Milk and Honey (musical) for a project about Israel he hoped to mount on Broadway. He sent Herman and Appell there to absorb the culture and hopefully find inspiration. Herman was determined that the musical not be a patriotic love letter. Herman said: “We were there to soak up the atmosphere...Once we saw this group of little old lady tourists rummaging about, we knew that they had to be in our show.” Herman explained that "Everything about this place is not perfect. I had already written the song called "Milk and Honey" as a kind of an anthem, and I said, ... 'I have
Milk and Honey (musical) moved on to the Colonial Theatre in Boston, playing there from September 5 - 23. After one preview, "Milk and Honey" opened on Broadway on October 10, 1961 in the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 543 performances. In addition to Picon, the show featured Metropolitan Opera stars Mimi Benzell and Robert Weede, and dancer-singer Tommy Rall. Hermione Gingold replaced Picon later in the run. The musical director was Max Goberman. "New York Times" theater critic Howard Taubman praised the musical for its "heartwarming integrity" and for "taste and imagination," and lauded its performances, especially Picon's. The musical was revived