Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at L’il Abner

A musical that we do not see many productions of these days, but one that is thoroughly delightful in both its satire and its memorable score, is the 1956 also-ran L’il Abner. At one point, L’il Abner was an extremely popular musical in high schools and community theatres. It was based on the popular Al Capp comic strip of the same name about a town full of colorful hillbillies, poking fun at the government, current events, and Hollywood news items. With a score by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Gene de Paul (music), and a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, the musical riotously captured the cartoonish tone of Capp’s strip

Finn-atic! A William Finn-atic!

I first encountered the music of William Finn when Falsettos came to Broadway in 1992 and “The Baseball Song”, “My Father’s a Homo” and “Falsettoland” were performed on the Tony Awards. I was not aware that these characters had been around for over a decade, nor was I aware of In Trousers, which introduced the character of Marvin, nor had I heard of March of the Falsettos or Falsettoland, the two one-act musicals, written a decade apart, that comprised the first and second acts of Falsettos. I simply thought Falsettos was a new musical coming to Broadway, and the Tony Awards committee’s inclusion of it in the “New Musical” category did nothing to dispel this perception.

Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at Finian's Rainbow

When I first started my weekly column "Broadway Musical Time Machine", I decided I would hold-off on writing about my favorite show of all-time until I found that the time was right. However, The Irish Repertory Theatre is preparing a revival of that very musical in the near future, so I can no longer keep my deep and undying love for Finian's Rainbow a secret. In fact, no other show delights me as much lyrically, melodically, thematically and cleverly.