Photo Coverage: Inside the ON THE TOWN Gypsy Robe Ceremony

The new Broadway revival of On The Town, directed by John Rando and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse opened Thursday, Oct. 16 on Broadway to rave reviews at the Lyric (formerly Foxwoods) Theatre on Broadway. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the show's Gypsy Robe ceremony and brings you pictures of the sacred event below!

The Gypsy Robe began in 1950, when Bill Bradley, in the chorus of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, borrowed a dressing gown from Chorus member Florence Baum and sent it to a friend in CALL ME MADAM on opening night Oct 12, 1950 saying it was worn by all the Ziegfeld beauties and would "bless" the show. A cabbage rose from Ethel Merman's gown was added and the robe was passed along to next Broadway musical on opening night. The tradition evolved so that the robe is now presented to the "gypsy" who has performed the most Broadway musicals on a chorus contract. Along the way, the robe is decorated, painted, patched, stitched, and signed by everyone in the show, becoming a fanciful patchwork for an entire Broadway season.

The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and three sailors are hoping to get just a little bit lucky on their one day of leave in the Big Apple. From the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Coney Island to Times Square and Carnegie Hall, On The Town zigzags through New York City as the sailors and the three high-spirited young women they meet chase love, dreams, and each other during an unforgettable day in the city that never sleeps. The classic score features the standards "New York, New York," "I Can Cook Too," "Lonely Town," and "Some Other Time" and is played in this production with their original orchestrations, performed by the largest orchestra on Broadway, with 28 musicians led by musical director James Moore (Follies, Ragtime).

The cast is led by Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Jay Armstrong Johnson (The New York Philharmonic's Sweeney Todd, Hands On A Hardbody, Hair), and Clyde Alves (Bullets Over Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It) as the sailors on 24-hour shore leave who take on the Big Apple; Megan Fairchild (New York City Ballet Principal Dancer), Alysha Umphress (American Idiot) and Elizabeth Stanley (Company) as the women who steal their hearts; and Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, Xanadu) in the role of "Madame Dilly". Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Legally Blonde: The Musical, Ragtime, Falsettos, Sweet Charity) plays "Judge Pitkin" alongsideAllison Guinn (Hair) as "Lucy Schmeeler", Tony Award nominee Phillip Boykin (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) and Stephen DeRosa (Hairspray, The Nance, Into The Woods).

Photo credit: Walter McBride