| 1948 was a banner year for Broadway shows in | | | | 1955 that is still a classic in musical innovation and |
| New York, with some of the world's favorite | | | | adaptation today. |
| plays and musicals debuting in 1948. Almost all of | | | | Summer and Smoke |
| these popular plays and musicals were made into | | | | The master playwright Tennessee Williams wrote |
| films at some point, which indicates just how | | | | "Summer and Smoke" about a southern minister's |
| popular they were (and still are) with Broadway | | | | daughter at the turn of the 20th century. Lonely |
| audiences. Some of the most popular 1948 | | | | and naïve, she is courted by a boy she |
| Broadway shows include: | | | | loved in her childhood, a doctor who is wild, |
| Mr. Roberts | | | | unmanageable, and totally her opposite. This tragic |
| This comedy opened on Broadway in February | | | | drama was made into a film in 1961, and it played |
| 1948, and starred Henry Fonda as Lieutenant | | | | 102 performances in 1948 through 1949, and was |
| Roberts, the beleaguered junior grade officer on | | | | revived several times throughout the years on |
| board a cargo ship during the Second World War. | | | | Broadway. |
| Roberts wants to get off the ship and do some | | | | Anne of the Thousand Days |
| actual fighting, but the tyrannical captain won't sign | | | | This memorable drama tells the story of King |
| his orders and let him go. This classic comedy | | | | Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his wife who he had |
| was made into a film also starring Fonda, as well, | | | | beheaded because she failed to give him the heir |
| along with James Cagney as the belligerent | | | | he desired, and he believed was having an affair. |
| captain. | | | | Veteran actor Rex Harrison played Henry on the |
| Anthony and Cleopatra | | | | stage, and this, like many other popular 1948 |
| This classic Shakespearean play came to | | | | Brodway shows, was made into a film in 1969. |
| Broadway as a tragic drama, and played 126 | | | | Kiss Me Kate |
| shows before it closed. Staying true to the play, | | | | This remake of a Shakespeare play (The Taming |
| the drama showed the love affair between the | | | | of the Shrew) into a musical debuted on |
| beautiful Egyptian queen and the Roman soldier, | | | | Broadway on Dec. 30, 1948, making it the last |
| and included a young Charlton Heston in a minor | | | | show to open that year. Cole Porter wrote the |
| role as a soldier. It was made into a very famous | | | | music and lyrics for the show, which may be one |
| film starring the then couple Richard Burton and | | | | reason it remained on Broadway for nearly three |
| Elizabeth Taylor. | | | | years. It is actually a play within a play that |
| Oklahoma! | | | | follows the production of a musical while following |
| This uber-classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical | | | | the producer. The musical was made into a film in |
| is still beloved today, and it ran for over 5 years | | | | 1953. |
| on Broadway. The love story between Curly and | | | | Some of the most well known and beloved of all |
| Laurey is at the heart of this musical, but the | | | | shows were 1948 Brodway shows, and many of |
| comedy, dancing, and acting also won it rave | | | | them still live on today, still beloved on Broadway. |
| reviews. It was made into a motion picture in | | | | |