The run closed November 27, 1954
- Opened
- April 8, 1954
- Closed
- November 27, 1954
- Performances
- 268
- Previews
- —
- Theatre
- Majestic Theatre
Of the 705 productions we hold that opened in the 1950s and record a performance count, this is the 113th longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.
Who was in it59 named
Pat Ferrier
Lola Fisher
Thomas Gleason
Bob Haddad
Mary Harmon
Larry Howard
Ray Hyson
Robert Jennings
Franklin Kennedy
Ray Kirchner
George Lenz
Colleen O Connor
Arthur Partington
Paul Reed
Victor Reilley
Pat Roe
Eddie Roll
Reid Shelton
Sigyn
Jean Sincere
Gloria Smith
Libi Staiger
Mona Tritsch
Eddie Heim
Ilona Murai
John Nola
Ethel Bell
Peter Demaio
Lorna Del Maestro
Skeet Guenther
Peter Held
Richard Hermany
Stuart Hodes
Leo Kayworth
Roberta Lee
Bernice Massi
Stan Page
Frank Seabolt
Leslie Snow
Ray Stephens
Cordelia Ware
25 of these 59 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 34 are set from the identifier in the cast list, which is a slug of the name — so hyphens and full stops are lost and a few come out wrong. We hold nothing else about them. Nobody here is matched to a character: the cast list records who was in the company and not what they played.
Creative team
- Director
- Marshall Jamison
- Choreographer
- Helen Tamiris
- Orchestrations
- Robert Russ
A producer is one string on this record, however many people or companies it names. Directors and choreographers are held both as text and as identifiers; where an identifier exists the name links to a page.
Tony Awardscategories not held
0 wins from 2 nominations. Which categories is not on this record.
Around this production
By the Beautiful Sea is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Arthur Schwartz. Like Schwartz's previous musical, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, also starring Shirley Booth, the musical is set in Brooklyn just after the start of the 20th century (1907). By the Beautiful Sea played on Broadway in 1954.
- Miss Booth, who scored an impressive hit, was seen two years later in By the Beautiful Sea, another Arthur Schwartz-Dorothy Fields musical that was also set in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. Broadway Musicals Show By Show Seventh Edition Stanley Green Cary Ginell, p. 147
- Perhaps By the Beautiful Sea had two strikes against it. It was set in Coney Island, and part of the plot centered on a hot-air balloon ride. Both the locale and the use of a hot-air balloon almost always seem to doom musicals. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 376
- By the Beautiful Sea had offered a visit to the sand-and-sea world of Coney Island, and despite generally middling reviews it managed to run 270 performances on the strengths of its star-powered leading lady Shirley Booth, Arthur Schwartz’s sunny score, and Jo Mielziner’s lavish décor that re-created a never-never-land… Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 547
- By the Beautiful Sea, The Girl in Pink Tights, Fade Out-Fade In, and Golden Rainbow may have lost money, but they had generally long runs because of their stars, scores (or an occasional song), choreography, or production values. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 690
- Nonetheless, the show, about a ne’er-do-well, was not upbeat enough for Broadway audiences. The songwriting team, who brought out the best in each other, collaborated on their next show, By the Beautiful Sea (4/8/54; 268 performances). This time Herbert joined Dorothy on the script, but the results were weak. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 190
Passages naming this production, found by keyword across 178 books. Where it turns up in the literature, not curated notes about it.
What this page does not know
- No photograph of this staging. 48 of 13,459 productions hold one.
- No character names. We can say who was in the company and not who they played.
- No recording is held for By the Beautiful Sea at all.
- Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.