It was produced by theater and film impresario Mike Todd and used costumes by Tony Award winning designer Mary Percy Schenck.
The premier Todd only sold tickets to purchasers of American war bonds, with the opening night of the play raising $4 million (equivalent to $69,232,514 in 2023).
[3] Ramona Curry in her book Too Much of a Good Thing: Mae West as Cultural Icon, contextualises West's performance as Catherine as part of her portrayals of historically powerful women and her persona of feminine strength and power.
[7] Louvish described West's performance as Catherine alienating her critics and audience with her "standard wide Brooklyn tones".
[7] The play was affected by a plagiarism suit; the writers George S. George and Vadim Uraneff sued West for plagiarism for $450,000 (equivalent to $7,615,896 in 2023), as did the writers Edwin K. O'Brien and Michael Karr who alleged that they supplied West with material on Catherine the Great in 1938.