LI’L ABNER

	CAST ANNOUNCEMENT
	PROGRAM NOTES

Book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Based on the characters created by Al Capp
Original Direction & Choreography by Michael Kidd
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Music by Gene de Paul
Directed by Scott Schwartz
Choreographed by Patti Colombo

A fun-filled, foot-stompin’ extravaganza from the composers of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Trouble begins in the cornseed town of Dogpatch, USA when the government decides to wipe it off the map. Hilarious protests and a riotous Sadie Hawkins Day chase ensue. Based on the classic comic strip, Li’l Abner is packed with one showstopping dance after another - pure entertainment for the whole family! Winner of 2 Tony Awards. Age rating: all ages.

Listen Up! Hear the music from LI’L ABNER:

Program Notes
AL CAPP AND THE RISE OF THE SOCIO-POLITICAL COMIC STRIP
By Lawrence Thelen

Few comic strips have had more influence on American culture than Al Capp’s Li’l Abner. First published in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression, Li’l Abner introduced readers to an assortment of archetypal hillbilly characters who would leave an indelible mark on mainstream American society. These were not admirable characters, but rather an endearing assortment of lowlifes, schemers and idiots; among them are the handsome but lazy southern rube Li’l Abner, the overzealous capitalist General Bullmoose, the homely and ever-available Sadie Hawkins, the conniving but bumbling Senator Phogbound, and most engaging of all the Shmoo, creatures whose tremendous generosity and helpful nature made them a threat to society. The town of Dogpatch in which they lived was no better; it was the poorest, dirtiest and most unnecessary town in America. When readers thought no place on earth could be worse, Capp introduced his audience to Lower Slobbovia – Dogpatch’s Slavic cold-war counterpart. Because of their humble, homespun view of life, these hillbilly characters were able to comment on reallife society and politics without offense. That, for Al Capp, was the key; he was an outspoken Democrat and he used his popular comic strip to support his views. Born Alfred Gerald Caplin in New Haven in 1909, Capp lost his right leg in a trolley accident while still a boy. With the encouragement of his parents, he channeled his energies into drawing.

After working for other cartoonists for a short time, he developed Li’l Abner at the age of 25. Initially, just eight newspapers picked up the comic strip, yet at its peak Li’l Abner ran in more than 900 papers and was read by 70 million Americans (at a time when the U.S. population was a mere 180 million). Capp himself became just as popular as his characters and he used his new found celebrity to promote, not only his comic strip, but himself as well. The strip lasted 43 years, and along the way was turned into a radio serial (1939-40), a Broadway musical (1956), two feature films (1940 and 1959), three TV pilots, and its own theme park, Dogpatch U.S.A., in northwest Arkansas which operated from 1968 to 1993.

Perhaps the strip’s most lasting influence on American culture was the creation of “Sadie Hawkins Day,” an annual November plot device in which unmarried Dogpatch gals chased, caught and married any man they could get their hands on. The event became an unofficial holiday and begat thousands of similar, real-life chases on college and high school campuses. In 1952, 40,000 Sadie Hawkins Day events were documented. Each year, however, Abner would somehow find that sudden burst of speed he needed to outrun his beloved Daisy Mae and avoid the altar. Readers became so frustrated with the couple’s unrequited love that Capp was forced to marry the two characters in 1952 – an occasion so momentous that it made the cover of Life Magazine.

By the 1960s, however, Capp’s political views swung from liberal to conservative, and this was reflected in his comic strip. No longer were big business and incompetent government officials his target, but instead he began spoofing longhaired hippies and  counterculture icons such as Joan Baez. Capp himself was a favorite speaker on college campuses, but his outspoken political views and public support for the Vietnam War brought protests and demonstrators, including the likes of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The era of hillbilly social commentary seemed passé in the face of a nation that was splitting down the middle, and Capp’s strip finally ceased publication in 1977. Yet, 30 years later, Dogpatch phrases and characters still appear in the lexicon of American culture.

The nice thing about Li’l Abner the musical is that audiences don’t need to be familiar with the comic strip to appreciate the show; the plot, characters, production numbers and satire stand alone and are just as enjoyable today as they were when Capp was in his heyday. In fact, the year the musical premiered (1956) is not much different from today as patrons will notice from the actual 1950’s headlines incorporated into the scenery. Despite the fact the musical ran for nearly 700 performances and took home two Tony Awards, it has never had a Broadway revival. In fact, you rarely get to see this classic musical comedy performed anywhere at the professional level. Goodspeed thinks it’s high time!

Lawrence Thelen is the Literary Manager/Dramaturge for Goodspeed Musicals. 

DIRECTOR'S VISION
By Scott Schwartz

There are many exciting things about directing Li’l Abner – it has a  wonderful score, amazing lyrics and is based on a beloved piece of  Americana.  And although many people remember the comic strip and may have seen the show in a high school production, very few have actually seen a full production as it has not been revived in a full scale professional production since its Broadway run in 1956. 

When I first read the script, I found it an unusual show because it had a variety of different styles mixed up in it.  There was the traditional golden age of musical comedy, big production dance numbers, backwoods humor, and elements of farce and social and political satire.   I was most taken with the fact that the satirical comment, so pointedly driven home by Al Capp, was still very contemporary and thus found my approach to directing this production.

Set in a black and white comic strip world, where the characters are larger than life and colorful in more ways than one, is a place called Dogpatch, USA.  It’s a backwoods land that hasn't changed in fifty years.  It is a place where many strange people live and all sorts of people drop in.  In a way, it’s like Springfield of “The Simpsons”: a timeless world where anything can happen.  In contrast, throughout the show we visit Washington, D.C., a place which surprisingly read as contemporary, even in the original script.  The issues raised in 1956 still ring true today:  political corruption, big business and scientific advances. 

It struck me that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  With only a few updates to current events, we can take a show from 50 years ago and still make it feel relevant for a modern audience.  Bringing together the production elements of cartoon sets with dramatic lighting and costumes that closely resemble the drawn characters we can create a journey between a make believe world and today’s society that is both enjoyable and thought provoking to an audience.  All of this from a simple comic strip…