I’m Getting My Act Together And Taking It On The Road was a controversial sensation at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater and Circle in the Square in the late ’70s. It is the story of a 39-year-old songwriter who is making a comeback, throwing out “the crap of the past” – her commercial sex kitten image – to forge a new identity, writing songs that express how she really feels and who she really is. Her manager (a former lover) is appalled. He likes her the way she used to be and says he can’t sell this “new woman.” They battle it out to a bittersweet, triumphant conclusion.
I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road premiered at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater on May 16, 1978. Directed by Word Baker, the production featured Betty Aberlin, Gretchen Cryer, Joel Fabiani, Margot Rose and Don Scardino. In 2013, the show was revived as part of the Encores! series at New York’s City Center.