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What do working girls want? According to the new musical “Working Girl,” based on Mike Nichols’ 1988 film, they mostly want to sing derivative ’80 pop songs and humor themselves with broad comic shtick.

The question that vexed me as I left La Jolla Playhouse, where “Working Girl” is receiving its world premiere, is why must musicals so often cheapen their source material? The production, directed by La Jolla Playhouse outgoing artistic director Christopher Ashley, makes musical comedy seem like the crudest of art forms.

I had high expectations for this show. The creators, Cyndi Lauper (music and lyrics) and Theresa Rebeck (book), seemed ideally suited for the job of turning this

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