A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death.

The producers “heard from—or considered…Eve Arden, Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Kaye Ballard, Constance Bennett, Georgia Brown, Kitty Carlisle, Barbara Cook, Bette Davis, Doris Day, Olivia de Havilland, Phyllis Diller, Irene Dunne, Nanette Fabray, Arlene Francis, Judy Garland, Greer Garson, Mitzi Gaynor, Dolores Gray, Tammy Grimes, Julie Harris, Susan Hayward, Katharine Hepburn, Lena Horne, Lisa Kirk, Margaret Leighton, Beatrice Lillie, Gisele MacKenzie, Jane Morgan, Patrice Munsel, Geraldine Page, Ginger Rogers, Dinah Shore, Simone Signoret, Maggie Smith, Elaine Stritch—and…Angela Lansbury," who was eventually cast.”[3] For its second run, Jerry Herman wanted to cast Judy Garland, but that request was denied by the producers of the show, who deemed her a liability.

Lansbury, Arthur and Michaels all won Tony Awards, while Saks, White, the writers, Herman, and set designers William and Jean Eckart all received nominations.

Gaylea Byrne starred as Mame Dennis, alongside Mary Hardy as Agnes Gooch, Sheila Bradley as Vera Charles and Geoff Hiscock as Beauregard.

Prowse resumed headlining Mame in a 1989–1990 North American tour whose cast included Meghan Duffy as Gooch, Thomas Hill as Upson, and Delphi Lawrence as Vera.

[24] In July–August 1991 Mariette Hartley headlined the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre production of Mame whose cast also included Georgia Engel as Gooch, Alan Muraoka as Ito, and Gretchen Wyler as Vera.

[27] The Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) production of Mame in September and October 1999 was headlined by Christine Ebersole and featured Kelly Bishop as Vera and Paul Iacono as Young Patrick.

[28] The Kennedy Center production ran from June 1, 2006 to July 2, and starred Christine Baranski as Mame, Harriet Sansom Harris as Vera, and Emily Skinner as Gooch.

[29] Michele Lee headlined a single performance production of Mame at the Hollywood Bowl on 1 August 2004 whose cast also included Allyce Beasley as Gooch, Ben Platt as Young Patrick, Christine Ebersole as Vera, Jennifer Hall as Gloria, Lauri Johnson doubling as Madame Branislowski and Mrs. Burnside, Edie McClurg as Mrs. Upson, Robert Picardo as Babcock, Alan Thicke as Mr. Upson, John Schneider as Beauregard, and Fred Willard as Woolsey.

[30] The first UK production of Mame in 50 years opened at the Hope Mill Theatre (Manchester) in September 2019, directed by Nick Winston with Tracie Bennett headlining a cast which included Tim Flavin as Beauregard, Harriet Thorpe as Vera, and Pippa Winslow doubling as Sally Cato and Mrs.

The madcap life of eccentric Mame Dennis and her bohemian, intellectual arty clique is disrupted when her deceased brother's 10-year-old son Patrick is entrusted to her care.

Rather than bow to convention, Mame introduces the boy to her free-wheeling lifestyle, instilling in him her favorite credo, "Life is a banquet, and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death."

Figuring in the storyline are Agnes Gooch (Mame's personal secretary and nanny-in-law), Vera Charles (her "bosom buddy" baritone actress and world's greatest lush) and Dwight Babcock (the stuffy and officious executor of her brother's estate).

Mame loses her fortune in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and tries her hand at a number of jobs with comically disastrous results but perseveres with good humor and an irrepressible sense of style.

Mame returns home a wealthy widow to discover that Patrick has become a snob engaged to an equally priggish debutante, Gloria Upson, from a bigoted family.

In 1966, Bobby Darin, Louis Armstrong, and Herb Alpert all charted in the United States and Canada with their cover records of the musical's title song.