 The original cast, directed by Lynne Meadow, included Linda Lavin as Marjorie, Tony Roberts as Ira, and Michele Lee as Lee.Later in the run, Lavin was replaced first by Valerie Harper and then by Rhea Perlman, while Richard Kind and Marilu Henner assumed the roles of Ira and Lee.Ben Brantley of "The New York Times" observed, "Mr. Busch is best-known for his appealingly warped cinematic parodies in which he plays the nobly suffering or archly conniving leading lady .