Why isn't this musical cited more often as one of the more influential musicals? It came before "Oklahoma!" and yes, that august show opened without chorus girls, simply with Aunt Eller on stage, but "Lady" opens with only the star on her psychiatrist's couch in a session with him. The show is structured as a play with 4 different musical dreams in which all the musical numbers occur, which she describes in her therapy sessions. I've read the libretto, and it's quite interesting, but quite lengthy. In terms of the Ann Sothern tv show, they had to cut it down to about 79 minutes to fit in a 90 minute time slot, but for the most part, it really works. Sothern was well-cast, bringing glamour, fine acting and very expressive singing ability to the role, and she was well-supported especially by Carleton Carpenter in the Danny Kaye role of the fashion photographer and James Daly (father of Tyne and Tim Daly) as one of the principal men in her working life. Daly was a wonderful actor, and Carpenter is also playing a gay character in a major musical, which isn't usually remarked upon. The score was cut down, and they used new orchestrations, some of which are quite lively and exciting. They used a dance double for Sothern, actually quite a bit slimmer, always seen from the back or in long shots, apparently the same way they did for Gertrude Lawrence in the original, especially to give time for the costume changes. Btw, the principal other female dancer in the show is Bambi Linn, the original Louise (Billy Bigelow and Julie's daughter) from "Carousel" and the Dream Laurey from the film of "Oklahoma!"I also listened to the Rise Stevens studio recording from 1963. Ms. Stevens' singing is quite lovely, especially her "My Ship", and while she was known for being a fine actress in opera and in some films, Sothern really is more believable and better cast acting-wise and singing-wise in the role. I'm looking forward to seeing Victoria Clark when the show is done at City Center later this year for a couple of performances, though I always thought Julie Andrews was a lost opportunity on stage back in the 70s or 80s. I wonder how much of the book will survive.I must say that some of the songs which were left off the tv telecast weren't particularly impressive on the Stevens recording. When I read the libretto, which I have in an anthology of great musicals, it goes into much deeper detail about the men in the protagonist's life and the traumas in her early life. The show began to be written based on the fact that its librettist Moss Hart was in psychoanalysis. While some of what the play's therapist says by today's standards may seem pat or too simplistic, the musical is still pretty fascinating. Plus the James Daly co-worker role has him saying and behaving at times in ways that would tax sexual harassment views today, though back then, stuff like that wasn't called out like it is today-- but the musical is a period piece. I think it's overlooked and belongs in the groupings of "Show Boat", "Pal Joey", "Of Thee I Sing" and "Porgy and Bess" which pre-dated "Oklahoma!" which really tried new things to be adventurous in musicals and needs to be rediscovered again by more people. I'd start with the Ann Sothern version if you can view it. I found it quite exciting to see and was quite touched by the ending as well.