From APPLAUSE, Book by Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Essential page
Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Lee Adams (suggested musical format) numbering**

KAREN 56.
Stage action is
(to Margo) indented 3
Dialogue Margo, you’ve been kicking us all around long enough. Someone ought to give you inches from
begins 1.5 a good swift one for a change! left; put in
inches from parenthesis. A
left side to blank line is
account for
(She leaves.)
inserted before
binding. and after.
Dialogue is EVE
single-spaced. Miss Channing . . . if I ever dreamed that anything I did could possibly cause you any Dialogue
unhappiness, or come between you and your friends . . . please believe me. extends to
1.0 inch
Character from right
name in all MARGO margin
caps; in the (in a low, weary voice)
center of the Oh, I do. And I’m full of admiration for you. Stage action
page. (stands, approaches Eve) reliant on the
If you can handle yourself on the stage with the same artistry you display off the proceeding
stage . . . well, my dear, you are in the right place. dialogue is
indented to the
left of the
(She speaks the following lines as the music
character name.
of WELCOME TO THE THEATRE begins.)

Welcome to the theater, to the magic, to the fun!

(She sings.)
Lyric are in all
CAPS, sepa-
WHERE PAINTED TREES AND FLOWERS GROW
rated line to
AND LAUGHTER RINGS FORTISSIMO, line by either
AND TREACHERY’S SWEETLY DONE! musical
phrasing and/
NOW YOU’VE ENTERED THE ASYLUM, or the rhyming
THIS PROFESSION UNIQUE scheme and
ACTORS ARE CHILDREN clearly
indented from
Stanzas are
PLAYING HIDE-AND-EGO-SEEK . . .
the left
separated by a margin.
blank line and SO WELCOME, MISS EVE HARRINGTON,
distinguish TO THIS BUSINESS WE CALL SHOW, For duets, or
themselves by YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY characters
dramatic TO WEALTH AND FAME, singing counter-
thought and/ point,
UNSHEALTH YOUR CLAWS,
or changes create two
from verse to
ENJOY THE GAME! colums side by
chorus to YOU’LL BE A BITCH side, following
bridges, etc. BUT THEY’LL KNOW YOUR NAME the same format
FROM NEW YORK . . . TO KOKOMO here.

WELCOME TO THEATRE,
MY DEAR, YOU’LL LOVE IT SO!
**There are many ways to paginate your play, from the straight forward numerical sequence
of 1, 2, 3 to an older format of I-2-16, (meaning Act 1, Scene 2, Page 16).