Applause (1970)
by Claire J Rottenberg
Applause was a Tony-winning musical
based on the classic movie All About
Eve. The book was written by the experienced
play and screenplay writing team of Betty Comden and
Adolph Green and the score was written by Charles
Strouse (composer) and Lee Adams (lyricist).
Applause opened in March, 1970 and it
played for 896 performances, closing in July, 1972.
The stars of the play were Lauren Bacall, Len Cariou
and Penny Fuller.
Although a special version of Applause,
starring Lauren Bacall and Larry Hagman, was filmed
for television and shown in the US in March, 1973 on
CBS, it has never been released. The only other major
production of Applause was last
February for City Center's Encore series.
Christine Ebersole starred in that production.
Applause won Tony awards in 1970 for
Best Musical, Best Direction (Ron Field), Best
Choreography (Ron Field), and Best Actress in a
Musical (Lauren Bacall). It received 7 other
nominations, including nominations for Len Cariou for
Best Actor in a Musical and for both Bonnie Franklin
and Penny Fuller for Best Featured Actress in a
Musical.