''Tell Me on a Sunday'' 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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with music by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

and lyrics by Don Black. A one-woman show, it has been performed by a number of female singers/actors, most notably

Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 1943) is an English actress and singer. She appeared on stage in '' Evita'' before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show '' Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, " Take That Look Off Yo ...

and

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released reco ...

. A one-act

song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...

, it tells the story of an ordinary English girl from

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

, who journeys to the United States in search of love. Her romantic misadventures begin in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, lead her to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, and eventually take her back to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Background

The musical is based on an idea originally conceived by

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

, who intended to develop it as a cycle of television shows with songwriting partner Andrew Lloyd Webber. The two relished working on a small-scale project following '' Evita''. Shortly after they began working, however, Lloyd Webber realized Rice was writing specifically for

Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...

, with whom Rice was having an affair. Lloyd Webber felt that allowing Paige to appear in the series would suggest he approved of the relationship, so he decided to look for a new lyricist. He opted for Don Black who, following a successful stint in Hollywood (including an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

for "Born Free"), had begun writing for the theatre. Although it had proven to be unsuccessful, his '' Bar Mitzvah Boy'' had impressed Lloyd Webber, who thought Black would be a good match. Rice's original concept had kept 'the girl' in the UK. It was Black who suggested she emigrate to the States. He quickly began writing lyrics for several tunes Lloyd Webber already had composed. It was their intent to present as complete a work as possible at the Sydmonton Festival in September 1979. The two decided to cast

, who was portraying

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until ...

at the matinee performances of ''Evita'', as their heroine, and the show was first presented at the 1979 Sydmonton Festival.

Productions

Original album and broadcast

The positive reception at Sydmonton led to the show being recorded as an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

. Following this, a special performance was filmed at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

in London on 28 January 1980, and later broadcast on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

on 12 February 1980, although it was produced in 1979 according to the credits. The broadcast was a critical success and garnered high ratings, leading it to be repeated the following month. Following its transmission, the album reached #2 on the UK charts, and the single release of " Take That Look Off Your Face" reached #3. This success propelled

into a household name, despite being in the theatrical business for twenty years. She followed this with a number of her own albums and two further top 20 singles. The original version was broadcast again for the first time in over 40 years, on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, in March 2023.

''Song and Dance''

Lloyd Webber decided the piece could work well on the stage if paired with another one-act piece. He previously had considered writing a brief operatic piece about the friendship between

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

and

Ruggiero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

, going so far as to compose a melody that would later become "Memory", but decided it would not fit well with the girl's saga. He tried adapting the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

work ''

The Signal-Man "The Signal-Man" is a horror mystery story by Charles Dickens, first published as part of the '' Mugby Junction'' collection in the 1866 Christmas edition of ''All the Year Round''. The story is told from a fictional first-person perspective. ...

'', but decided it was too gloomy and rejected it as well. Eventually he and Black set aside ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' and turned to other projects. In 1982, the creative team decided to combine ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' with a

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 ...

choreographed to Lloyd Webber's ''

Variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

'', a classical piece based on the A Minor Caprice No. 24 by Paganini that had debuted at Sydmonton in 1977. Following some revisions, including a new song "The Last Man in My Life" and several changes to the lyrics, ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' became Act I of ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is '' Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Ll ...

'', which was staged at the Palace Theatre in London's West End. Marti Webb was again cast as 'the girl'. Over the course of its run, she was succeeded by

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

, Gemma Craven, Liz Robertson, and

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

. Opening on 26th March 1982 and closing on 31st March 1984, the production ran for 781 performances. Following its closure, on 28th April 1984, a special performance of ''Song and Dance'' featuring Sarah Brightman performing ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' was filmed at the Palace Theatre and later broadcast on UK television. Lyricist

Richard Maltby Jr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and theatrical producer, producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical Revue, revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical ...

was brought in to help adapt the show for an American audience, in anticipation of a Broadway run.

was chosen for the role of 'the girl', who was now renamed Emma. It opened on 18 September 1985 to mixed reviews. Writing in the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'',

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, the ''New York Post''. Barnes had sign ...

thought it was "the best thing that Lloyd Webber has written for the theater," but

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born June 2, 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is ...

of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was not impressed, observing that "empty material remains empty, no matter how talented those who perform it. Emma is a completely synthetic, not to mention insulting, creation whom no performer could redeem." Peters went on to win the

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a m ...

, but the show failed to win Best Musical or Best Original Score. Black, unimpressed that Peters had insisted on gathering background information about the character, later said he preferred the original London production and Webb's performance.

Subsequent productions as a stand-alone piece

Reverting to its one-act format, ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' was substantially rewritten, with five new songs and additional material by Jackie Clune, for a 2003 London production at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

. The BBC critic observed, "this may be the smallest show Lloyd Webber's ever written, but the score (to appropriately conversational lyrics by Don Black) contains several of his very best songs." Directed by Christopher Luscombe and starring Denise Van Outen, it ran for ten months. Marti Webb succeeded Van Outen and subsequently toured the UK with the show, alternating with former Steps vocalist, Faye Tozer, and actress

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is a British actress and DJ. After appearing as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), she came to prominence for her p ...

. In 2008, the Alloy Theater Company staged the original one-act version with Irish actress, Maxine Linehan, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City. That same year, Bailiwick Repertory produced the Chicago premiere starrin
Harmony France
to rave reviews and the Kookaburra Theatre presented the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n premiere starring Jolene Anderson, with

Noni Hazlehurst Leonie Elva "Noni" Hazlehurst is an Australian actress, director, writer, presenter, and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, in dramas, mini-series, and made for television films, as well also on stage and in feature films ...

and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

providing the voices of "Mum" and "Married Man" respectively. Despite mixed reviews, it had sellout performances in both

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The show toured the United Kingdom, beginning on 30 August 2010 at

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

's Royal Theatre and continuing until autumn 2011. The tour starred

Claire Sweeney Claire Jane Sweeney (born 17 April 1971) is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Known for her portrayal of Lindsey Corkhill on Channel 4's '' Brookside'' (1991–2003), she also played Roxie Hart in ''Chicago'' ( West End, ...

as 'the girl' and was directed by Tamara Harvey. The script was again updated for the 21st century, and 'the girl' was rewritten as originating from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, like Claire Sweeney herself. The song list stayed closer to the original, although a new finale was added, "Dreams Never Run on Time", itself a rewrite of the song "Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime" from the 2003 version. In late 2013, Marti Webb performed the songs "Tell Me on a Sunday" and "Take That Look Off Your Face" at a tribute show to Don Black, where she met Lewis Carnie, the Head of Programmes for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

, who asked if she would consider performing the entire piece again for broadcast on the station. Producer Robert Mackintosh then suggested the show could be staged for a week at the

St James Theatre, London The Other Palace is a theatre in London's Off West End which opened on 18 September 2012 as the St. James Theatre. It features a 312-seat main theatre and a 120-seat studio theatre. It was built on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, ...

in January, the popularity of which saw it being restaged for three weeks at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 ...

in February and early March, with musical direction by Simon Lee. The latest production in Mandarin, premiered in Shanghai, China in early June 2018 with musical supervision by Fiz Shapur, who also supervised the Mandarin language production of CATS. In January 2016, Jodie Prenger starred in a revival at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury directed by Paul Foster before touring the UK. The production toured again, starring Prenger in June 2021. ''Tell Me On Sunday'' was the first show to open in Oslo, Norway past the pandemic. It opened at Chateau Neuf Theatre on May 31 and starred Charlotte Brænna. This version was based on the definitive 2016 version and was directed by Julie Ibenfeldt Lindvik, with musical supervision by Christian Sthäler. It was translated by Christian Ranke and Martine T. Lundeberg

Synopsis

'The girl' arrives in New York City, and tells her friend that she does not want to become a hard-bitten career woman or a user of men. Shortly after, she discovers her beau has been cheating on her with numerous other women and she walks out. She meets Hollywood producer Sheldon Bloom, who takes her to Los Angeles. Sheldon's career ambitions preclude his spending much time on a personal relationship and, after realizing life in the film capital is uneventful and Sheldon has been using her as a trophy girlfriend, 'the girl' returns to Manhattan. Back in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, 'the girl' meets a salesman, and once again faces disappointment when she learns he frequently has been in town with other women when he supposedly was away on business. The two split up and she meets a married man. Intent on succeeding in her career and acquiring a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

, she is content with the noon-to-two relationship they share, until he announces he plans to leave his wife and marry her instead. She is horrified because not only does she not love him, but she realizes she's been using him, something she had vowed never to do. She sends him away and promises herself she will return to being the idealistic and ethical woman she was when she first arrived in the States. 'The girl' is the only person who appears on stage, despite having conversations with her friends and writing letters to her mum.

List of musical numbers

Original 1980 album * Take That Look Off Your Face *Let Me Finish *It's Not the End of the World (If I Lose Him) *Letter Home To England *Sheldon Bloom *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad *You Made Me Think You Were in Love *It's Not the End of the World (If He's Younger) *Second Letter Home *Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes *Let's Talk About You *Take That Look Off Your Face (Reprise) *Tell Me on a Sunday *It's Not the End of the World (If He's Married) *I'm Very You, You're Very Me *Nothing Like You've Ever Known *Let Me Finish (Reprise) 1984

London version *Take That Look Off Your Face *Let Me Finish *It's Not The End Of The World *Letter Home *Sheldon Bloom *Capped Teeth And Caesar Salad *Exit *Capped Teeth And Caesar Salad (Reprise) *It's Not The End Of The World (If He's Younger) *Second Letter Home * Unexpected Song *Come Back With the Same Look in Your Eyes *Let's Talk About You *Take That Look Off Your Face (Reprise) *Tell Me On a Sunday *It's Not The End Of The World (Version 3) *Married Man *Third Letter Home *Nothing Like You've Ever Known *Finale 1985 Broadway version *Take That Look Off Your Face *Let Me Finish *So Much to do in New York *First Letter Home *English Girls *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad *You Made Me Think You Were in Love *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad (reprise) *So Much to do in New York (II) *Second Letter Home * Unexpected Song *Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes *Take That Look Off Your Face (Reprise) *Tell Me on a Sunday *So Much to do in New York (III) *Married Man *Third Letter Home *Nothing Like You've Ever Known *Finale - Let Me Finish (reprise) *What Have I Done? *Take That Look Off Your Face 2003 London production *Take That Look Off Your Face *Let Me Finish *It's Not the End of the World *Goodbye Mum, Goodbye Girls *Haven in the Sky *First Letter Home *Speed Dating *Second Letter Home *Tyler King *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad *You Made Me Think You Were in Love *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad (Reprise) *It's Not the End of the World (If He's Younger) *Third Letter Home *Unexpected Song *Come Back With the Same Look in Your Eyes *Let's Talk About You *Take That Look Off Your Face (Reprise) *Tell Me on a Sunday *Who Needs Men *It's Not the End of the World *Fourth Letter Home *Ready Made Life/I'm Very You *Let Me Finish *Nothing Like You've Ever Known *Fifth Letter Home *Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime 2010 UK tour *Let Me Finish *It's Not the End of the World (If It's Over) *Writing Home (For the First Time) *Sheldon Bloom *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad *You Made Me Think You Were in Love *Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad (Reprise) *It's Not the End of the World (If He's Younger) *Writing Home (For the Second Time) *Unexpected Song *The Last Man in My Life *Come Back With the Same Look in Your Eyes *Take That Look off Your Face *Tell Me on a Sunday *It's Not the End of the World (If He's Married) *Married Man *Writing Home (For the Third Time) *I'm Very You, You're Very Me *Ready Made Life *Let Me Finish (Reprise) *Nothing Like You've Ever Known *Writing Home (For the Fourth Time) *Take That Look off Your Face (Reprise) *Dreams Never Run on Time (Finale)

References

External links

*
History of the production and review of the 2004 UK tour
{{Authority control 1979 musicals BBC One original programming Broadway musicals Musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber West End musicals British musicals Sung-through musicals Musicals set in Manhattan