Dietrich—wary of television as a medium—insisted that the show be filmed in a legitimate theatre in Europe, to best capture her act and audience reaction thereto.

A set-list of twenty songs was devised for the taping, including foreign-language selections in French and German, which would facilitate variant edits for differing European markets: Originally titled I Wish You Love, the show premiered in the UK on the BBC on January 1, 1973, and in the U.S. on January 13, 1973, on CBS Television (sponsored by Kraft Foods).

CBS organised a press conference with Dietrich at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and an exclusive interview with Rex Reed to publicize the US network showing.

For its home video release in the 1980s, the show was retitled An Evening with Marlene Dietrich (its current title).

[4] Previously unseen alternate takes of "Lola" and "You're the Cream in My Coffee" were included as bonus features on the Kino DVD release of The Blue Angel.