All tagged Li'l Abner

Broadway Blip – Musicals Based On Comic Strips

Broadway Blip – Musicals Based On Comic Strips

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

The Daily Comics and the Sunday Comics used to be an essential part of America’s reading. Little strips of humor, divided into panels of three, eight, or sometimes sixteen, we all had our favorites that we looked forward to. Interestingly, there have been several Broadway musicals based on comic strips. Considering the simplified nature of storytelling in comic strips, it is somewhat surprising that the authors of musicals were attracted to such properties. This may be why most of the musicals based on comic strips have struggled to run.

Electing Showtunes for Election Day

Electing Showtunes for Election Day

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

The 2016 Presidential Election is just a few days away and we will soon learn whether Hillary Rodham Clinton or Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. With that, I thought it might be fun to look at the songs that celebrate elections, leaders and the office of POTUS. Here is an Election Day playlist to help you get through the results as they trickle in.

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

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

Mark Robinson
Theatre Time Machine

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

"Jubilation T. Cornpone" - Guilty Pleasure Thursday

"Jubilation T. Cornpone" - Guilty Pleasure Thursday

Mark Robinson
Guilty Pleasure, Music That Makes Me Dance

"Jubilation T. Cornpone" may do nothing to further the plot or to give us a deeper understanding of a character, but you simply cannot hear this song without tapping your toes and getting caught up in the hillbilly hoopla of this guilty pleasure. It's showstopping fun and in the hands of showstopper extraordinaire Stubby Kaye, the number was the highlight of the 1956 musical Li'l Abner.