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Slaughter on Tenth Avenue 1936
Richard Rodgers (m)
From the show “On Your Toes”
This is the climactic number in the show, a ballet. The ballet itself concerns a dancer (Ray Bolger) and a stripper (Tamara Geva) who are threatened by the boss of the sleazy dive in which they work. The boss accidentally shoots the woman, the dancer shoots the boss, and dances around the bodies. However, as part of the plot of the show as a whole, the dancer notices two gunmen waiting to shoot him; so he has to keep dancing until the police arrive, which he does until he faints from exhaustion. Yet another example of Rodgers & Hart seeking new ways of putting on musicals.
Notes by Frank Behrens
