In 1980, Coleman served as producer and composer for the circus-themed "Barnum", which co-starred Jim Dale and Glenn Close. Later in the decade, he collaborated on "Welcome to the Club" (1988) with A. E. Hotchner, and "City of Angels" (1989) with David Zippel. In the latter, inspired by the hard-boiled detective film noir of the 1930s and 1940s, he returned to his jazz roots, and the show was a huge critical and commercial success. The 1990s brought more new Coleman musicals to Broadway: "The Will Rogers Follies" (1991), again with Comden and Green, "The Life" (1997), a gritty look at pimps, prostitutes, and assorted other lowlife in the big city, with Ira Gasman, and a revised production of "Little Me".