Filling Station (ballet) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Filling Station
Virgil Thomson photographed by Carl Van Vechten, June 4, 1947
Choreographed by	Lew Christensen
Composed by	Virgil Thomson
Based on	Newspaper report
Date of premiere	November 1937
Place of premiere	Hartford, Connecticut
Original ballet company	Ballet Caravan
Characters	Mac, station attendant Ray, truck driver Roy, truck driver The State Trooper The Motorist The Motorist's Wife The Motorist's Child The Rich Boy The Rich Girl The Gangster
Designs by	Paul Cadmus
Setting	Filling Station contemporary with the date of the ballet's creation
Genre	Ballet document

Filling Station is a one-act ballet. The libretto (story) is based on a newspaper report. Virgil Thomson wrote the music. Lew Christensen choreographed (designed) the dances. Christensen performed the role of Mac, the filling station attendant. Paul Cadmus designed the sets and costumes. The ballet was first performed in Hartford, Connecticut by Ballet Caravan in November 1937. A performance was given at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City on May 18, 1939, with Christensen again in the role of the attendant.