Maureen Stapleton won Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actress for the role of Evy Meara, a popular singer who has hit the skids.

After a short stay in rehab, her best friend age-defying Toby, her daughter Polly, and Jimmy Perry, a gay actor try to help her adjust to sobriety with a jolly birthday party. 

Enter Lou Tanner, a former lover, who ends up giving her a black eye. The party is a wash out, the "gingerbread lady" falls off the wagon and hits the ropes once again. 

Later rewritten by Neil Simon as the film Only When I Laugh starring Marsha Mason.

"He has combined an amusing comedy with the atmosphere of great sadness. His characteristic wit and humor are at their brilliant best, and his serious story of lost misfits can often be genuinely and deeply touching." - New York Post

"Mr. Simon's play is as funny as the ever-the customary avalanche of hilarity, and landslide of pure unbuttoned joy." - The New York Times