The show opened on Broadway in the midst of a newspaper strike, and since newspaper reviews were unavailable, the producers used television advertising to promote the show. The musical caught the popular attention and ran for a successful 583 performances, winning the 1954 Tony Award for Best Musical. The strike may have ultimately assisted the popularity of the show, since the reviews, arriving a few weeks after the opening, were not all favorable. The critic of "Time" magazine, punning on the name of the composer Borodin, disparaged the score as "a lot of borrowed din." Walter Kerr wrote that "It's the sort of show that would sell its soul for a joke, and the jokes should be better at the price." William Hawkins, however, wrote that it was "noisy, spectacular, and vigorous. ... It is melodic and gay". Bloom and Vlastnik noted that it was the score that made the show successful, as the songs "Stranger in Paradise" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" were "huge hits on radio, television and records."