Based on Stein's play Enter Laughing, which had been adapted from the Carl Reiner book of the same name and served as the basis for a 1967 film, it focuses on the journey of David Kolowitz from factory helper to actor and from insecure adolescence to self-assured adulthood in three whirlwind days in New York City in the late 1930s.

After six previews, the Broadway production, directed by Burt Shevelove and choreographed by Alan Johnson, opened on April 27, 1976, at the Harkness Theatre, where it closed after only 16 performances.

The cast included Robert Morse, George S. Irving, Loni Ackerman, and Rita Rudner.

[1] Clive Barnes of the New York Times observed "The people involved are talented enough...So what went wrong?

"[3] Despite the initial unfavorable reviews, one number from the show, "The Butler's Song," became a cabaret standard.