Curley McDimple
Encyclopedia
Curley McDimple is a musical
with music and lyrics by Robert Dahdah and book by Robert Dahdah and Mary Boylan. The play is a spoof
of Depression
-era Shirley Temple
movies and was presented in a black and white design. This was one of two musicals in which Bernadette Peters
appeared that spoofed some aspect of Hollywood—the other was Dames at Sea
. "The Meanest Man in Town" is its best-known song.
on November 22, 1967, and ran for 931 performances, closing on January 25, 1970. Robert Dahdah directed, musical numbers were staged by Lonnie Evans, and Bernadette Peters
was featured as "Alice", a performer.
Peters left the production in early 1968 for her next show, George M!
. Butterfly McQueen
, who was known for her performance in the film Gone with the Wind
, joined the cast on May 9, 1968. In a new role written for her, she played a cook at the boarding house.
in Manhattan
, New York City
, run by a nice Irish lady, Sarah. Curley is an optimistic eight years old and is looking for parents to adopt her; she settles on Alice and Jimmy. They are performers who are both boarders at the house—they fall in love with each other at first sight. The boarders aid Sarah, who is threatened with losing her house through foreclosure by the banker, Mr. Gillingwater, by putting on a benefit vaudeville
show. A mean Social worker, during the rehearsals for the benefit, steals Curley away, taking her to an orphanage in New Jersey. Curley is able to escape and she performs in the show, which is a hit and is picked up by Broadway
. Curley finds out that Gillingwater is her grandfather and that he is a former sweetheart of Sarah's, and Jimmy and Alice get married.
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music and lyrics by Robert Dahdah and book by Robert Dahdah and Mary Boylan. The play is a spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
movies and was presented in a black and white design. This was one of two musicals in which Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
appeared that spoofed some aspect of Hollywood—the other was Dames at Sea
Dames at Sea
Dames at Sea is a musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise.The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which an understudy steps into a role on Broadway and becomes a star...
. "The Meanest Man in Town" is its best-known song.
Production history
Curley McDimple opened at the Off Broadway Bert Wheeler Theatre, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on November 22, 1967, and ran for 931 performances, closing on January 25, 1970. Robert Dahdah directed, musical numbers were staged by Lonnie Evans, and Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
was featured as "Alice", a performer.
Peters left the production in early 1968 for her next show, George M!
George M!
George M! is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal. Music and lyrics were, of course, by George M...
. Butterfly McQueen
Butterfly McQueen
Thelma "Butterfly" McQueen was an American actress. Originally a dancer, the 28-year-old McQueen first appeared as Prissy, Scarlett O'Hara's maid in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, then continued as an actress in film in the 1940s, then moving to television acting in the 1950s .-Early life:Born...
, who was known for her performance in the film Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
, joined the cast on May 9, 1968. In a new role written for her, she played a cook at the boarding house.
Plot synopsis
In the 1930s, Curley (the Shirley Temple-like character) arrives at Sarah's Theatrical Boarding House, a shabby but homey theatrical boarding houseBoarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, run by a nice Irish lady, Sarah. Curley is an optimistic eight years old and is looking for parents to adopt her; she settles on Alice and Jimmy. They are performers who are both boarders at the house—they fall in love with each other at first sight. The boarders aid Sarah, who is threatened with losing her house through foreclosure by the banker, Mr. Gillingwater, by putting on a benefit vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
show. A mean Social worker, during the rehearsals for the benefit, steals Curley away, taking her to an orphanage in New Jersey. Curley is able to escape and she performs in the show, which is a hit and is picked up by Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Curley finds out that Gillingwater is her grandfather and that he is a former sweetheart of Sarah's, and Jimmy and Alice get married.
Characters and original cast
- Jimmy, a boarder and young song and dance man trying to become a star – Paul Cahill (replaced by Don Emmons)
- Bill, a "Bill RobinsonBill RobinsonBill “Bojangles” Robinson was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet, and an expressive...
" type tap dancer – George Hillman - Sarah, Irish owner of the boarding house – Helen Blount
- Miss Hamilton, Social worker, looking like the Wicked Witch – Norma Bigtree
- Alice, another boarder and performer – Bernadette PetersBernadette PetersBernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
- Mr. Gillingwater, a wealthy banker – Gene Galvin
- Curley, eight–year old child star – Bayn JohnsonBayn JohnsonBayn Johnson is a former American actress, singer, and dancer best known as Kelly, the female blonde-haired member of the Short Circus in the PBS children's television series The Electric Company from 1973-1975....
(replaced by Kathy Rich)
Musical numbers
Act I- Overture
- A Cup of Coffee – Jimmy
- I Try – Jimmy and Alice
- Curley McDimple – Curley, Jimmy, Alice, Sarah, Bill
- Love is the Loveliest Song – Alice
- Are There Any More Rosie O'Gradys? – Sarah, Jimmy, Alice, Curley, Bill
- Dancing in the Rain – Curley, Bill, Company
- At the Playland Jamboree – Curley, Company
- I've Got a Little Secret – Jimmy, Curley
Act II
- Stars and Lovers – Alice, Jimmy, Company
- The Meanest Man in Town – Alice, Jimmy, Company
- I Try (reprise) – Jimmy, Alice
- Something Nice Is Going to Happen – Curley
- Swing-a-Ding-a-Ling – Curley
- Hi de hi de hi, Hi de hi de ho – Sarah, Alice, Jimmy, Bill, Mr. Gillingwater, Miss Hamilton
- Swing-a-Ding-a-Ling (Reprise) – Curley, Company
- Something Nice Is Going To Happen (Reprise) – Miss Hamilton
- Love is the Loveliest Love Song (reprise) – Jimmy, Company
- Finale – Jimmy