"The Grass Is Always Greener". Broadway - 1981.

[@Gareth-g8e]

What stunning performances. Two great performances. An object lesson in comedic timing.

[@bradlybinsd]

I saw this on Broadway and this number brought the house down. One of the funniest numbers I have ever seen in 30 years of theater going. Bacall and Cooper were perfection!

[@Scottsteaux63]

I had the privilege of seeing this on Broadway. For someone who is basically a non-singer Bacall did surprisingly well. Of course, the Kander and Ebb score helped immeasurably, and Harry Guardino made an excellent foil for Bacall. But late in the show came this duet between Bacall and the late, great Marilyn Cooper, playing Bacall's ex's second wife, and they compare their lives in this hilarious number that brought the house down and the night I saw it they did four encores.

[@jimk0403]

I was lucky to see this live. Cooper's facial expressions to Bacall's lyrics gave the "What's Wonderful" line the punch that caused all the laughter. Listen to how Bacall delays her lyrics to wait out the laughter at times.

[@actiscenei]

Having seen this in its pre-Broadway tryout, Marilyn Cooper (who didn't appear until the last fifteen minutes of the show) stole a show like I'd never seen before. Her deadpan delivery after two hours of big musical numbers and small intimate numbers was such a contrast to the rest of the show, we (the audience) was unprepared and so ripe for this moment, it was bound to work, and work well. Cooper's stellar performance is one of the most dazzling in musical theatre history -- and well deserved!

[@kthorning4459]

It's great to see this whole scene, not just the song. Thanks to whoever recorded it.

[@lnl3237]

Just watched my usual nightly Cheers rerun and Ms. Cooper guest-starred, playing Lilith's mother. They were a riot. Brought me here. I had completely forgotten that I saw this on Broadway until I heard that voice. Laughing my head off all over again. Bless these theater folk who give us moments of sheer delight and hilarity.

[@carolineorchange21]

She was a treasure! I'm so glad, by some miracle, these old clips have been allowed to remain on KZbin, and that people can see them in future years!

[@robertsandybeach9990]

The best, got to see her do this in Atlantic City with Elke Sommer and stopped the show...again..so deserved that Tony!

[@70Dallas70]

This clip never fails to delight.

[@JOESYMON]

I was in the first row. A teenager starstruck.

[@Mona07452]

I saw Cooper's obit this morning...but I didn't realize this was the show-stopping song. OMG, my mother used to sing this all the time!!! Wonderful memory, thank you.

[@emmashoesmith8161]

I absolutely love Lauren!!!

[@jerryedmonson5041]

Brava! Never got to see this performed live.

[@paymark]

Thanks for sharing. I bought this Original Cast Lp in 1982 and have listened to it all these years...never getting tired of the entire show. Kudos Kander & Ebb! Anyway, I have always searched around for some video of the live performance and found special stuff (Tony's, specials, etc...) but never the original performance as performed nightly by these two legends, Lauren Bacall and the lesser-known Broadway powerhouse that was Marilyn Cooper. Thanks again!

[@FrancophoneFan]

Songs like this are Broadway all the way!

[@jimk0403]

WOW! This is my favorite funniest B'Way Musicals scene! The way the audience reacts is exactly as I remember it, so many years ago! Thanks so much for posting this! (The only thing missing was the curtain opening on Cooper at the kitchen table and her line about how she's not even bothering to fix herself up.)

[@jimk0403]

Well, thanks again for posting this. I've have been raving about this scene for 27 years (!). Cooper and Bacall both won Tonys for this show, and this number has to be a big reason why. Also, look closely and see how generous Bacall is to Cooper during the number. I saw this early in the run when it was apparent Cooper was stealing this scene, and Bacall was obviously enjoying (and encouraging) Cooper's performance.

[@shamey68]

Coopie was one of a kind. Had the pleasure of doing an on-camera interview with her in 1991 when she was on tour with Tommy Tune's version of Bye Bye Birdie. The audience is laughing so much, they miss half the jokes Fred Ebb put into the lyrics. Coopie won the Tony for the shortest performance - this scene is almost her entire role! She had one scene with dialogue and a song, and voila!

[@monateegs]

I saw her do this number with Raquel Welch who took over from Lauren Bacall. It's a fun show and this number hits it out of the park. Thanks for posting.

[@stevenvoorhees3107]

Thanks for posting this! I didn't see WOMAN OF THE YEAR. I had just turned 11 when it opened on Broadway in March 1981. Those were heady days -- the attempt on President Reagan's life, the death of my paternal grandfather & WOMAN's premiere all happened within days of each other. The Bacall/Cooper duet is PRICELESS! It must've been something to have seen this live.

[@jamiesiple7703]

ty for year of broadway and movies lauren

[@jimk0403]

RIP to a great B'Way talent. Her kind is rare on B'way these days.

[@mojo500100]

well, Gary---in answer to your ‘Lauren or Raquel’ question: gotta be Betty. No bad reflection on Miss Welch, of course, but this role requires a certain degree of Legendary status. I saw the show live with Bacall. At the time, I wasn’t a particular ‘fan’, one way or the other and admittedly went in thinking “how’s she gonna pull this off?” But even without a classic singing voice, she did, and how. She earned that Tony award. Now--Doesn't SOMEBODY have the brains to get this released on video? Come on, they send people to the moon....let's get moving!

[@overthemoo]

@powerfulpowerzz The same reason you can watch someone like Madeline Kahn in the same film over and over and laugh just as hard the twentieth time as you did the first time. If a performer has great comedic timing/delivery, you'll get a chuckle no matter what.

[@Itstonytime77]

Makes me think of “Class” from Chicago and “The allle doesn’t fall far from the Tree” from The Rink

[@michaelcoluccio2097]

Marilyn won the Tony Award for these 15 minutes of stage time.

[@johnflynn9619]

Bacall was made for the Stage.

[@carolineorchange21]

i think they laugh because of the Marilyn's delivery - uproarious!

[@Nerris121]

@powerfulpowerzz and if you see the tony award performance, you'll see her face is absolutely perfect.

[@SpeedRacer1125]

They should really revive this. Can you imagine this with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman?!?!?

[@chuckbracken]

too cool, anyone have Raquel and Marilyn singing the whole song besides the short clip from the 84 tonys?

[@carolineorchange21]

youtube videos can only be so long! ;)

[@CindyLidia]

hey is there any way you can tell me where to get the mp3? I was hoping to perform it but i wanted to avoid buying the whole soundtrack for just one song...

[@dyssbroadway]

@powerfulpowerzz You're not privy to a close-up of her facial expressions, which the people in the first few rows can see well. I'm sure her expressions are priceless.

[@Nerris121]

@powerfulpowerzz yeah... it's seriously hilarious.. just the way she does it.

[@gymnastix]

@carolineorchange21 Do you have the entire play? Because, if you do, I see complete films and TV episodes uploaded on You Tube all the time. You merely have to upload them as several parts. Then too, there are some You Tubers who, somehow, get around the time limit completely. I have seen, increasingly so, many complete films and TV episodes as one upload.

[@carolineorchange21]

God, I know! A tragedy. I almost wanted to put something in the description but that seemed slightly morbid.

[@gymnastix]

@carolineorchange21 Check into this, especially if you have all of this musical. For those of us who know how to merge files, it is then simply a matter of joining the parts as one file. Please send me a private message, if you figure out how and why some are able to get around the You Tube uploads' time limit. Regardless of your limit, if you have a complete work of any title, just upload it in several parts. I have seen as many as 50 parts uploaded.

[@michaeljj43]

who did the lighting for this scene...a funeral director?

[@garyclement5121]

Who was better? Betty or Raquel?

[@shamey68]

@powerfulpowerzz

[@powerfulpowerzz]

awsome, but y do they laugh every time marilyn says "whats so wonderful?" dont they see it coming?

[@SDoesNotKnow]

I think it’s just no matter how prepared you are for it, just the sound of Cooper’s high, nasally voice playing off of Bacall’s deep, foghorn just elicits a laugh. That and her deadpan delivery.

[@MrRraoulof]

This is terrible. Look at the original with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Cooper......That's wonderful.

[@josephkearny5874]

Actually Raquel Welch was better. I always found Bacall's singing lacking. Watch the film The Fan which Bacall made around the same time she appeared in Woman of the Year!