Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, I’m launching a trilogy of posts on shows from the 1970s that I believe should get produced more often. Up first is Applause, 1970’s musical adaptation of the classic Joe Mankiewicz film All About Eve (1950). Applause boasts a score by Charles Strouse & Lee Adams and a book by Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Its original cast was led by Lauren Bacall as Margo Channing, the role Bette Davis made famous onscreen. Unfortunately, 20th Century Fox initially denied full rights to both the recognizable title and Mankiewicz’s whip-smart screenplay, so Applause instead had to base itself more on the Cosmopolitan story by Mary Orr that inspired the movie, thereby deviating from the iconic film in a few big ways. Apparently, the studio eventually relented, but well after the show was already too far along in the process to welcome any major alterations.

Of course, the principal drawback that has forever limited Applause’s appeal is All About Eve’s excellence. Eve is a supremely well-produced movie with a brilliantly quotable and perfectly crafted script. Even if Applause had been able to use the screenplay as its foundation, this stage version was probably always going to be viewed as inferior — there’s no way to tell the story better. Therefore, the primary attraction of any musical had to be musical: its score… along with the opportunities provided therein to any diva eager for a vehicle that would celebrate her. That is, in the age of Dolly and Mame, Margo Channing would seem like a natural musical subject and dramatic feast. Heck, it’s actually not a bad idea — especially in light of that Mame comparison; Auntie Mame couldn’t get better told when it was a musical either, but that ultimately wasn’t a problem, because Jerry Herman’s score was dynamite and the production was well-cast, particularly at the top. So, there’s no reason Applause couldn’t be the same.

Well, except Mame used Auntie Mame’s script as a basis, meaning the gulf between the two texts is far smaller than the one that exists between Eve and Applause. In addition to some glaringly missing quotes, I think the character work in Applause is lacking — especially for supporting players like Margo’s friend Karen (Celeste Holm in the movie), whose own arc with Eve is a key aspect of the picture’s drama, rendering her the third lead behind those other two women. That’s not the case here, as the time is instead filled by… well, songs and dances, a requirement of the genre but a distraction from prior narrative intricacies. Additionally, an unfortunate loss comes from the legal need to exclude a character created for the film, venomous theatre critic Addison DeWitt, replaced here by an opportunistic producer who simplifies Eve’s rise… but is without all the unique, personalized color of his predecessor…. To be fair, though, there is another swap that’s more laudable. Margo’s skeptical sidekick in the movie was Birdie, played by Thelma Ritter. Here it’s Duane, her hairdresser — making for one of the first openly gay roles in musical theatre, inviting a fun and memorable centerpiece at a gay bar. (See below.) This is not a subtraction like the other changes. In fact, it actually is additive to the concept, evidencing that the time frame has been updated from 1950 to the late 1960s. Also additive for the musical is its building up of Eve’s part — although she already makes a big impression in the film, giving her solos really helps externalize some of her internal drive, and it’s one of the few areas where musicalization proves revealing. (Penny Fuller shined as Eve in the original production.)

Speaking of musicalization, how does the score stack up? Well, I can’t lie: it’s no Mame. It’s a mix of plaintive “character” numbers and silly atmospheric breakouts meant purely to inject froth into the proceedings, both categories unsure of how much they should embrace a looser and uniquely 1970 sensibility that was then-contemporary, rather than adhering to the more traditional musical theatre sound of Broadway’s post-Oklahoma! Golden Age. This creates a divide that tends to favor evergreen songs like Eve’s “The Best Night Of My Life” and Margo’s rousing showbiz anthem “Welcome To The Theatre,” which also sit well for their characters in story, and will always work because they have narrative purpose within the drama. This is the opposite of slight, 1970-ish stuff like “Backstage Babble” and “She’s No Longer A Gypsy,” which are goofy time-wasters that, I admit, I enjoy, but mainly as a window into a specific era’s ethos, neither as great tuneful delights on their own nor pieces of theatre that genuinely aid the storytelling. (In contrast, a show like Mame has no musical missteps — and it all feels of a singular piece.) Accordingly, I can’t say Applause’s score fully justifies its existence, and I don’t think it covers the deficit for what’s lost from the All About Eve screenplay.

However, I am taking this post to advocate for the show and its continued production because, even in spite of its shortcomings compared to Eve, there’s a lot that’s good and/or enjoyable. Margo Channing is indeed a delectable star part — Lauren Bacall was excellent casting and an example of how little is musically required. She couldn’t sing it, but when the frame of reference is a hoarse Bette Davis, it doesn’t matter. And as other later productions have shown, the role is meaty enough for a variety of different types to sink their teeth into it — from girly prima donnas like Eva Gabor to embittered powerhouses like Anne Baxter, the original Eve, who replaced Bacall as Margo in the Broadway run. Hear Baxter in a live audio below.

As for its revivability, there was an attempt back in 1996 to bring the show to Broadway, starting at Papermill with Stefanie Powers as Margo — and some changes were made to the book and score, mostly positive. For instance, “Applause” became an opening introduction to Margo and her world — instead of a shoehorned ensemble number led by someone who has no bearing on the plot. Also, new songs were added in place of “She’s No Longer A Gypsy” and Margo’s 11 o’clocker, “Something Greater,” which had struggled to navigate the original film’s equation of femininity with domestication — a not unusual perspective in 1950, but one more difficult to package amidst 1970’s second-wave feminism. And by the 1990s, even though the show remained set around 1969, the arc of the character couldn’t comfortably end with her insisting “something greater” is simply having a man, so it became more about dealing with things she didn’t want to deal with — like her insecurities related to growing older. Hence, the new final number, “I Don’t Want To Grow Old” (heard below), which makes more sense given the story.

It’s not a total fix, and overall, the show will always have trouble freeing itself from Eve’s shadow and its liminal 1970 sound. I think it has to remain in that context though — as a snapshot of its specific time, with a rich star part and a handful of fun numbers that enliven the otherwise great clash of Margo Channing and Eve Harrington, something always worth exploring — a rich drama of the thee-ah-tuh. So, in celebration of Applause, I’m offering to subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest, everything I’ve already excerpted: audios of Lauren Bacall in the original Broadway production, Anne Baxter as her replacement in that production, and Stefanie Powers in the 1996 revisal, along with Christine Ebersole in the 2008 Encores! concert, and lastly, a video of the 1973 TV movie starring Bacall, Fuller, and Larry Hagman. (Yes, it’s hilarious; they dub Hagman for his songs, when Bacall… well…) In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a ditty written for the show but cut — the melodic “Smashing New York Times,” which was later repurposed in 1978 for a flop called A Broadway Musical. Here’s an instrumental version — also known as “Margo’s Theme.”

Come back next month for another ’70s musical! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Curb!