Gangsters, vaudeville, and the Russian Ballet come together in this riotous, romantic romp. Junior's folks pull him from the family's vaudeville act and pack him off to school where he becomes a music teacher.
He meets Sydney, a composer, and Frankie, a coed who's fallen hard for him, and together they set about trying to sell Sydney's new jazz ballet to a Russian ballet company. The prima ballerina wants to teach Junior more than a few new steps, but with her assistance, "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" is produced with Junior dancing the lead. In one of the funniest set pieces ever devised, Junior dances the premiere while being shot at from the audience by thugs who've mistaken him for a dancer who owes on a gambling debt.
This landmark musical was directed by the legendary George Abbott and choreographed by newcomer George Balanchine, whose use of ballet here marked the first time in a musical comedy that dance was a direct proponent of the plot.
Cast Requirements: 3 Female, 5 Male, large singing-dancing ensemble with several small roles.
Set Requirements: ON YOUR TOES takes place in the 1930s.
SPECIFIC LOCATIONS
A Vaudeville Stage, 1920s;
A Vaudeville Dressing Room;
Classroom at Knickerbocker University - WPA Extension;
Vera's Apartment;
Cosmopolitan Opera House Stage;
Palace of Princess Zenobia;
The Stage Door;
Expressionistic Smoke-filled Dive;
Rehearsal / Orchestral Material: Rehearsal Set (22 Books, 1 Logo)
20 Libretto-Vocal Books;
2 PIANO VOCAL SCORE;
1 Logo;
Orchestration Package (20 Books)
1 PIANO VOCAL SCORE;
2 PIANO I-II (Piano II doubles Celesta);
1 REED I (Piccolo, Flute);
1 REED II (Oboe, English Horn, Optional Bass Oboe);
1 REED III (Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax);
1 REED IV (Clarinet, Alto Sax);
1 REED V (Clarinet, Tenor Sax);
1 HORN;
1 TRUMPET I-II;
1 TRUMPET III;
1 TROMBONE;
1 DRUMS;
1 PERCUSSION;
1 VIOLIN A;
1 VIOLIN B (Divisi);
1 VIOLIN C (Divisi);
1 VIOLA (Divisi);
1 CELLO;
1 BASS;
Musical Numbers: Highlights: There's A Small Hotel, Glad To Be Unhappy, Quiet Night, The Heart Is Quicker Than The Eye, Slaughter On Tenth Avenue