How well do you know the musical Applause? This Tony Award-winning production, based on the short story The Wisdom of Eve, brings the drama of Broadway to life through characters like Margo Channing and Eve Harrington. Test your knowledge of the show’s history, its creators, and fascinating behind-the-scenes facts. Whether you're a fan of Lauren Bacall’s iconic performance or curious about this adaptation of All About Eve, there’s plenty to discover!
Musical Composition
- Composers Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, and book writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green, updated the setting to the present day (1970) rather than the 1950 setting of the movie.
- The song 'Applause' is a recurring theme throughout the musical, celebrating the life of theatre despite its numerous challenges.
Production Facts
- Applause is a musical adaptation of the 1950 film All About Eve, and the short story 'The Wisdom of Eve' by Mary Orr.
- The musical's original Broadway production opened in 1970 and ran for 896 performances before closing.
- Lauren Bacall, who starred as Margo Channing in Applause, won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.
- Applause won the Tony Award for Best Musical, along with three other Tony Awards for its original Broadway production.
- The creators were initially denied the rights to use the script or title of All About Eve by Twentieth Century Fox, leading them to adapt the original short story instead.
- In the musical, some characters from the movie were replaced to avoid rights issues, such as the character of Addison de Witt being replaced by Howard Benedict.
- Lauren Bacall identified strongly with her character, Margo Channing, seeing parallels in their personal and professional challenges.
- Rita Hayworth was initially considered to replace Bacall on Broadway but could not continue due to her struggles with Alzheimer's disease. Anne Baxter, who played Eve in the original film, eventually took over.
- Margo realizes the effect her aging could have on her career while watching herself as a 19-year-old in an old movie.
- Eve manages to become Margo's understudy through her close involvement and strategic manipulation, eventually leading her to perform triumphantly in Margo's absence.
