea, but "No Singing in the Navy" is too thin and simplistic to make us think of those golden age musicals that still get revived on stage and reaired in their film versions. [more]

“On the Town” Revisited with Misty Copeland

August 29, 2015

Then, there’s the new cast member, Misty Copeland, the newly minted American Ballet Theater principal ballerina, who has taken over the role of Ivy Smith, the catalyst for the daffy, warm-hearted plot of the show. Formerly inhabited with sweetness and steely technique by another ballet star, Megan Fairchild, the role of Ivy Smith fits Ms. Copeland perfectly. She makes it her own the moment she’s murmurs “Who, me?” in “Presentation of Miss Turnstiles,” the witty send-up of beauty competitions. [more]

On the Town

November 13, 2014

This On the Town, with 29 musicians and 31 actors, begins with a huge American flag and the singing of the national anthem, just as would have happened every night of the original run back in the 1940's during World War II. The show begins and ends at 6 A.M. at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Three sailors, Gabey (played by Tony Yazbeck for the third time), Ozzie and Chip have 24 hours shore leave to see all of the Big Apple before shipping out to Europe. Each wants to see the sights, both cultural and female. [more]