| Dear World | |
|---|---|
 Original cast recording | |
| Music | Jerry Herman |
| Lyrics | Jerry Herman |
| Book | Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee |
| Basis | Jean Giraudoux's play The Madwoman of Chaillot |
| Productions | 1969 Broadway 2013 London 2023 Encores! |
Dear World is a musical with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. With its opening, Herman became the first composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway. It starred Angela Lansbury, who won the Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical in 1969 for her performance as the Countess Aurelia.
Based on The Madwoman of Chaillot by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, as adapted by Maurice Valency, the plot follows the eccentric Countess Aurelia and her struggles against the straitlaced authority figures in her life. She and her Chaillot cohort defend their Parisian neighborhood against scheming and corrupt developers. The forces of idealism, love, and poetry win over those of greed, materialism, and science.