2007: Steel Pier

Click here to download the playbill.

The Story

Set in the honky-tonk world of a 1933 Atlantic City dance marathon, Steel Pier was nominated for 11 Tony Awards during its Broadway run. Steel Pier is a fascinating and  heart-warming musical from the writers of Cabaret and Chicago.

The spectacle of Steel Pier is overseen by Mick Hamilton, a slick huckster who controls the marathon on and off the dance floor. Secretly married to Rita Racine, the dance champion, he has things “arranged” for her to win yet another marathon. When Rita’s usual partner doesn't show up, she is paired with a handsome pilot on leave. As the hours of dancing whirl into days and weeks, Rita becomes increasingly disillusioned with her sleazy, conniving husband and more and more infatuated with the handsome young aviator who is getting his “second chance” with her. Rita longs for a life without dance “sprints” and the other manufactured trappings of the marathon circuit. Life outside a ballroom is her brass ring, just waiting for her to grasp it. And grasp it she does!

Dance marathons were the reality television of their day: broadcast over the radio, they would draw a captivating assortment of depression-era souls who were eager to dance their way into fame and fortune -- for as long as it lasted -- and would participate in publicity stunts and talent shows that were built into the marathon in order to gain the audience’s attention. Some of the other competitors include the wordly marathon regular Shelby Stevens, brother-and-sister team Buddy and Bette Becker, Olympic champion Johnny Adel and his partner, fashion model Dora Foster, and the out-of-town hicks, Precious and Happy McGuire.

With songs that throb with the dance rhythms of the era, Steel Pier hearkens back to an era when ballroom dancing was a competitive -- and sometimes cutthroat -- sport. Dancing with the Stars, anyone?

The Songs

Steel Pier boasts a long list of beautiful, memorable and toe-tapping songs. A partial list of the songs from the show includes:

Click on the song titles to hear a sample of the song from the iTunes Music Store.

"Willing to Ride"
"Everybody Dance"
"Second Chance"
"A Powerful Thing"
"Dance with Me/Last Girl"
"Everybody's Girl"
"Wet"
"Lovebird"
"The Sprints"
"Leave the World Behind"
"Somebody Older"
"Running in Place"
"Two Little Words"
"First You Dream"
"Steel Pier"

Additional Steel Pier Information