Conversation Piece

Coward says in his introduction to Play Parade Volume II:
"Conversation Piece was conceived, written and composed as a vehicle for Yvonne Printemps, and as such I must proudly say it was a success. She being a fine actress in addition to having one of the lovliest voices it has ever been my privilige to hear, endowed the play with a special magic and, in spite of the fact that her English began and ended with 'Good Morning', 'Yes', and 'No' she contrived to enchant the public, the critics, the supporting cast, the orchestra and even the stage hands. It is alos an undoubted tribute to her that, by the end of the London and New York run s, most of the company spoke French fluently."

Conversation Piece was revived, in 1957, but only for 8 off-Broadway performances, starring Louise Troy and Joan Copeland. The musical director was John Kander and the orchestrator, Peter Matz. There has only been one major radio broadcast in1936 (CBS, New York) with Lily Pons, Adolphe Menjou and George Sanders. In New York in 1951 Conversation Piece was recorded as a boxed set of LPs featuring Noël himself, Lily Pons and Richard Burton with Lehman Engel conducting.