Dancing in the Streets (1943 Tryout Flop)

Howard Dietz, Vernon Duke, and John Cecil Holm’s legendary 1943 musical comedy 'Dancing in the Streets' infamously collapsed, encountered severe critical hostility, and closed during its out-of-town pre-Broadway tryout engagement at Boston's Shubert Theatre, never reaching its planned New York debut. Featuring an upbeat, rhythmically rich swing score by Duke with a book tracking farcical municipal deceptions, the plot centers on a community of defense workers who attempt to stage an outdoor dance revue in an ordinary small town despite a strict local political ban. Directed by Samson Raphaelson, the production starred Mary Martin, preserved as a premier rarity.