Jo, the teenage heroine who lives in a filthy tenement bedsitter, is deserted by her nagging peroxided mother, who is unaware that her daughter is pregnant by a black sailor. Jo’s greatest fear is that her illegitimate baby might be mentally deficient like her own father. To soothe, clean and cook for her is Geof, an effeminate art student, with whom she makes a temporary home. Bruised by insensitivity and rejection, the boy and girl find a very real comfort in each other.
A Taste of Honey premiered in London at the Theatre Royal Stratford East on 27 May 1958. The production starred Avis Bunnage, Frances Cuka, Nigel Davenport, Clifton Jones and Murray Melvin as well as the musicians Christopher Capon, Johnny Wallbank and Barry Wright.
It later opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on 4 October 1960. Directed by Tony Richardson, the production featured Nigel Davenport, Angela Lansbury, Joan Plowright, Andrew Ray and Billy Dee Williams.