Original Broadway Cast of Company & Dean Jones
Original Broadway Cast of Company & Elaine Stritch
Charles Kimbrough, George Coe & Charles Braswell
Donna McKechnie, Susan Browning & Pamela Myers
Original Broadway Cast of Company & Charles Braswell & John Cunningham & Steve Elmore & George Coe & Charles Kimbrough
Dean Jones
Pamela Myers
Beth Howland, Steve Elmore & Teri Ralston
Original Broadway Cast of Company
Original Broadway Cast of Company & & Teri Ralston & Merle Louise & & Elaine Stritch
Dean Jones & Susan Browning
Elaine Stritch
Original Broadway Cast of Company & Dean Jones
Original Broadway Cast of Company
This is Joanne’s big solo at the end of the musical. She finally reveals one reason behind her constant drinking throughout the show by way of this song, wherein she toasts the limited options she sees available for women within NYC’s 1970s upper-class society. Company is about bachelor Robert’s sea...
[JOANNE, spoken]
I'd like to propose a toast.
(sung)
Here's to the ladies who lunch—
Everybody laugh—
Lounging in their caftans and planning a brunch
On their own behalf
Off to the gym
Then to a fitting
Claiming they're fat
And looking grim
'Cause they've been sitting
Choosing a hat
(spoken)
Does anyone still wear a hat?
(sung)
I'll drink to that
Here's to the girls who stay smart—
Aren't they a gas?
Rushing to their classes in optical art
Wishing it would pass
Another long exhausting day
Another thousand dollars
A matinee, a Pinter play
Perhaps a piece of Mahler's—
I'll drink to that
(spoken)
And one for Mahler!
(sung)
Here's to the girls who play wife—
Aren't they too much?
Keeping house but clutching a copy of Life
Just to keep in touch
The ones who follow the rules
And meet themselves at the schools
Too busy to know that they're fools—
Aren't they a gem?
I'll drink to them!
Let's all drink to them!
And here's to the girls who just watch—
Aren't they the best?
When they get depressed, it's a bottle of Scotch
Plus a little jest
Another chance to disapprove
Another brilliant zinger
Another reason not to move
Another vodka stinger—
Aaaaahhhhhh—
I'll drink to that
So here's to the girls on the go—
Everybody tries
Look into their eyes
And you'll see what they know:
Everybody dies
A toast to that invincible bunch
The dinosaurs surviving the crunch—
Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch!
Everybody rise! Rise!
Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise!
The Ladies Who Lunch was written by Stephen Sondheim.
The Ladies Who Lunch was produced by Thomas Z. Shepard.
Elaine Stritch released The Ladies Who Lunch on Wed May 13 1970.
From Sondheim’s Finishing the Hat:
The character of Joanne was not only written for Elaine Stritch, it was based on her, or at least on her acerbic delivery of self-assessment.