''I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road'' is a musical with music by Nancy Ford and book and lyrics by

Gretchen Cryer Gretchen Cryer (née Kiger; born October 17, 1935) is an American playwright, lyricist, and actress. Early life Cryer was born Gretchen Kiger in Dunreith, Indiana, the daughter of Louise Geraldine (née Niven; 1911-1991) and Earl William "Bill" ...

. The show premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 1978.

Productions

The musical was produced by

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created a y ...

and the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

, opening on June 14, 1978 and closing on March 15, 1981 at the Circle-in-the-Square (Downtown)after 1165 performances. Directed by Word Baker, the musical featured Gretchen Cryer as Heather; Nancy Ford appeared later in the run as Heather, as did

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

, Virginia Vestoff, Carol Hall, Betty Aberlin and Phyllis Newman. The show also had a 1981 West End production. The show was presented by

Encores! Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Ha ...

Off-Center at New York City Center in a semi-staged production in July 2013. Directed by

Kathleen Marshall Kathleen Marshall (born September 28, 1962) is an American director, choreographer, and creative consultant. Life and career Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1980 and S ...

, the cast featured Jennifer Sanchez, Christina Sajous and

Renée Elise Goldsberry Renée Elise Goldsberry (born January 2, 1971) is an American actress and singer known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical ''Hamilton'', for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musica ...

. Landi Oshinowo, a West End actress, played Heather in the production's limited run at the Off-West End Jermyn Street Theatre in July 2016. Matthew Gould served as the show's director. The show's first UK revival was with this production.

Concept

The lead, Heather, is a 39-year-old divorcée attempting a comeback as a pop star. Generally considered a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

vehicle, the plot centers around her displaying new material for her manager without relying on showbiz clichés. However, "The collaborators are emphatic that they never meant the musical to be a feminist declaration. 'We were writing about relationships between men and women, not about women’s roles in society as a whole,' explains Ford."

Synopsis

Manager Joe Epstein returns from a trip and finds his star Heather Jones on stage at a nightclub, singing her own songs about the emancipation of women, together with the two singers Alice and Cheryl and the band. She told Joe Epstein that this would be her new show. Joe, who had been Heather's friend for a long time, reacted angrily to Heather's change, but he was not able to persuade Heather to go back to her usual role. Almost 40 years old, she feels that the time has come for a change. The songs she is singing now are touching Joe in an unpleasant way, because they remind him of the way he treats his own wife. Heather is determined to support women's liberation; she splits up with her manager and goes on to perform her own show.

Popular culture

The play was parodied by

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

and

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on ''Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), ''Beetleju ...

Second City Television ''Second City Television'', commonly shortened to ''SCTV'' and later known as ''SCTV Network'' and ''SCTV Channel'', is a Canadian television sketch comedy show that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It was created as an offshoot from To ...

as "I'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It On Right, and No Guy's Gonna Tell Me it Ain't" in 1981.

Cast

New York production

*Heather Jones -

*Joe Epstein, Manager -

Joel Fabiani Joel Fabiani (born September 28, 1936, in Watsonville, California) is an American film, television and theater actor. Known for his leading role in the British TV series '' Department S'', Fabiani has guest starred in ''The FBI'', ''Barnaby Jone ...

*Alice -

Margot Rose Margot Rose (born July 17, 1956) is an American television and film actress, composer and lyricist. Background She attended Interlochen Arts Academy, the Yale School of Drama and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Margot began her career in ...

*Cheryl -

Betty Aberlin Betty Aberlin (born Betty Kay Ageloff; December 30, 1942) is an American actress, poet, and writer. She is best known as Lady Aberlin on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', a role she played for the entirety of the show's 33-year run. Life and c ...

*Jake - Don Scardino, (created by Kevin Weyl who took the role through previews, and James Mellon taking over the role before the opening at Circle in the Square) **The Band *Piano - Scott Berry *Guitar - Lee Grayson *Drums - Bob George *Bass/Flute - Dean Swenson

London production

*Heather Jones -

Diane Langton Diane Langton (born 31 May 1947) is an English actress and singer, known for playing Marlena "Nana" McQueen in ''Hollyoaks'' from 2007 to 2009 and 2012 onwards. Career Langton has appeared in numerous television series. In the 1980s, she appear ...

*Joe Epstein, Manager -

Ben Cross Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical ''Chicago'', and his portrayal of the British Ol ...

*Alice - Megg Nicol *Cheryl - Nicky Croydon *Jake - Greg Martyn **The Band *Musical Director - Stuart Pedlar *Guitar - John Murphy *Drums - Tony Layzell *Bass - Bernard Shaw

Songs

*''Natural High'' *''Smile'' *''Miss America'' *''Strong Woman Number'' *''Dear Tom'' *''Old Friend'' *''In a Simple Way I Love You'' *''Put in a Package and Sold'' *''Feel the Love'' *''Lonely Lady'' *''Happy Birthday'' *''If Only Things Was Different'' (Added for London Production)

Reception

Reviews were generally negative. In the New York Times, Richard Eder wrote “Self-celebration is the affliction of ''I'm Getting My Act''. Its songs and skits spell out the conflicts—the little girl who has to smile for her daddy; the wife who has to pick up her husband's socks and talk baby talk to him; the liberated women who find that men don't much like them—with little individual perception, imagination or rigor. The lyrics, and the music, are effortless and not in the best sense of the word.” Despite negative reviews, the play performed well with audiences and ran for almost three years.

References

{{reflist

External links

Synopsis and song list
Off-Broadway musicals 1978 musicals