as Frank, Andi's husband Géza Kovács as Jerry Raymond Rickman as Alan Differences between play and film The setting of the play was transferred from a gritty North London suburb to gritty Buffalo, New York. Mavis's backstory was expanded to allow her a chance to sing more (in the play she has a role equal to those of the students). The students' personalities are generally the same on stage and screen, with minor changes. For example, Rose was initially a Trinidadian, a significant immigrant population in London. Any character outside the class is an addition for the film, as well as any scene outside the classroom and the final production number. John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote a new song for the film, the title number, which is given a presentation at the film's end, in which the formerly awkward troupe reveal themselves to now be polished performers. Reception In the 1970s, after the great success of her film, Cabaret, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress, Minnelli starred in three films, Lucky Lady, A Matter of Time, and New York, New York, all of which failed at the box office. In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the hit comedy film Arthur. After that, in 1988, she teamed with Burt Reynolds in the film Rent-a-Cop and again with Moore in the comedy Arthur 2: On the Rocks, both of which were financial failures. Originally Stepping Out was to be released in the spring of 1991 to coincide with Minnelli's New York concert stage show Live from Radio City Music Hall, but because of a corporate restructuring at Paramount Pictures, the film's opening was delayed until the fall of 1991. Minnelli was interviewed on both Donahue and The Joan Rivers Show, and she and the cast of Stepping Out (minus Ellen Greene and Julie Walters) appeared on The Sally Jessy Raphael Show to promote the film. On October 4, 1991, Stepping Out officially premiered in only a small group of theatres in the United States thereby only attracting small audiences. It garnered decent reviews, but due to its limited release, the film only grossed a total sum of $246,000 and then went straight to video. In reviewing the film for The New York Times, critic Stephen Holden wrote: "Because the movie adaptation was conceived as a star vehicle for Ms. Minnelli, the actress is given two solo