Re WOMAN OF THE YEAR: It felt like a musical that was very much of its time, the way shows like DO-RE-MI and HOW NOW DOW JONES were very much of THEIR times. But I was at law school when WOMAN OF THE YEAR was trying out in Boston, and the excitement over Lauren Bacall being in town in a new show was palpable. I suppose a recent equivalent would be Hugh Jackman in BOY FROM OZ, that's the closest I can think of, or maybe Nicole Kidman in THE BLUE ROOM. I don't know how the Bacall glamour circa early 1980's translated to New York, but in Boston/Cambridge/etc. there was Bacall excitement in the air.
One of my favorite cheap TV commercials had Lauren Bacall telling the viewer to phone for tickets (back in the days of dial phones), saying just dial 555-5555 for tickets, adding "You know how to dial, don't you? Just put your finger in the holes and" - then she made a motion with her finger of turning. The ad was actually seen as a little suggestive and was much talked about in Boston.