After several venues of "Out Of Town", and with the replacement of Sir John Gielgud as Director, whose replacement was Gower Champion, "Irene" opened on March 13th, 1973 as the new Minskoff Theater's first show. Debbie played the title role for a year with Carrie in the chorus and Todd selling souvenir programs. Debbie was then replaced by Jane Powell for a year after which Debbie returned for the final two weeks at the closing of Irene.
It's worth noting that Debbie was the first person ever to be nominated for a Tony award prior to the opening of the play.