The Goodbye Girl (musical)

The Goodbye Girl
Original cast recording
Music	Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics	David Zippel
Book	Neil Simon
Basis	Neil Simon's 1977 film The Goodbye Girl
Productions	1993 Broadway 1997 West End

The Goodbye Girl is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by David Zippel, and music by Marvin Hamlisch, based on Simon's original screenplay for the 1977 film of the same name.

The Goodbye Girl opened in out-of-town tryouts at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago, from December 29, 1992 to January 30, 1993. The original director, Gene Saks, was fired during the Chicago try outs and replaced by Michael Kidd. During the try outs, a new opening song was put in, sung by Bernadette Peters as Paula and Tammy Minoff as her daughter Lucy. "An exuberant song about their hoped-for move to California from New York City, it's meant to help Paula lighten up; in the first act, she has been perceived as a drip." Ticket sales were "brisk" for the Chicago run and the musical had a $10 million advance for Broadway.

The musical, directed by Michael Kidd and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on March 4, 1993 and closed on August 15, 1993 after 188 performances and 23 previews. The opening cast included Bernadette Peters as Paula McFadden and Martin Short as Elliot Garfield, with Carol Woods as Mrs. Crosby, Tammy Minoff as Lucy, Lisa Molina as Melanie and Erin Torpey as Cynthia. This musical marked Martin Short's Broadway debut.

The musical was produced at the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, Illinois, in February through April 1994. This version featured some modifications by lyricist David Zippel, who also co-directed the production. This represents the version preferred by the authors and is currently licensed by the licensing agent, MTI.

After several previews, a revised version (with new lyrics by Don Black) opened on April 17, 1997 at the Albery Theatre in the West End, and closed on June 28, 1997. It starred Gary Wilmot and Ann Crumb. The new lyrics in this production were not well received. The production, produced by Paul Elliott, directed by Rob Bettinson and choreographed by Tudor Davies, also featured Angela Avrili, Carol Ball, Cliff Brayshaw, Kyle Dadd, Steve Elias, Lucy Evans, Josefina Gabrielle, Adrian Goodfellow, Rachel Harris, Nicola Hughes, Michael Mears, Hayley Newton, Richard Pettyfer, Mary Savva, Wesley James Smith, Mason Taylor, Dina Tree, Jodie Lee Wilde and Shezwae Powell.