Poster for the 1902 stage musical, which had at least as much influence on the 1939 movie as the books they were based on.

Many of the musicals Arthur Freed helped create at MGM were derived from the theatrical world of his youth, which he delighted in magically summoning back to life.  He would have been eight in 1902.  He would have been ten in 1904, the year in which Meet Me In St. Louis is set.

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