In break from holiday fare, Draper Historic Theatre to stage 'Li'l Abner'

DRAPER — While theater companies along the Wasatch Front this month will be "A Christmas Carol"-ing, Draper Historic Theatre will be staging something totally different: "Li'l Abner."

The musical, using characters created by the popular Depression-era cartoonist Al Capp, opened on Broadway in 1956 and enjoyed moderate success, but it is not a show that is frequently revived, let alone in December.

"I think audiences will like 'Li'l Abner' this holiday season because it's a break from the hustle that is normally associated with this time of year," said Joey Calkins, producer and music director. "I mean, you can only hear 'The 12 Days of Christmas' so many times without going crazy."

"We know this is not the sort of show people expect to see at Draper Historic Theatre in December, but we hope that patrons, new and old, will still have excitement for this wonderful story," said Michele Rideout, executive producer of the community theater.

"It seems like we see the same shows regurgitated over and over again in local community theater," said Rideout. "We were looking for something that would spark renewed interest in musical theater and get people excited about a chance to see something different. With 'Li'l Abner,' we had that opportunity."

The "Li'l Abner" plot turns on a U.S. "guv'ment" plan to evacuate the town of Dogpatch for use as a nuclear testing site, which is celebrated in the ebullient ensemble song "Unnecessary Town."

"It is a show about community," Rideout explained. "Because of that, we hope it will appeal to many theatergoers, particularly those who might be looking for something maybe not so 'traditional' for this time of year."

"Li'l Abner" lampoons an incompetent government, corrupt politicians, science gone amok and the general absurdity of human nature itself.

The book is by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, two Hollywood screenwriters better known for their work on the films of Bob Hope and Danny Kaye. In keeping with the satirical comic strip, which ran for 43 years until the author's retirement in 1977, the story provides some sharp-edged comments on the nation's foibles of that era, while offering plenty of room for the colorful, fictional clan of hillbilly characters to come to life on the stage.

"There is relevance to the ineptitude of Washington politicians to this day in their inability to accomplish anything of worth but political infighting," said Ken Coon, the show's director. "I personally also enjoy the whole Sadie Hawkins thing and was a little surprised how many in the cast did not know this is where it originated."