The action of the play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street in the early part of the 20th century.

"[1] In the autumn of 1927, Rice returned to New York after living for almost three years in Europe, and was so taken with the vitality of the city that "almost without thinking about it" he began to reshape the brownstone-front scene into a full-length play.

During the play's six-month run in London, Aldous Huxley became an ardent fan of Erin O'Brien-Moore, and saw her starring performance as Rose Maurrant at least three times.

[8] Elmer Rice adapted his play for Samuel Goldwyn's 1931 motion picture production Street Scene, directed by King Vidor.

Starring Sylvia Sidney, William Collier Jr. and Estelle Taylor, the film marked the screen debut of Beulah Bondi,[9] who recreated her Broadway role as the malicious gossip Emma Jones.

[3] Others reprising their stage roles were Eleanor Wesselhoeft, Conway Washburne, T. H. Manning, John Qualen, Anna Konstant, George Humbert and Matthew McHugh.

[9] Rice wrote the book for Kurt Weill's 1946 opera Street Scene, adapting his play and writing lyrics with Langston Hughes.