They're Playing Our Song 1980 - Articles Page 3

Opened: October 1, 1980
Closing: May 08, 1982

They're Playing Our Song - 1980 - West End History , Info & More

Shaftesbury Theatre
Holborn end of Shaftesbury Avenue London

Featuring book by Neil Simon, "They're Playing Our Song" follows the on-again, off-again romance of one very despondent composer and one very ditzy lyricist, as they try to create their own unique love song. Based on the real-life love affair of the show's composer, Marvin Hamlisch, and the show's lyricist, Carole Bayer-Sager, "They're Playing Our Song," ran 1,082 performances on Broadway.



After Sager and Hamlisch scored an international hit with "Nobody Does It Better" (the theme song from "The Spy Who Loved Me"), they began to work on a new musical based on some surprising subject matter -- their own romantic life -- with the most successful and popular playwright of the era, Neil Simon. They came up with an unusual, new form for a Broadway musical: a chamber musical with two main characters supported by a three-person Greek Chorus.



"They're Playing Our Song" had its world premiere as part of the Center Theatre Group series at the Ahmanson Theatre of the Music Center. It starred comic Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, who made her Broadway debut in the role and went on to star in Reprise's inaugural season's "Wonderful Town" in 1997.



Carole Bayer Sager has written the lyrics for "Don't Cry Out Loud," "Everything Old is New Again," "Come in From the Rain," "Heartbreaker," and "That's What Friends Are For," and has collaborated with Neil Diamond, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Peter Allen, Michael McDonald, and Burt Bacharach. In 1977 she was romantically involved with Marvin Hamlisch. Hamlisch followed winning three Academy Awards in 1973 for "The Way We Were" and the score of "The Sting", with the score for "A Chorus Line" which won nine 1975 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score for Hamlisch and lyricist Edward Kleban.

They're Playing Our Song - 1980 - West End Cast

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They're Playing Our Song - 1980 - West End Articles Page 3

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They're Playing Our Song FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What productions of They're Playing Our Song have there been?
They're Playing Our Song has had 6 productions including Broadway which opened in 1979, Broadway which opened in 1979, US Tour which opened in 1979, West End which opened in 1980, US Tour which opened in 1981 and Off-Off-Broadway which opened in 1986.
What awards has They're Playing Our Song been nominated for?
They're Playing Our Song has been nominated for the Musical of the Year award at the Olivier Awards for both Neil Simon and Marvin Hamlisch.

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