In a modern-day New York City, politician Eva Rice has passed a law requiring the heavy censorship of Broadway. As a result, the industry soon fails to adapt, and few theaters survive without facing bankruptcy. Leonard Wright finds himself distraught and depressed, cocooning himself within his decaying theater and deciding to forget his past as a successful Broadway composer.

 

Nadia, a young university student, writes her own show, breaking nearly every one of Rice’s laws. Confident in her ability as a writer and composer, Nadia presents her show to Leonard, the only remaining Broadway writer who would be able to produce the show. In immediate refusal, Leonard dismisses Nadia, who in return plays a poorly written song. Catching her bait, Leonard rewrites the song with Nadia, which rouses his interest in producing the show and convinces him that defying Rice’s laws will achieve the goal of bringing Broadway back to life.

 

In hearing rumors of the production of their show, Eva Rice appears at the theater mid-rehearsal to confront the company. Nadia and Leonard, however, give Eva a censored version of their libretto, which she agrees to read and later approves, thinking that her version is the one which will be performed. When journalists call and inquire about her sudden change of political platform, however, Eva figures out that she has been given a phony script.

 

On opening night, Leonard and Nadia plan to premiere their fully uncensored show, however, Eva Rice bursts in to arrest them. After a confrontational argument, the Senator discovers that her connections to Broadway exist far beyond her destructive laws, and she agrees to watch the show. Eva Rice reviews her platform regarding the destruction of Broadway, but her opportunity to decide on a definitive final decision is taken away.