[1] The comedy is an ugly duckling tale about an overweight young woman who attracts the attention of a potential suitor.

With the help of her friends/roommates, she undergoes a diet and exercise regime to shed the extra pounds she assumes she needs to lose in order to hold the man's attention.

On 6 December it opened in London's West End at the Globe Theatre, where it enjoyed a modest run despite lukewarm reviews.

[2] After seven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Robert Moore, opened on 31 March 1974 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 288 performances.

John Inman, star of the BBC department-store comedy Are You Being Served?, appeared in the November 1972 production at the Rex Theatre in Wilmslow, and later in a 1998 revival of the play.