Lady in the Dark

About the show

Liza Elliott finds herself constantly plagued by indecision in her professional and personal life. She is courted by two men, the already-married publisher Kendall Nesbitt who is trying to divorce his wife for Liza, and the film star Randy Curtis, and cannot decide whom to choose. When she begins seeing a psychologist, she delves into her dreams and memories of her unhappy childhood, and is haunted by the melody of a song she cannot recall. In one dream, she believes she is being put on trial for her indecision in a circus setting, with her marketing manager Charley Johnson acting as prosecutor, Kendall as chief witness, and Randy as her defense attorney, in which she defends her refusal to make up her mind ("The Saga of Jenny"). She eventually comes to realize that the root of her trauma is having been repeatedly rejected in her youth due to her plain appearance; as she makes this breakthrough, she remembers the mysterious song ("My Ship"). She realizes that Kendall and Randy both relate to her only on a superficial level, and finds true partnership with Charley, who sees her as an equal.