The original inspiration for this Broadway musical was the 1978 French film of the same name which, in turn, was based on a 1973 stage play.

The storyline centres around Jean-Michel, the 24-year old biological son of Georges, a gay man who raised the boy with his lifelong male partner Albin.

When Jean-Michel announces he is engaged to the daughter of the ‘Tradition, Family and Morality Party’ leader the sparks begin to fly. When he asks that Georges and Albin conceal their homosexuality from his future in-laws, the stage is set for cataclysm.

Since it’s original appearance, the stage show has been made into a movie, then a stage musical, then another movie (with a US setting this time) then a revival of the stage musical!

Somewhat ironically, it was film producer Allan Carr who sought the rights to the film version – in order to turn it into a Broadway musical! As it transpired, he was unsuccessful and had to settle for the rights to the original stage play instead. This, apparently, caused the production team some considerable concerns.

In the movie version, Jean-Michel’s birth mother made an appearance. This was not the case in the original play; there was no doubt that the young (heterosexual) man had been raised entirely by two gay men.  Some of those involved in the project felt that this, along with the possibility of men actually kissing each other on stage, made the project too controversial.

Thankfully, the involvement of gay activist Harvey Fierstein seems to have been a major factor in driving the project through, not only to completion but also to major Broadway success. Apparently it was one of the very few new American musicals that made it past the 1,000 performance mark.

And despite the producers’ lukewarm attitude towards the gay characters, the musical produced one of the most memorable gay anthems of our times. I Am What I Am, was taken up by lesbians and gays across the globe – especially when Gloria Gaynor released it as a single.

Exactly who came up with the catchy phrase “I am what I am” is apparently the subject of some disagreement. One version is that Jerry Herman came up with the song first and the storyline emerged from that.  Another is that Harvey Fierstein used the words to close a particularly impassioned scene at the end of Act One and Jerry Herman then went off and wrote the song.

Either way, it’s stayed with us through the years. And here it is again…!

https://youtu.be/_rXzaKJDfu8