Posted: 5/11/26 at 6:43am
Just wondering…. I actually saw BaCall, Welch, and Reynolds in the role (BaCall even though she wasn’t a Singer was the best Tess Harding IMO). The show was so so but it was funny and I liked the music. I think it should be revived. Let me know what you guys think.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 8:14am
I actually like the score (unlike Kander who felt it was a paycheck gig), and it would be fun to see at Encores with someone like Vanessa Williams or Carmen Cusack. But if Encores is continuing the model of only one older/obscure show per year, and trying to run them for 2 weeks, then I don’t think we have a prayer of seeing it there.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 8:36am
I just see no money in this. There are at three other Kander and Ebb shows that have yet to be revived that would most likely take priority (The Rink, Steel Pier, and maybe even Curtains)
Posted: 5/11/26 at 9:37am
J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company did this at Theater Row with Janine LaManna a few years ago — a fine production, but, except for "The Grass Is Always Greener," which won Marilyn Cooper the Tony for maybe seven minutes of stage time, the material does not hold up. There are other Kander & Ebb scores worth doing at Encores! (The Rink, Flora the Red Menace, Steel Pier) before they get to Woman of the Year, if the point is to illuminate great music.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 9:40am
Falsettolands said: "I just see no money in this. There are at threeother Kander and Ebb shows that have yet to be revived that would most likely take priority (The Rink, Steel Pier, and maybe even Curtains)"
I’d add FLORA to that list.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 10:16am
It is inconceivable to me that anyone would invest money in a revival of this show. I missed a couple of K&E shows, specifically Steel Pier and The Rink, and I think this is probably the weakest of the rest. The score is positively mediocre, the humor is not there other than those 7 minutes. I remember trying to enjoy it because Bacall, who was great in Cactus Flower and Applause, was the star; but, other than Cooper's number, I don't remember anything else standing out. Even the number on the Tony's 'I'm One of the Gilrs...' was just okay. Never gonna get a commercial run, and I would hate to see a non-profit waste money on this. As per Encores, there are so many other shows more deserving than this.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 10:25am
FLORA THE RED MENACE - great score, horrible book show. There’s a reason why it ran about 2 months on Broadway in 1965 and lost its entire investment. Even numerous rewrites throughout the years can’t really salvage it but boy, what a musical showcase for whoever plays Flora, which is basically why 19 year old Liza Minnelli won her Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 11:00am
morosco said: "At least it has one of my top 10 favorite overtures.
Overture"
It’s a FABULOUS overture! I like the original opening number better than the rewrite, and One Of the Boys and the Marilyn Cooper number are fun too.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 11:35am
Thanks for posting that video this morning BrodyFosse.
Another Kander & Ebb show for Liza that I enjoy the cast album for is "The Act." I wonder if it could ever be done with someone else? I know from what I've read online about it that it didn't wholly work at the time as a show, even though it gave her another Tony.
Updated On: 5/11/26 at 11:35 AM
Posted: 5/11/26 at 12:12pm
inception said: "Thanks for posting that video this morning BrodyFosse.
Another Kander & Ebb show for Liza that I enjoy the cast album for is "The Act." I wonder if it could ever be done with someone else? I know from what I've read online about it that it didn't wholly work at the time as a show, even though it gave her another Tony."
Chita got the Tony. Liza was nominated.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 1:08pm
Posted: 5/11/26 at 1:17pm
Man, I’d kill for a revival of “The Act”. Seeing Jessica Lee Goldyn do a number from it in “Gotta Dance” a few weeks ago made me remember just how badly I’ve always wanted to see a production of it.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 1:25pm
I’ve been a fan of this score for years. Actually listen to it at least once every quarter. I missed the Original Broadway Cast, and I’ve never actually seen a production of it, but there is a slime tutorial out there with the original cast. I really love much of the score but have a real fondness for “Not a Day Goes By.”
Posted: 5/11/26 at 6:31pm
I’ve listened to the cast album many times, with some regular skips (“Happy in the Morning” is one of the worst songs K&E ever penned imo) but as much as I like a lot of the melodies, the whole thing feels so sweaty and constipated. Rewrites could help, but they’d have to be pretty drastic. It’s always annoyed me that the awards ceremony happens at the end of act one, and then in act two she’s just farting around.
Posted: 5/11/26 at 6:44pm
I saw Woman Of The Year with all three of the ladies during the broadway run. A fun show. I was also fascinated with the animation. And even more fascinated with some of the members of the male ensemble ❤️❤️. A couple of years later I saw Barbara Eden do it at Westbury. Bacall was a mega star up there. But Raquel made it into a event. I chuckle at a few of you who state you never saw it .. but it’s the weakest of the K & E shows? How do you know if you never saw it?
Updated On: 5/11/26 at 06:44 PM
Posted: 5/11/26 at 10:30pm
DAME said: "I saw Woman Of The Year with all three of the ladies during the broadway run. A fun show. I was also fascinated with the animation. And even more fascinated with some of the members of the male ensemble ❤️❤️. A couple of years later I saw Barbara Eden do it at Westbury. Bacall was a mega star up there. But Raquel made it into a event. I chuckle at a few of you who state you never saw it .. but it’s the weakest of the K & E shows? How do you know if you never saw it?"
I saw the 1NT tour with Bacall, Guardino, and Cooper at the then newly renovated Fox in St Louis and rather enjoyed it... Unlike some, I have a preference for the revised opening number... which you can hear here... with a program from that run https://youtu.be/_nM3w7C0TOc?si=LHJWWYy-yb5yL7vy
Also saw a limited tour version with Barbara Eden, Don Chastain, and Ms Cooper at the late, great Starlight Musicals in Indianapolis, where they replaced the animated Katz with a costumed Katz for the entertaining, " So What Else is New?"
Updated On: 5/11/26 at 10:30 PM
Posted: 5/12/26 at 2:25am
walnutoraroach said: "J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company did this at Theater Row with Janine LaManna a few years ago — a fine production, but, except for "The Grass Is Always Greener," which won Marilyn Cooper the Tony for maybe seven minutes of stage time, the material does not hold up. There are other Kander & Ebb scores worth doing at Encores! (The Rink, Flora the Red Menace, Steel Pier) before they get to Woman of the Year, if the point is to illuminate great music."
Did you know Marilyn Cooper? My friend's from that time were tangential to her and talked about the Tony she kept on a mantle. I've sadly lost touch with all of them but the 80s memories are wonderful.
Posted: 5/12/26 at 9:07am
Any song called "Shut Up, Gerald!" needs to be heard on Broadway 8 times a week.
Posted: 5/12/26 at 9:23am
I saw a one-night concert performance of this at the Broad Stage in LA last fall as a benefit for The Foundation for New American Musicals, with Sandy Bainum, Norm Lewis, Jason Graae, and Vicki Lewis. I had seen the OBC and remembered enjoying it quite a lot, but it just hasn’t held up well at all. A couple of good Kander & Ebb songs (hearing Norm sing “Sometimes a Day Goes By” was the highlight), but a lot more mediocre ones, and the book is remarkably thin and unfunny. As others have said, there are several K&E shows that should be teed up for revival before this one.
Posted: 5/12/26 at 12:51pm
This is one of my favorite shows! When I first visited NYC as a kid, my uncle Bob worked as a winch operator on the show. I saw it 2 or 3 times from the balcony (which was closed off for safety reasons, as I recall). I saw Raquel, and loved her, and then listened to the soundtrack and also loved Lauren. I still listen to the soundtrack quite frequently -- I think the songs are great! I'd love to see a revival (the off-Broadway one a few years ago was a lot of fun).
Updated On: 5/12/26 at 12:51 PM
Posted: 5/12/26 at 2:08pm
Such a great show. Saw it with Betty & Raquel in NYC, and then again when Betty toured and the show came to Los Angeles at The Ahmanson Theatre.
