Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein, the original stars of the 1979 Tony-nominated musical comedy They're Playing Our Song, will reunite this winter in a one-night 40th-anniversary concert of the beloved show. Chet Walker will direct and Larry Blank will musical-direct the benefit for The Actors Fund, taking place at Broadway's Music Box Theatre on February 11, 2019 at 7:30pm.
Featuring a book by three-time Tony winner Neil Simon and a score by Oscar winners Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, They’re Playing Our Song is based on the real-life relationship between Hamlisch and Sager. The musical follows Vernon Gersh (Klein), a successful wisecracking composer who teams up with quirky Lyricist Sonia Walsk (Arnaz). The mismatched pair goes through a variety of hurdles, personal and professional, before falling in love.
"To be asked to revisit one of the best theatrical memories of my career, and get a chance to have those Neil Simon words come out of my mouth again and bring Marvin and Carole's unforgettable music back to the stage was just too good an invitation to turn down," said Arnaz. "The original cast forty years after its Broadway opening? Truly rare. Maybe even historic. Best of all we will be packing the house to benefit The Actors Fund, especially Song's original 'keyboard fingers' Fran Liebergal. Robert Klein and I do laugh, though, that instead of the love story of Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, we're now playing Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields. Ha! And I can't wait."
"I'm thrilled to be reuniting with Lucie to step back into this show which has meant so much to us, especially for such a great cause, The Actors Fund," said Klein. "To sing the wonderful songs of Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager and to say the great lines of Neil Simon is a thrill. Still fresh after forty years."
Look back at Arnaz and Klein in the musical's Tony Awards performance below.