''Woman of the Year'' is a
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
with a book by
Peter Stone Peter Stone may refer to:
*Pete Stone, Australian footballer in the 1956 Summer Olympics
* Peter G. Stone (born 1957), British archaeologist
*Peter Stone (cricketer) (born 1938), New Zealand cricketer
*Peter Stone (professor) (born 1971), professo ...
and score by
John Kander
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Ca ...
and
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Ri ...
.
Based on the
Ring Lardner Jr.
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner Jr. (August 19, 1915 – October 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter. A member of the "Hollywood Ten", he was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studios during the late 1940s and 1950s after his appearance as an " ...
-
Michael Kanin
Michael Kanin (February 1, 1910 – March 12, 1993) was an American film director, director, film producer, producer, playwright and screenwriter who shared an Academy Awards, Academy Award with Ring Lardner Jr. for writing the Katharine Hepburn-S ...
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
for the 1942
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
-
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
film ''
Woman of the Year
''Woman of the Year'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritten e ...
'', the musical changes the newspaper reporters of the original to television personality Tess Harding and
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
Sam Craig, who experience difficulty merging their careers with their marriage. The musical premiered on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1981 and starred
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
.
Plot
Just before Tess Harding, a nationally known television news personality, comes on stage to receive an award as "Woman of the Year", she reminisces about an on-air
editorial
An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...
that she gave denigrating newspaper
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
s. The article offended the
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
ists who frequent the Ink Pot saloon and inspired syndicated cartoonist Sam Craig to publish a
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
depicting her as a snob in his strip ''Katz''. Tess is annoyed, but when the handsome and charming Sam shows up at her office, she apologizes and invites him to dinner. At the Ink Pot, she charms Sam and his colleagues by revealing her knowledge about comic art.
Tess and Sam begin a romance, move in together, and finally marry, but their busy careers leave little time for them to spend together, and their big egos pose problems in their marriage. In one of his comics, Katz quips that marriage is a breeze - it's the living together that's so damned hard. Tess is offended, an argument ensues, and Sam announces he no longer can deal with the couple's fraying love life. The time moves forward to the present, and it's time for Tess to accept her award, just as she has lost the man she loves.
Several weeks later, Tess is conflicted about her role as a powerful newswoman versus her role as a wife. She seeks advice from Russian
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
dancer Alexi Petrikov, whom she helped to defect. He tells her that he is returning to Russia, because the wife he left behind is more important than his career. Tess travels to visit first husband Larry Donovan and his wife Jan to discover why their marriage is a success. She decides to concentrate on her marriage and announces that she is resigning from her show. But Sam tells her that he wants her to keep her career; he just wants to be involved in the decisions in their relationship. They decide to work things out.
Songs
;Act I
* "Woman of the Year" – Tess and Women
* "The Poker Game" – Sam and Cartoonists
* "See You in the Funny Papers" – Sam
* "When You're Right, You're Right!" – Tess and Gerald
* "Shut Up, Gerald" – Tess, Sam and Gerald
* "So What Else Is New?" – Sam and Katz
* "One of the Boys" – Tess, Cartoonists, Maury and Men
* "Table Talk" – Tess and Sam
* "The Two of Us" – Tess and Sam
* "It Isn't Working" – Cartoonists, Chip, Helga, Gerald and New Yorkers
* "I Told You So" – Gerald and Helga
* "Woman of the Year (Reprise)" – Tess
;Act II
* "So What Else Is New? (Reprise)" – Sam and Katz
* "I Wrote the Book" – Tess and Cleaning Women
* "Happy in the Morning" – Alexi, Tess and Dancers
* "Sometimes a Day Goes By" – Sam
* "The Grass Is Always Greener" – Tess and Jan
* "We're Gonna Work It Out" – Tess and Sam
Original Broadway cast
*Tess Harding, a famous TV news personality -
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
*Sam Craig, a handsome cartoonist -
Harry Guardino
Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s.
Biography
Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...
*Alexi Petrikov, a Russian ballet dancer - Eivind Harum
*Gerald, Tess's secretary -
Roderick Cook
Roderick Cook (9 February 1932 – 17 August 1990) was an English playwright, writer, theatre director and actor of stage, television and film. Cook is known for creating, directing and starring in the musical review '' Oh, Coward!'' and portray ...
*Helga, Tess's maid -
Grace Keagy
Grace Keagy (née Stambaugh; December 16, 1921 – October 4, 2009) was an American actress, best known for her work on the stage in character roles. She is best known for her Drama Desk Award-nominated performance as "Rosa" in the origina ...
*Larry Donovan, Tess's first husband -
Jamie Ross
Jamie Ross (born 4 May 1939 in Markinch) is a Scottish-American actor, best known for his work on Broadway.
Career
Ross made his Broadway debut in 1971 as Major Caldwell in Leon Uris's short lived musical ''Ari''. His first major success w ...
*Jan Donovan, a housewife, Larry's second wife -
Marilyn Cooper
Marilyn Cooper (December 14, 1934 – April 22, 2009) was an American actress known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Cooper made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the chorus of '' Mr. Wonderfu ...
*Chip Salisbury, a perky newsman - Daren Kelly
*Abbott Canfield, a cartoonist - Larry Raiken
*Maury -
Rex Everhart
Rex Everhart (June 13, 1920 – March 13, 2000) was an American film and theatre actor.
Everhart appeared in such films as ''Superman'', in 1978. He was also known for his role as Enos the Truck-Driver in the horror film, '' Friday the 13th' ...
*Ellis McMaster - Rex Hays
*Pinky Peters - Gerry Vichi
Productions
The Broadway production opened on March 29, 1981, at the
Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including:
Australia
*Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria
*Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales
Canada
*Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...
, where it ran for 770 performances and eleven previews. Directed by
Robert Moore, the cast included
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
,
Harry Guardino
Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s.
Biography
Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...
,
Marilyn Cooper
Marilyn Cooper (December 14, 1934 – April 22, 2009) was an American actress known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Cooper made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the chorus of '' Mr. Wonderfu ...
,
Grace Keagy
Grace Keagy (née Stambaugh; December 16, 1921 – October 4, 2009) was an American actress, best known for her work on the stage in character roles. She is best known for her Drama Desk Award-nominated performance as "Rosa" in the origina ...
, and
Roderick Cook
Roderick Cook (9 February 1932 – 17 August 1990) was an English playwright, writer, theatre director and actor of stage, television and film. Cook is known for creating, directing and starring in the musical review '' Oh, Coward!'' and portray ...
.
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress.
She first won attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer ...
filled in for Bacall during her two-week vacation and later replaced her in the run.
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
replaced Welch in February 1983.
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...
played Tess in the 1984 national tour.
[Frank, Leah ]
"'Woman Of The Year': Charm And Pizzaz; Westbury Music Fair"
''The New York Times'', April 22, 1984
Sets were designed by
Tony Walton
Anthony John Walton (24 October 1934 – 2 March 2022) was a British set and costume designer. He won three Tony Awards for his work on ''Pippin'' (1973), ''House of Blue Leaves'' (1986), and ''Guys and Dolls'' (1992). For his work in movies he ...
and costumes were by
Theoni V. Aldredge
Theoni V. Aldredge (August 22, 1922 – January 21, 2011) was a Greek-American stage and screen costume designer.
Biography
Born Theoni Athanasiou Vachliotis in Thessaloniki in 1922, Aldredge received her training at the American School in Athe ...
, and choreography was by
Tony Charmoli
Tony Charmoli (June 11, 1921 – August 7, 2020) was an American dancer, choreographer, and director. He began dancing on Broadway in such shows as ''Make Mine Manhattan'' but soon began choreographing for television with '' Stop the Music'' in 194 ...
.
Michael Sporn
Michael Sporn (April 23, 1946 – January 19, 2014) was an American animator who founded his New York City-based company, Michael Sporn Animation
in 1980, and produced and directed numerous animated TV specials and short spots.
Sporn was nominate ...
created an
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
cat that danced and sang with Guardino.
Porchlight Music Theatre
Porchlight Music Theatre is a professional theatre company in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that has won numerous Joseph Jefferson awards, Joseph Jefferson Awards in its 25-year history. The company has come to embody the slogan "american musicals. ...
presented this show as a part of their "Porchlight Revisits" season in which they produce three forgotten musicals per year. This production was in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2017. It was directed by Artistic Director, Michael Weber, choreographed by Florence Walker Harris, and music directed by David Fiorello.
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
References
"Woman of the Year" ''The Guide to Musical Theatre''.
Cast and other information ''Stage Agent''.
*T. E. Kalem
review of ''Woman of the Year'', ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine, April 13, 1981
External links
*
{{Navboxes
, title = Awards for ''Woman of the Year''
, list =
{{TonyAward MusicalBook 1976-2000
{{TonyAward MusicalScore 1976-2000
1981 musicals
Broadway musicals
Musicals based on films
Musicals by Kander and Ebb
Musicals by Peter Stone
Tony Award-winning musicals