Small town Southerners with their inescapable drawl, peculiar logic and ill-fitting clothes invaded DU last weekend as Abner and his gang from Dogpatch tried to prove why their town is necessary.
The musical comedy, “Li’l Abner,” was performed Friday and Sunday by the Lamont Opera Voice Program in the Hamilton Recital Hall of the Newman Center for Performing Arts.
Because Hamilton is such a small concert stage, the sets for the musical were minimal. However, the costuming which was closely linked to the popular comic strip the show was based on, helped the audience to set the scene.
This musical takes places in the 1940s and is about a tiny Southern town called Dogpatch, USA. The town was started by an inept Confederate general named Jubilation. However, the government finds the town useless and wants to use as a test site for the atomic bomb. In order to stop the government from doing this, the townspeople must find something “necessary” about their town.
After many lame offerings by Dogpatchers, the mother of Li’l Abner offers her “Yokumberry Tonic,” which is a potion that she gives her son every day to make him strong and handsome.
A few other men in the town try the tonic and turn out to look just like Abner. The men are taken to Washington, D.C., to be tested to see if it works and thus making the town necessary, as the tree that the tonic is produced from only grows in Dogpatch.
While this is going on, Daisy Mae, who is in love with Abner, is getting ready to catch him at the Sadie Hawkins Day race, where the women chase the men until they catch the one they want to marry. Instead of Daisy Mae catching him, he is instead caught by the mistress of General Bullmoose, Apassionata von Climax. Bullmoose is using his woman to catch Abner, in order to get his hands on the potion. This is after Abner will not sell him the recipe. Instead, Climax will marry Abner and then he will have an accident. The catching and accident are being arranged by Fleagle Eye, the villian.
In order to save Abner’s life, which Daisy Mae discovers is in danger, convinces another town member, Earthquake, the dirtiest wrestler, to help by agreeing to marry her. Mammy and Pappy Yokum, Daisy Mae, Earthquake and his gang of the Scraggs go to Washington. and crash Bullmoose’s wedding party for Abner and Climax.
Fleagle is planning on making Abner tell him the recipe by shooting a “truth look” at him. Earthquake takes a tray and shifts the look the Bullmoose. He then confesses all of his dastardly plans in front of the police he had called to get rid of the Dogpatch residents.
However, the potion which everyone assumed was going to save the town, had a very unfortunate side effect, the men no longer had any romantic interest. In the end, Abner’s potion is not what makes the town necessary but rather a monument signed by Abraham Lincoln found at the end of the play as the bomber is minutes away. This makes the town necessary as, Abner reminds everyone what he learned in Washington, at is illegal to destroy a national monument. The townspeople are allowed to stay in their homes and celebrate their escape.
The musical has a great deal of humor in the subject and themes of the play themselves as well as in the specific lines and situations of the different characters.
All the students in the musical were incredibly animated and portrayed their parts well. Also the choreography was another big part of the musical, which made it so much fun to watch.
The songs were all lively and in more than one case incredibly catchy. They ranged in content and melody from ridiculous farce to heartwarming. One of the these, titled “Namely You,” is a duet between Li’l Abner and Daisy Mae. The performers voices blended together perfectly in this sweet and simple love song.
Another highlight was “Bring ’em back” performed by the wives after they see the changes in their newly handsome but not affectionate husbands. All four wives had a solo. The song was silly and overdone but it just made it all the more enjoyable to watch.
Ben Yde, who played Marryin’ Sam, really got to show his skills on the song “Matrimonial Stomp,” this song was up-tempo and in many cases as serious as it was silly. The lyrics were impressive in their variety of subjects including the case of Samson and Delilah. This song definitely had my toes tapping and it was over all too soon.
The songs involving the entire cast were well choreographed with enough going on to keep the audience riveted but did not detract from the action on center stage.
Although this musical had many positive aspects, there was also one negative piece to it. The costuming, although dated to make a point of what time period the musical was in, was also on the sexist side. Many of the costumes for the women in the play were showy and maybe even unnecessarily microscopic. This is a part of the musical, but the way that some of the women wore their costumes and portrayed their characters did not even seem like they noticed how they were depicting a sexist and dated society.
While the show at two and a half hours seemed to get long in parts, overall it was an entertaining show that was as fun for the audience as the actors.
If you missed this show make sure you catch the next one, you won’t be disappointed.
