Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel (1930) a play by Vicki Baum, translated by W. A. Drake. [National Theatre, 444 perf.] Over the course of three days at Berlin's finest hostelry, the lives of various characters overlap with romantic and tragic results. A jaded ballerina (Eugenie Leontovich) has a doomed affair with a penniless count (Henry Hull), a businessman (Siegfried Rumann) sees his career destroyed, a dying accountant (Sam Jaffe) ends his tired life in splendor, and a stenographer (Hortense Alden) starts her climb to fame. Based on Baum's novel that had been successfully dramatized in Berlin, the melodrama was an early hit for producer Herman Shumlin. After a celebrated film version and sporadic revivals, the tale returned as a musical in 1989. Luther Davis adapted the script, and half of the score was by Maury Yeston, the other half by Robert Wright and George Forrest. Notable songs: Love Can't Happen; We'll Take a Glass Together; Bonjour Amour; Who Couldn't Dance with You? The commendable cast included David Carroll (count), Liliane Montevecchi (ballerina), Timothy Jerome (businessman), Michael Jeter (accountant), and Jane Krakowski (stenographer), but the true star of the production was director‐choreographer Tommy Tune, who inventively staged the piece like an endless dance of death that often turned the melodrama into refined theatrics. The musical was well received and ran at the Martin Beck Theatre for 1,018 performances.

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