The original cast included Lynda Bellingham, Patricia Hodge, Siân Phillips, Gaynor Faye, Brigit Forsyth, Julia Hills and Elaine C. Smith.
While the play was a financial success (it took in over £1.7 million in advance ticket sales), the critical reception was mixed.
[4] The show had several different casts to keep it fresh and to also allow producers to bring well known actresses into the play who did not want to commit to long runs.
[citation needed] In September 2016, Tim Firth and Gary Barlow announced The Girls, a new musical based on both the play and the film, was to open at the Phoenix Theatre in January 2017.
A special charity performance attended by Angela Baker (Miss February in the original calendar) and sales of a calendar enabled a donation of CHF 6,000 to each of the Fondation Dr Henri Dubois-Ferrière Dinu Lipatti and the Fondation Artères, local charities targeting leukaemia and lymphoma.