Inspiration

Not yet the successes that they would each become, following their gradation from Yale, both together and individually, Maltby and Shire wrote many songs for shows that either closed out of town or were never produced. In 1977, during the early years of the Manhattan Theatre Club, artistic director Lynn Meadow, a fellow Yale graduate, came to the musical team and proposed that they do an evening of their songs for the theatre's cabaret. Their songs tend to be "story songs," each giving the character(s) a chance to explore a mini-drama, so the writers decided to assemble many of their songs into a revue, grouping them by theme. Thus, the beginnings of Starting Here, Starting Now were born.

Productions

Starting Here, Starting Now is a musical revue with lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., and music by David Shire. With a cast of three and three musicians, the revue explores a variety of romantic relationships.

The revue was first produced at the Manhattan Theater Club in 1976 for a limited three-week engagement under the title An Evening of Theater Songs by Maltby and Shire. In March 1977, the show then moved Off-Broadway to the Barbarann Theater Restaurant, where it ran for 120 performances. The cast featured Loni Ackerman, Margery Cohen and George Lee Andrews.

Following its Off-Broadway debut, Starting Here, Starting Now premiered in the London fringe in 1984 at the Orange Tree Theatre and then later in an Off-West End production in 1993.

The show has gone on to huge regional success, as well numerous other London productions and mountings in other international markets, including South Africa and Sweden.

Cultural Influence

• Cast recordings from both the original 1977 Off-Broadway Cast and the original 1993 London Cast of Starting Here, Starting Now have had commercial releases.

Trivia

• When Lynn Meadow came to Maltby and Shire about assembling some of their music into a revue for MTC, Richard Maltby was very much onboard, but David Shire was not. He wasn't sure that discarded songs and music from musical flops would come together to create something great. Nonetheless he gave his consent but held the project at a distance until he arrived after the first week of rehearsals and realized the potential for the show. At that point, he jumped fully onboard, himself.

• Barbra Streisand made several of the Maltby and Shire songs included in Starting Here, Starting Now famous when she recorded them in the 1960's, including "Autumn," "Starting Here, Starting Now" and "What about Today."

• The title song of Starting Here, Starting Now was recorded by Barbra Streisand and featured in her television special, "Color Me Barbra."