Amusing the Zillion

Mildred Price and Bertram Thorn in Brooklyn Biarritz, 1941. Photo by Fred Fehl. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts / Billy Rose Theatre Collection

Thanks to the new smoking ban at beaches and parks, sharing a cigarette with your honey on Coney Island’s beach may soon be as dated as falling in love under the Boardwalk and the phrase “Brooklyn Biarritz.” For a few days back in 1941, the stage of Broadway’s Royale Theater was covered in real sand littered with crumpled papers, banana peels and yes, cigarette butts, to recreate Coney Island’s beach. An overflowing trash can played a role, too. The setting was for a comedy in three acts called Brooklyn Biarritz, a euphemism for Coney Island that we’ve never heard before. The play was panned and closed on March 1, 1941, after four performances. But set designer Frederick Fox won raves for his realistic scenic design, which one reviewer called “the star of the show.”