Set in 1929, the story focuses on ace reporter Hildy Johnson, who has just quit his job at the Chicago Examiner to marry his fiancée Esther Stone and write screenplays for her movie mogul father, much to the dismay of unscrupulous and cantankerous editor Walter Burns.
Windy City had its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome in June 1982 before opening in the West End on July 20 at the Victoria Palace, where it closed on February 26, 1983 after 250 performances.
Directed by Peter Wood, the cast included Dennis Waterman as Hildy Johnson, Anton Rodgers as Walter Burns, Amanda Redman as Esther Stone, Robert Longden as Earl Williams, Diane Langton as Mollie Malloy, and Victor Spinetti as poetic reporter Bensinger.
[1] A production staged at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey in September 1985 starred Ron Holgate as Walter Burns, Gary Sandy as Hildy Johnson, Judy Kaye as Mollie Malloy, and Alan Sues as Bensinger.
In his review in The New York Times, Alvin Klein observed, "Dick Vosburgh's mediocre book and mundane lyrics, replete with contrived rhymes that make no sense whatever, and Tony Macaulay's forgettable score are stuck in standard musical comedy mold.