Li'l Abner (musical)
Encyclopedia
Li'l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama
and Melvin Frank
, music by Gene De Paul
, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
.
Based on the comic strip
Li'l Abner
by Al Capp
, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof
of hillbillies
but is also a pointed satire
taking on any number of topics, ranging from an incompetent United States federal government to standards of masculinity
.
USA has been declared the "most unnecessary town" in the U.S. and is set to be turned into a nuclear testing
site. At the same time, the baby tonic (Yokumberry Tonic) that Li'l Abner has been fed all his life by his mother, Mammy Yokum, is discovered to be a potion that makes men strong and handsome, but also utterly uninterested in romance. But that fact does not deter Daisy Mae, who is determined to win the handsome--but uninterested--Li'l Abner at the Sadie Hawkins Day
race. Appassionata von Climax also has her sights set on Li'l Abner, but Daisy has hired the beautiful Stupefyin' Jones to help her win the race, while von Climax brings in Evil Eye Fleagle to distract the men. The men, meanwhile, take part in an experiment that makes them all good-looking but not interested in women.
The town is ultimately saved when Pappy Yokum finds a plaque, declaring that its local hero and Town Founder, the Confederate
General Jubilation T. Cornpone was, by virtue of his incompetence, so instrumental in the defeat of his own army as to be a hero of the Republic. The race commences, with surprising results. Although Earthquake McGoon captures Daisy Mae, she and Li'l Abner wind up getting married (by Marryin' Sam).
Act II
production, directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd
and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang
, opened on November 15, 1956 at the St. James Theatre
where it ran for 693 performances. The original Broadway cast starred Peter Palmer
in the title role and Edie Adams
as Daisy Mae. The cast included Howard St. John
as General Bullmoose, Stubby Kaye
as Marryin' Sam, Tina Louise
as Appassionata von Climax, Julie Newmar
as Stupefyin' Jones, Charlotte Rae
as Mammy, Carmen Alvarez as Moonbeam McSwine, Ted Thurston
as Senator Jack S. Phogbound, and Tony Mordente
as Lonesome Polecat. Some of the original ensemble members, such as Jeanette Scovotti
, went on to have successful careers in the performing arts.
Alvin Colt designed the costumes for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Costume Design. The wardrobe is on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Goodspeed Musicals
, East Haddam, Connecticut, presented the musical in April-May 2006. The "Reprise! Broadway's Best" in Los Angeles production was in February 2008.
and released in 1959, with most of the Broadway cast reprising their roles. Paramount had bought the rights to the Capp comic, planning to make the stage musical first, and then the film. The film was shot to resemble a stage set, with the buildings and surroundings in two-dimensions, giving the sense of a "proscenium
dividing audience and performer".
wrote that the book did "not have the lightness, simplicity, and speed of the Dogpatch folks...Mr. Kidd has caught the spirit of Dogpatch civilization brilliantly enough to suggest that ballet is a more suitable medium than words for animating Al Capp's cartoon drawings".
The New York Times review of the Goodspeed production noted that the musical "was largely a political satire", and wrote "...the musical is cartoonish by definition and hardly one of Broadway's great treasures, but the show grows on you."
Theatre World Award
s
Norman Panama
Norman Panama was an American screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois. He collaborated with a former schoolfriend, Melvin Frank to form a writing partnership which endured for three decades...
and Melvin Frank
Melvin Frank
Melvin Frank was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He collaborated with a former schoolfriend, Norman Panama to form a writing partnership which endured for 3 decades...
, music by Gene De Paul
Gene de Paul
Gene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II....
, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
.
Based on the comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
by Al Capp
Al Capp
Alfred Gerald Caplin , better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats and Long Sam...
, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of hillbillies
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
but is also a pointed satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
taking on any number of topics, ranging from an incompetent United States federal government to standards of masculinity
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
.
Synopsis
The hillbilly town of DogpatchDogpatch
Dogpatch was the fictional setting of cartoonist Al Capp's classic comic strip, Li'l Abner .In Capp's own words, Dogpatch was "an average stone-age community nestled in a bleak valley, between two cheap and uninteresting hills somewhere." The inhabitants were mostly lazy hillbillies, who usually...
USA has been declared the "most unnecessary town" in the U.S. and is set to be turned into a nuclear testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
site. At the same time, the baby tonic (Yokumberry Tonic) that Li'l Abner has been fed all his life by his mother, Mammy Yokum, is discovered to be a potion that makes men strong and handsome, but also utterly uninterested in romance. But that fact does not deter Daisy Mae, who is determined to win the handsome--but uninterested--Li'l Abner at the Sadie Hawkins Day
Sadie Hawkins Day
An American folk event, Sadie Hawkins Day is a pseudo-holiday that originated in Al Capp's classic hillbilly comic strip, Li'l Abner . This inspired real-world Sadie Hawkins dances, where girls ask boys out.-Original story:...
race. Appassionata von Climax also has her sights set on Li'l Abner, but Daisy has hired the beautiful Stupefyin' Jones to help her win the race, while von Climax brings in Evil Eye Fleagle to distract the men. The men, meanwhile, take part in an experiment that makes them all good-looking but not interested in women.
The town is ultimately saved when Pappy Yokum finds a plaque, declaring that its local hero and Town Founder, the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
General Jubilation T. Cornpone was, by virtue of his incompetence, so instrumental in the defeat of his own army as to be a hero of the Republic. The race commences, with surprising results. Although Earthquake McGoon captures Daisy Mae, she and Li'l Abner wind up getting married (by Marryin' Sam).
Song list
Act I- A Typical Day - Dogpatchers
- If I Had My Druthers - Li'l Abner and Cronies
- If I Had My Druthers (Reprise) - Daisy Mae
- Jubilation T. Cornpone - Marryin' Sam and Dogpatchers
- Rag Offen the Bush - Dogpatchers
- Namely You - Daisy Mae and Li'l Abner
- Unnecessary Town - Li'l Abner, Daisy Mae and Dogpatchers
- What's Good for General Bullmoose - Secretaries
- The Country's in the Very Best of Hands - Li'l Abner and Marryin' Sam
- Sadie Hawkins Day (Ballet) - Dogpatchers
Act II
- Oh Happy Day - Dr. Finsdale, Dr. Smithborn, Dr. Krogmeyer and Dr. Schleifitz
- I'm Past My Prime - Daisy Mae and Marryin' Sam
- Love in a Home - Li'l Abner and Daisy Mae
- Progress Is the Root of All Evil - Gen. Bullmoose
- Progress Is the Root of All Evil (Reprise) - Gen. Bullmoose
- Put 'Em Back - Wives
- Namely You (Reprise) - Daisy Mae
- The Matrimonial Stomp - Marryin' Sam and Dogpatchers
- Finale - Entire Company
Productions
The BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer.-Life and career:Born Milton Greenwald in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, an immigrant barber, and his wife Lillian, Michael Kidd moved to Brooklyn with his family and attended New Utrecht High School there...
and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang
Philip J. Lang
Philip J. Lang was an American musical arranger, orchestrator and composer of band music, as well as a musical educator...
, opened on November 15, 1956 at the St. James Theatre
St. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...
where it ran for 693 performances. The original Broadway cast starred Peter Palmer
Peter Palmer (actor)
Peter Palmer is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Li'l Abner, both on Broadway and on film....
in the title role and Edie Adams
Edie Adams
Edie Adams was an American singer, Broadway, television and film actress and comedienne. Adams, a Tony Award winner, "both embodied and winked at the stereotypes of fetching chanteuse and sexpot blonde." She was well-known for her impersonations of female stars on stage and television, most...
as Daisy Mae. The cast included Howard St. John
Howard St. John
Howard St. John was a Chicago-born character actor who specialized in unsympathetic roles. His work spanned Broadway, film and television...
as General Bullmoose, Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
as Marryin' Sam, Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
as Appassionata von Climax, Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar
Julie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
as Stupefyin' Jones, Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae
Charlotte Rae is a prolific American character actress of stage, comedienne, singer and dancer, who in her six decades of television is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life...
as Mammy, Carmen Alvarez as Moonbeam McSwine, Ted Thurston
Ted Thurston
Ted Thurston was an American actor and singer.Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Thurston made his Broadway debut in the short-lived 1951 musical Flahooley. He had better luck with his next show, the Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon...
as Senator Jack S. Phogbound, and Tony Mordente
Tony Mordente
Tony Mordente is an American dancer, choreographer, and television director.Born in New York City, Mordente attended the High School of Performing Arts and made his professional dance debut at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts...
as Lonesome Polecat. Some of the original ensemble members, such as Jeanette Scovotti
Jeanette Scovotti
-Life and career:In 1956 she was in the ensemble of the original Broadway cast of Li'l Abner; the only Broadway production she ever appeared in. In 1959 she won the New York Singing Teachers Association contest and presented a solo recital at Town Hall. That same year she made her debut at the New...
, went on to have successful careers in the performing arts.
Alvin Colt designed the costumes for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Costume Design. The wardrobe is on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Goodspeed Musicals
Goodspeed Musicals
Goodspeed Musicals, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, was formed in 1959 to restore the Goodspeed Opera House, located in East Haddam, Connecticut, to its original Victorian appearance. Each year, Goodspeed...
, East Haddam, Connecticut, presented the musical in April-May 2006. The "Reprise! Broadway's Best" in Los Angeles production was in February 2008.
Film
A film based on the stage musical was made by ParamountParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and released in 1959, with most of the Broadway cast reprising their roles. Paramount had bought the rights to the Capp comic, planning to make the stage musical first, and then the film. The film was shot to resemble a stage set, with the buildings and surroundings in two-dimensions, giving the sense of a "proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
dividing audience and performer".
Response
According to Philip Furia, the score was generally praised, and some compared it to Guys and Dolls because of the use of "slang idioms" and the speech of a specific region. Especially praised were the dance numbers of Michael Kidd, which gave the musical a "fast and funny pace." However, Furia noted that Brooks AtkinsonBrooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960...
wrote that the book did "not have the lightness, simplicity, and speed of the Dogpatch folks...Mr. Kidd has caught the spirit of Dogpatch civilization brilliantly enough to suggest that ballet is a more suitable medium than words for animating Al Capp's cartoon drawings".
The New York Times review of the Goodspeed production noted that the musical "was largely a political satire", and wrote "...the musical is cartoonish by definition and hardly one of Broadway's great treasures, but the show grows on you."
Awards and nominations
1957 Tony Awards- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Edith Adams (WINNER)
- Tony Award for Best Costume DesignTony Award for Best Costume DesignThese are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals...
- Costume Design by Alvin ColtAlvin ColtAlvin Colt was an American costume designer. Colt worked on over 50 Broadway shows.His first job was in a theatrical fabric house, he also worked on painting scenery during the summer. On the Town was the first Broadway show he worked on in 1944...
(nominee) - Tony Award for Best ChoreographyTony Award for Best Choreography-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
- Michael Kidd (WINNER)
Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
s
- 1957 Theatre World Award - Peter Palmer (WINNER)
- 1958 Theatre World Award - Wynne Miller (WINNER)
See also
- Fearless FosdickFearless FosdickFearless Fosdick is a long-running parody of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy. It appeared intermittently as a strip-within-a-strip, in Al Capp's satirical hillbilly comic strip, Li'l Abner .-Li'l Abner's "ideel":...
- Joe BtfsplkJoe BtfsplkJoe Btfsplk was a character in the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner by cartoonist Al Capp . He's well-meaning, but is the world's worst jinx, bringing disastrous misfortune to everyone around him. A small, dark rain cloud perpetually hovers over his head to symbolize his bad luck...
- Dogpatch USADogpatch USADogpatch USA is an abandoned theme park located on State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper in Arkansas, USA, an area known today as Marble Falls...
- Abbie an' SlatsAbbie an' SlatsAbbie an' Slats is an American comic strip which ran from July 12, 1937 to January 30, 1971, initially written by Al Capp and drawn by Raeburn Van Buren. It was distributed by United Feature Syndicate....
- ShmooShmooA shmoo is a fictional cartoon creature. Created by Al Capp , it first appeared in his classic comic strip Li'l Abner on August 31, 1948, and quickly became a postwar national craze in the USA....
- Lower Slobbovia
- Long SamLong SamLong Sam was an American comic strip created by Al Capp, writer-artist of Li'l Abner, and illustrated by Bob Lubbers. It was syndicated by United Feature Syndicate from 1954 to 1962. The strip was initially written by Capp, who soon turned the duties over to his brother, Elliot Caplin...
- Salomey