Frank Sinatra’s ode to the city – also called “New York, New York” – was more measured, more patriotic, and came much later. First there was Leonard Bernstein, who wrote his musical On the Town to convey a sense of the hectic pace of city life, and his songs match that heady speed. Bernstein had just made an acclaimed debut as the conductor of the New York Philharmonic when he was approached by a young choreographer named Jerome Robbins with a proposal for a ballet show about three sailors on leave for 24 hours in New York. The ballet was met with great success and turned into a full-length Broadway show – with the main writers playing the main parts, to ensure the authenticity would be preserved.

On this day, December 28, in 1944, Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town, based on the ballet created by him and Jerome Robbins, premiered.

Set against the backdrop of war, the play had a touch of bittersweetness to it. The second song of the first act brought its most famous song, “New York, New York” (its lyrics changed from “… it’s a heckuva town” to “…it’s a wonderful town” to appease the production code sensors). But throughout, it does not forget the soldiers are limited on time and face a very uncertain future. By 1949, with WW II safely over, Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, acquired the film rights. He threw out most of Bernstein’s score, but did put in the starring roles Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.