''The Goodbye Girl'' is a musical with a book by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

, lyrics by

David Zippel David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American musical theatre lyricist, director, and producer. Early life and education Zippel was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Falling in lo ...

, and music by Marvin Hamlisch, based on Simon's original screenplay for the 1977 film of the same name.

Production history

Out-of-town tryouts

''The Goodbye Girl'' opened in out-of-town tryouts at the Shubert Theatre in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, from December 29, 1992 to January 30, 1993. The director,

Gene Saks Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...

, was fired during the Chicago tryouts and replaced by

Michael Kidd Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, stron ...

. During the run, producers created a new opening song for

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

as Paula and Tammy Minoff as her daughter Lucy. "An exuberant song about their hoped-for move to California from New York City, it's meant to help Paula lighten up; in the first act, she has been perceived as a drip." Ticket sales were "brisk" for the Chicago run and the musical had a $10 million advance for Broadway.

Broadway

The musical, directed by Michael Kidd and choreographed by

Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Raúl Daniele and Rosa del Carmen Almoina. After her parents divorced, her mother got a job ...

, opened 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 ...

at the Marquis Theatre on March 4, 1993 and closed on August 15, 1993, after 188 performances and 23 previews. The opening cast included Bernadette Peters as Paula McFadden and Martin Short as Elliot Garfield, with

Carol Woods Carol may refer to: People with the name * Carol (given name) * Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor ...

as Mrs. Crosby, Susann Fletcher as Donna Douglas, Tammy Minoff as Lucy, Lisa Molina as Melanie and Erin Torpey as Cynthia. This musical marked Martin Short's Broadway debut.

Illinois

The musical was produced at the

Marriott Theatre The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois is a respected Chicago area regional theatre. Attached to the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, the theatre produces an average of five musicals each year, presented in the round, as well as productions ...

Lincolnshire, Illinois Lincolnshire is a village in Vernon Township, Lake County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The village is a northern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,940. Lincolnshire was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the un ...

, in February through April 1994. This version featured some modifications by lyricist David Zippel, who also co-directed the production. This represents the version preferred by the authors and is currently licensed by the licensing agent, MTI.

London

After several previews, a revised version (with new lyrics by Don Black) opened on April 17, 1997 at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: ;People by given name *Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator ;People by surname: *A. S. Albery, British politician *Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director ...

in the West End, and closed on June 28, 1997. It starred

Gary Wilmot Harold Owen "Gary" Wilmot, MBE (born 8 May 1954) is a British singer, actor, comedian, presenter, writer and director who rose to fame as a contestant on ''New Faces''. As a television presenter, he is best known as the host of '' You and Me'' ...

and Ann Crumb. The new lyrics in this production were not well received. The production, produced by Paul Elliott, directed by Rob Bettinson and choreographed by Tudor Davies, also featured Angela Avrili, Carol Ball, Cliff Brayshaw, Kyle Dadd, Steve Elias, Lucy Evans, Josefina Gabrielle, Adrian Goodfellow, Rachel Harris, Nicola Hughes, Michael Mears, Hayley Newton, Richard Pettyfer, Mary Savva, Wesley James Smith, Mason Taylor, Dina Tree, Jodie Lee Wilde and Shezwae Powell.

UK Tour

Wilmot subsequently toured the UK in 1997 and 1998 opposite

Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 13 December 1943) is an English actress and singer, who 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 T ...

Sophie McShera Sophie McShera (born 17 May 1985) is an English actress known for her roles as Ros McCain in the fifth series of the BBC television series '' Waterloo Road'', as Daisy Mason in the ITV television series ''Downton Abbey'', and as Drizella ...

alternated with Hannah Chick in the role of Lucy, Hope Augustus played the landlady, and Steve Elias and West End veteran Katie Verner also appeared.

Plot

Egotistical Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a person's amplified vision of one's self and self-importan ...

actor Elliot Garfield sublets a friend's

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

apartment only to discover it is still occupied by his friend's ex-girlfriend Paula, a former dancer, and her precocious pre-teen daughter Lucy. Initially suspicious and antagonistic, Elliot and Paula arrive at an uneasy truce. Paula, fed up with being hurt by boyfriend-actors, rashly vows never to become involved again ("No More"), while Elliot sets down the rules for the living arrangements ("My Rules"). Paula decides to return to work as a dancer, but during dance class finds it difficult ("A Beat Behind"). While attempting to cohabit as peacefully as possible, despite their differences of opinion and temperament, Elliot and Paula find themselves attracted to each other ("Paula (An Improvised Love Song)"). Although Elliot finds a job out-of-town, Paula realizes that this is the true love she has been seeking, and they reach a happy ending ("What a Guy").

Recordings

Original cast recordings for both the

and West End productions have been released. In his review of the London cast recording, Ken Mandelbaum noted that "The London ''Goodbye Girl'' is perhaps the sharpest example to date of an unnecessary revision. The skimpier new score isn't bad, but in no way does it improve upon what was there (the loss of all three of Peters' solos is particularly inexplicable)."

Songs

;Act I * This Is as Good as It Gets – Paula and Lucy * No More – Paula * A Beat Behind – Paula, Billy and Ensemble * This Is as Good as It Gets (Reprise) – Lucy, Melanie and Cynthia * My Rules – Elliot and Paula * Good News, Bad News – Elliot, Paula and Lucy * Footsteps – Paula and Lucy * How Can I Win? – Paula * Richard Interred – Elliot, Paula, Lucy, Mark, Mrs. Crosby, Donna and Ensemble ;Act II * How Can I Win? (Reprise) – Paula * Good News, Bad News (Reprise) – Elliot * Too Good to Be Bad – Paula, Donna and Jenna * 2 Good 2 Be Bad – Mrs. Crosby * Who Would've Thought? – Paula, Elliot, Lucy, Melanie and Cynthia * Paula (An Improvised Love Song) – Elliot and Paula * Who Would've Thought? (Reprise) – Lucy, Melanie and Cynthia * I Think I Can Play This Part – Elliot * Jump for Joy – Paula and Ensemble * What a Guy – Paula * Finale – Paula, Elliot and Lucy

Critical response

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote in the review of the out-of-town tryout in Chicago: "There's some good news on the way to Broadway...Among the show's various virtues, the most surprising and wonderful is Martin Short...Peters is well cast as Paula, though she still seems to be finding her way into the role of the dancer...Marvin Hamlisch's score isn't likely to go down as one of the most memorable in Broadway history, but coupled with David Zippel's ingenious lyrics, it becomes a great asset." Despite major changes, before the New York opening, reviews did not improve.

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 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 curren ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote: "Even if you don't share my conviction that Bernadette Peters and Martin Short are among the most winning of performers, you still might admire how they play the losing hand they've been dealt in 'The Goodbye Girl.'" ''

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, ...

'' wrote "THE BOTTOM LINE: Big stars, boffo story, but bad judgments turn a much anticipated show into an amiable disappointment." According to

Ken Bloom Ken Bloom is a New York-based, Grammy Award-winning theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author. He began his theatre career in the mid-'70s at the New Playwrights Theatre of Washington. Along with some friends, Bloo ...

, "reviews were tepid, as was audience reaction. What should have been a major success had had trouble on the road, and a few key production staff were replaced prior to Broadway."

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

London listing

External links

*
MTI Shows detailed plot and production information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodbye Girl, The 1993 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on films Plays set in New York City Musicals by Marvin Hamlisch Musicals by David Zippel Musicals by Neil Simon