''The Madwoman of Central Park West'' is a semi-

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

one-woman

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 characters are interwo ...

with a book by

Arthur Laurents Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II ...

and Phyllis Newman and songs by various composers and lyricists. It focuses on the difficulties faced by an older actress who tries to balance her career with her life as a wife and mother. Among those whose songs are included in the production are Peter Allen,

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the To ...

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...

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 Riv ...

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and '' Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was ...

, John Kander,

Ed Kleban Edward "Ed" Kleban (April 30, 1939 – December 28, 1987) was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. Kleban was born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1939 and graduated from New York's High School of Music & Art and Columbia Univers ...

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

, Joe Raposo,

Mary Rodgers Mary Rodgers (January 11, 1931 – June 26, 2014) was an American composer, screenwriter, and author who wrote the novel '' Freaky Friday'', which served as the basis of a 1976 film starring Jodie Foster, for which she wrote the screenplay, as ...

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

, and

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

Productions

Under the title ''My Mother Was a Fortune-Teller'' and starring Newman as basically herself, it originally was directed by Laurents at the Hudson Guild Theatre. Slightly revised and with a new title, it transferred to 22 Steps where, after 15 previews, it opened on June 13, 1979, and closed on August 25 after 85 performances.''The Madwoman of Central Park West''
Playbill, retrieved July 24, 2018 The production had scenery by Phillip Jung, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge, lighting by

Ken Billington Ken Billington (born October 29, 1946) is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser. He was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Kenneth Arthur (an automobile dealer) and ...

, sound by

Abe Jacob Abe John Jacob (born October 7, 1944) is an American sound designer and audio engineer. Called the "Godfather of Sound", Jacob greatly influenced the design of sound reinforcement in modern musical theatre, and was one of the first persons cred ...

and musical direction by Herbert Kaplan.

Musical numbers

Source: *Up! Up! Up! *My Mother Was a Fortune Teller *Cheerleader *What Makes Me Love HIm? *Don't Laugh *Women's Medley *Up! Up! Up! - Reprise *Better *Copacabana *My New Friends *A Song of Lists

Critical reviews

In his review for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'', John Simon whose fame derived largely from being the more-condemning-than-thou-critic described it as "above all else, embarrassing" and called the writing "uniformly feeble." He thought the interpolated songs were "not great stuff" and added, " ough Miss Newman is a talented musical comedienne, she cannot make them into more than they are." He did praise "a medley of old songs glorifying woman as sex object or domestic drudge - which she renders with delightful satiric brio." Richard Eder, reviewing for ''

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 ...

'' wrote: "Miss Newman's performance is mostly good and sometimes quite winning, though it lacks any very specific flavor. The problem is with the personage she plays: a neurotic, well‐to‐do New Yorker torn between coping with her husband and two children, and resuming her show‐business career... The best part of the evening comes when Miss Newman cuts away from her tepid personage and goes into a marvelous medley of show songs, all of which portray women in various condescending fashions..."Eder, Richard
"Stage: Phyllis Newman Portrays ‘Madwoman'"
''The New York Times'', June 14, 1979

Recording

Twelve of the musical numbers were recorded and released by DRG Records.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madwoman of Central Park West, The 1979 musicals Broadway musicals Plays for one performer Musicals by Arthur Laurents