commissioned in 1986, by the everyman theatre in liverpool. noreen kershaw starred. it was directed by glen walford. in 1988 it opened in london's west end at the vaudeville theatre. pauline collins starred. it was directed by simon callow. on 16 february 1989, the broadway production, with collins again directed by callow, opened at the booth theatre. it ran for 324 performances. ellen burstyn replaced collins later in the run. loretta swit starred in a us national tour in 1995.