# I Love My Wife

I Love My Wife is a musical with a book and lyrics by Michael Stewart and music by Cy Coleman, based on the French play Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine by Luis Rego.
A satire of the sexual revolution of the 1970s, the musical takes place on Christmas Eve in suburban Trenton, New Jersey, where two married couples who have been close friends since high school find themselves contemplating a ménage-à-quatre.

## Synopsis

In Trenton, New Jersey, old high school buddies Wally (now an executive in public relations) and Alvin (a furniture mover) discuss the possibility of adding some spice to their lives by having a foursome. Alvin suggests to his wife Cleo that they share their bed with Monica, Wally's wife. Cleo thinks that she would enjoy Wally. They agree that whoever enters first becomes the evening's partner, but the couple walks in together. After Monica leaves, the three discuss the situation and decide on a foursome on Christmas Eve.
Alvin and Cleo arrive for dinner on Christmas Eve, and while Monica is initially unhappy with the arrangement, she ultimately agrees. Too excited to eat: they undress, get into bed, and have some pot to relax. As Wally suggests ideas from a sex manual, the group discards all the options.

## Productions

The title song was notably recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1976 and released as a single in January 1977, before the musical had even premiered. This created what Billboard called "a crest of pre-opening publicity".
The pre-Broadway tryout opened at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia on March 21, 1977. The Broadway production opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on April 17, 1977, and closed on May 20, 1979, after 857 performances and seven previews. Directed by Gene Saks and choreographed by Onna White, the cast included James Naughton as Wally, Joanna Gleason as Monica, Lenny Baker, as Alvin, Ilene Graff as Cleo, Michael Mark (guitar) as Stanley, Joseph Saulter (drums) as Quenton, John Miller (bass) as Harvey, and Ken Bichel (piano) as Norman. During the show's run, cast replacements included Tom and Dick Smothers, Tom Wopat, Janie Sell and, in an African American version, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Hattie Winston, and Barbara Sharma. Original director and choreographer Joe Layton was replaced due to injuries sustained in a fall.
The West End production opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on October 6, 1977, where it ran for 401 performances. It was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Musical of the Year. The show originally starred Porridge and Rising Damp star Richard Beckinsale, who was replaced as the lead mid-run by Confessions of a Window Cleaner actor Robin Askwith.
The band consisted of four on-stage musicians who were among the friends and acted in the opening scene. The show was filled with their shenanigans in the background during the songs. They sang along with some of the numbers and sometimes one of them took a solo and sang alone.
The Helen Hayes Theatre in Nyack, New York, presented the musical in April 2004.
A production was staged by the Reprise Theatre Company, Brentwood Theatre, Brentwood, California, in December 2008. This starred Jason Alexander (Alvin), Vicki Lewis (Cleo), Patrick Cassidy (Wally), and Lea Thompson (Monica).

## Response
### Critical reviews

Clive Barnes, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote that the musical is "bright, inventive, amusing and breezy." He noted that what Coleman and Stewart did regarding the band "is breathtakingly simple, but none...has ever done it before. They have taken the band and put it up on stage...The musicians are welded into the play, as a kind of Greek chorus." He especially noted that "It is a gorgeous cast-just right." Finally, he called the musical "mildly sexy, vastly diverting and highly amusing."

## Awards and nominations
### Original Broadway production

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 1977 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Best Musical | Nominated |
| 1977 | Tony Award | Best Book of a Musical | Michael Stewart | Nominated |
| 1977 | Tony Award | Best Original Score | Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart | Nominated |
| 1977 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Lenny Baker | Won |
| 1977 | Tony Award | Best Direction of a Musical | Gene Saks | Won |
| 1977 | Tony Award | Best Choreography | Onna White | Nominated |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Outstanding Musical | Nominated |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Lenny Baker | Won |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Ken Bichel | Won |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Michael Mark | Won |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | John Miller | Won |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Joseph Saulter | Won |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Gene Saks | Nominated |
| 1977 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Music | Cy Coleman | Won |
| 1977 | Theatre World Award | Theatre World Award | Joanna Gleason | Won |
| 1977 | New York Drama Critics' Circle Award | Best Musical | Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart | Runner-up |

### Original London production

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 1977 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Best New Musical | Nominated |

## Watch and listen

* I Love My Wife excerpt - YouTube
* I Love My Wife excerpt - YouTube
* I Love My Wife: A Musical (1977 Original Broadway Cast Recording) CD (April 10, 1992) DRG Records (ASIN: B000000PG7)
* Broadway Bound 216: Yesterday & Today plus Cy Coleman - The Public Radio Exchange (PRX)
* "Everybody Today is Turning On": Bea Arthur & Rock Hudson - The Beatrice Arthur Special