The Lady is a Square

Mrs. Baring, a businesswoman and patron of classical music, is on the brink of bankruptcy. She arranges for the celebrated Eastern Bloc musician Spolenski to tour Britain in a bid to raise funds. The scheme sets the plot in motion as her finances hang in the balance.

Johnny Burns spots Joanna at a music shop and pretends to be a piano-tuner to get close. He visits her house to help tune the piano for a party honoring Spolenski. A spark begins to form as he spends time around the Barings’ circle.

When a temporary butler position opens, Johnny takes the job and grows closer to Joanna. He gradually hides his love of modern popular music from Mrs. Baring, who forbids it. Their bond strengthens amid mounting family pressures.

Mrs. Baring's finances deteriorate further and her phone is cut off due to unpaid bills. The domestic tension increases as the family struggles to cope with the mounting debts. Johnny becomes both a helper and a sympathetic ear.

Burns’ friend Freddy secures him an audition with Greenslade, a major pop record label. The label is impressed by his performance and begins to picture a long-term contract. The prospect promises stardom and shifts the dynamics around his career.

Greenslade is convinced Burns could become a star and plans to sign him. Burns asks for money to pay to restore Mrs. Baring’s telephone, tying his financial needs to her troubles. The request marks the start of a complicated alliance between Burns and the Barings.

Burns' career accelerates with an engagement at The Talk of the Town. He keeps his rising success a secret from the Barings to avoid stirring trouble at home. The looming fame begins to threaten the family’s fragile balance.

Ticket sales for Spolenski’s concerts are weak and threaten the tour. Spolenski threatens to return home unless £3,000 is found. The situation forces a new rescue plan from Burns.

Burns secures an advance from Greenslade to cover the missing funds and boost ticket sales. Mrs. Baring finds relief as the immediate financial problem eases. The gesture also deepens the tension with Joanna, who fears Burns’s new fame is eroding their world.

Joanna attends Burns’s concert, hoping to see him prove himself. Mrs. Baring explodes in anger, fires Burns, and forbids her daughter from seeing him again. In the heat of the moment, Burns calls her a 'square'.

Burns performs a number titled The Lady is a Square, which appears aimed at Mrs. Baring. Joanna learns that Burns has been quietly paying her bills and trying to delay a conflicting concert to help her ticket sales. The revelation softens the rift and paves the way for reconciliation.

Spolenski falls ill, which paradoxically clears the way for a relaunch of the tour with Greenslade’s backing. Burns takes the stage with the National Youth Orchestra to perform Handel's Ombra mai fu to rapturous applause. Mrs. Baring and Joanna share a moment of reconciliation as Johnny dances with Joanna, affirming the coexistence of popular and classical music.