The musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965) was written and produced by Alan Jay Lerner, the talented author who had also penned the stage musicals Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), and Gigi (1958). For all of these previous shows, Lerner collaborated with the composer Frederick Loewe. Since then, Lerner no longer worked with Loewe and the story for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever was intended to be composed for by Richard Rodgers. At this point, the project was tentatively called I Picked a Daisy, after the main character named Daisy. It was soon obvious that Lerner and Rodgers could not feasibly work together, though, as they had difficulties with agreeing professionally. Lerner then contacted the composer Burton Lane, who was best known for writing the music for Finian's Rainbow (1947). Lerner found that working with Lane was quite successful and the creative aspects of the new musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever were completed.

The previously mentioned primary character of the musical is named Daisy Gamble and this young woman has psychic abilities, such as the power to know when the telephone is going to ring just before it happens. She soon becomes involved with a psychologist, Mark Bruckner, who is professionally fascinated with Daisy. They begin sessions, at which Mark discovers that Daisy has another personality, named Melinda, who speaks of living in London during the eighteenth century. Daisy develops a romantic yearning for Mark, but he becomes more and more interested in Melinda. Mark then realizes that Melinda is a past reincarnation of Daisy's and publicizes her case. Daisy discovers her unwanted popularity and becomes disenchanted with her psychologist. Mark is saddened by Daisy's absence and attempts to contact her by telepathy. He suceeds and is able to convince Daisy to return to him. She accepts the nature of her condition and learns to live her life happily, with Mark, her psychic abilities, and her multiple former lives.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever had its Broadway debut on October 17, 1965, at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York. The part of Daisy Gamble was portrayed by Barbara Harris, while John Cullum played the interested psychologist, Mark Bruckner. The show enjoyed a run of 280 performances at this location, before embarking on a brief tour, in an altered version. In 1970, Paramount presented a film version of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, with Lerner, as well as Howard Koch, serving as the producers. This successful movie starred Barbara Streisand, whose career had taken off since her sensational debut in Funny Girl (1964), as Daisy Gamble. The psychologist's role was given to the French actor Yves Montand. Bob Newhart turned in an amusing performance as the pretentious chairman of the board of the university that employs the psychologist. Jack Nicholson also appeared in the film version, as Daisy's out-there roommate, Tad. He knows of her psychic abilities and also believes in reincarnation.

© Chris Boyes, Rovi