Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A (1951), a musical play by Betty Smith, George Abbott (book), Arthur Schwartz (music), Dorothy Fields (lyrics). [Alvin Theatre, 267 perf.] Handsome Johnny Nolan (Johnny Johnston) is a ne'er‐do‐well whose marriage to sweet, adoring Katie (Marcia Van Dyke) can only come to an unhappy end. Yet the shiftless Johnny makes an understanding father to his troubled teenage daughter, Francie (Nomi Mitty). At the same time, Aunt Cissy (Shirley Booth) keeps dreaming of her long‐lost love, a gentleman of singular refinement even if he was a bigamist. But when she encounters him again after many years, her dreams, too, are shattered. Notable songs: Make the Man Love Me; He Had Refinement; I'll Buy You a Star; I'm Like a New Broom; Look Who's Dancing. The musical version of Smith's best‐selling novel had uncommonly fine songs and a brilliant, wistfully comic performance by Booth, who stopped the show nightly with “He Had Refinement.” But it also had a long and unnecessary ballet and the misfortune to open in a season of stronger than usual competition. The musical has become a cult favorite, particularly for its score.

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.