Li'l Abner is one of my favorite musical comedies. I never got to see the Broadway original but the movie is very close to it and has been watched many a time in my house.
Since no full scale stage revival is imminent, we have to settle for "concert" versions which use minimal sets and smaller casts. I've seen several and last night, I was at the opening for the one currently being mounted by the Reprise! group, which stages shows up at U.C.L.A. This one's there through February 17 and if you're anywhere in the area, get yourself some tickets and perambulate on down to Dogpatch Country and catch it. Abner and his kin are in the very best of hands.
In the above pic, you see Eric Martslof, who has the title role…and the voice and physique to carry it off. So does Brandi Burkhardt, who plays Daisy Mae. Robert Towers and Cathy Rigby play Pappy and Mammy Yokum, and that's Fred Willard, who is properly sinister as General Bullmoose. (Not in the photo: Several other cast members who do outstanding work, including Michael Kostroff, who plays Marryin' Sam, and Larry Cedar, who plays Rufus T. Finsdale, the scientist.) Michael Michetti directed, Lee Martino did the choreography and Darryl Archibald is responsible for the musical direction.
I was struck by how great the show sounded. I always liked the score but the songs were especially lush and melodic last night. And the dancing — and this is not always the case with these "concert" performances — was amazing. Given how little rehearsal they get, it's an achievement that people are up there dancing at all, let alone this good. The hoofing was energetic and athletic and an awful lot of fun, especially a sequence where Ms. Rigby put her gymnastic skills to good use.
Yeah, the story's kinda silly. (Near the end, the police arrest General Bullmoose and haul him away. I defy anyone who sees the show or movie to explain to me exactly what they're going to charge him with, especially given the fact that they don't arrest Evil Eye Fleagle.) But if a cast hits the right joyous tone, it works well…and it worked well last night on the stage of Macgowan Hall. Which is where you'll hightail it before the 17th if you have a lick o' sense.
If I haven't done a sufficient selling job on it here, take a gander at a preview over on this page. And if you want to order tix — as of this afternoon, there will still some left — this page is where you want to go.
One other thing! There are two Saturday matinees ahead and each is preceded by a lecture on the history of the Broadway show. Each starts at Noon and runs an hour. Then, if you have tix for the matinee, you have to kill an hour…which is easy to do on the U.C.L.A. campus. (I killed several years there.) They clear the house and then the matinee performance commences at 2 PM.
This coming Saturday, February 9, the lecture will be delivered by my friend, the eminent historian of the theater, Miles Kreuger. And then on February 16, the lecture will be delivered by me. Both of us will have one or more special guests from the original Broadway production in attendance…I hope. For more information and the number to phone for reservations, check out this page.