Applause (musical) Applause (musical) Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The musical is based on the 1950 film "All About Eve" and the short story on which the movie is based, Mary Orr's "The Wisdom of Eve". The story centers on aging star Margo Channing, who innocently takes a fledgling actress under her wing, unaware that the ruthless Eve is plotting to steal her career and her man. The musical opened on Broadway on March 30, 1970, and ran for 896 performances. It won the Tony
Bette Davis film "As Summers Die" (1986), and in Lindsay Anderson's film "The Whales of August" (1987), in which she played the blind sister of Lillian Gish. Though in poor health at the time, Davis memorized her own and everyone else's lines, as she always had. The film earned good reviews, with one critic writing: "Bette crawls across the screen like a testy old hornet on a windowpane, snarling, staggering, twitching - a symphony of misfired synapses." Davis became an honouree of the Kennedy Center Honors for her contribution to films in 1987. Her last performance was the title role in Larry