Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (play)
Encyclopedia
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a 1976 play by Ed Graczyk
, originally performed at the Players' Theater
in Columbus, Ohio
. The play revolves around a James Dean
fan club that reunites at a Texas five-and-dime store.
In 1982, filmmaker Robert Altman
directed both a Broadway version at the Martin Beck Theater and a film adaptation of the same name. Altman's version of the play was not well-received with critics at the time.
meets at a Woolworths
five-and-dime branch in McCarthy, Texas
. The group reunites in 1975 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Dean's death. (In 1955, the actor was filming Giant in Marfa
, not far from where the store stands.)
in Columbus, Ohio, which also produced it. At the time of the Ohio production, he said of its development:
acquired the rights to Graczyk's work. While securing options on another two works—The Hold-Up by Marsha Norman
and The Diviners by Jim Leonard—he negotiated to direct Jimmy Dean on Broadway, with the intention to film it as a theatrical release. He also spent US$850,000 of his own money bringing it to Broadway.
During the casting process, Altman considered a role for Shelley Duvall
, a star of his previous film Popeye
. But, in his words, "the balance wasn't correct" this time around. Altman found out that pop singer Cher
was in New York at the time, but he did not feel sure she would land a part. "If you're really serious," he advised her, "read for it." Thanks to his encouragement, she landed the part of the waitress Sissy—her first major role on stage. Another of the performers, Karen Black
, previously appeared in Altman's 1975 film Nashville.
The first Broadway preview of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean took place on February 8, 1982. Between February 18 and April 4, 1982, it ran for 52 performances at the Martin Beck Theater
, before closing at author Graczyk's request. Some time later, Altman directed a film adaptation of the same name, which went on to win the Best Film Award at the Chicago International Film Festival
.
' Frank Rich
commented that "Neither the gimmicky plot nor its cliched participants are credible." John Simon of New York Magazine wrote, "Although the play becomes a little less boring in the second act, it is too little too late, and at the cost of some whopping improbabilities. Hit-and-miss directorial bravura and an expensive production are not enough to justify so much ado."
Ed Graczyk
Edward Graczyk is a playwright originally from the U.S. state of Ohio. He wrote several children's plays early in his career, but became better known as the author of 1976's Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean...
, originally performed at the Players' Theater
Players' Theatre
The Players' Theatre was a theatre in London as well as a theatre club for music hall in the style of the BBC programme "The Good Old Days".-Origins:...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. The play revolves around a James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
fan club that reunites at a Texas five-and-dime store.
In 1982, filmmaker Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
directed both a Broadway version at the Martin Beck Theater and a film adaptation of the same name. Altman's version of the play was not well-received with critics at the time.
Synopsis
In Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, an all-female fan club called the Disciples of James DeanJames Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
meets at a Woolworths
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
five-and-dime branch in McCarthy, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The group reunites in 1975 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Dean's death. (In 1955, the actor was filming Giant in Marfa
Marfa, Texas
Marfa is a town in the high desert of far West Texas in the Southwestern United States. Located between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, it is also the county seat of Presidio County. The population was 1,981 at the 2010 census....
, not far from where the store stands.)
Cast
| Name | Character | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sudie Bond | Juanita | |
| Cher Cher Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in... |
Sissy | |
| Sandy Dennis Sandy Dennis Sandra Dale “Sandy” Dennis was an American theater and film actress. In 1966, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.-Early life:... |
Mona | |
| Mark Patton Mark Patton Mark Patton is a former American actor who starred in 3 films in the 1980s.-Movie career:He is perhaps best known for his role in the 1985 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge as Jesse Walsh, a teen whose body becomes possessed by Freddy Krueger... |
Joe | |
| Gena Ramsel | Sue Ellen | |
| Kathy Bates Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe... |
Stella May | |
| Marta Heflin | Edna Louise | |
| Ann Risley Ann Risley Anna "Ann" Risley was a cast member of the TV series Saturday Night Live for the 12 episodes of the 1980–1981 season. These 12 broadcasts were the first episodes after producer Lorne Michaels left the show... |
Martha | |
| Dianne Turley Travis | Alice Ann | |
| Ruth Miller Patsy Ruth Miller Patsy Ruth Miller was an American film actress.After being discovered by the actress Alla Nazimova at a Hollywood party, Patsy Ruth Miller got her first break with a small role in Camille, which starred Rudolph Valentino... |
Clarissa | |
| Karen Black Karen Black Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot... |
Joanne |
Development
Ed Graczyk originally wrote and directed Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean for the Players' TheaterPlayers' Theatre
The Players' Theatre was a theatre in London as well as a theatre club for music hall in the style of the BBC programme "The Good Old Days".-Origins:...
in Columbus, Ohio, which also produced it. At the time of the Ohio production, he said of its development:
Broadway version
Jimmy Dean had a short run in New York City in 1980. Early that same decade, while turning his attention from Hollywood to the stage, filmmaker Robert AltmanRobert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
acquired the rights to Graczyk's work. While securing options on another two works—The Hold-Up by Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play night, Mother...
and The Diviners by Jim Leonard—he negotiated to direct Jimmy Dean on Broadway, with the intention to film it as a theatrical release. He also spent US$850,000 of his own money bringing it to Broadway.
During the casting process, Altman considered a role for Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall is an American film and television actress best known for her roles in The Shining, Popeye, Thieves Like Us and 3 Women....
, a star of his previous film Popeye
Popeye (film)
Popeye is a 1980 live-action film adaptation directed by Robert Altman and adapted from E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre aka Popeye comic strip.Marketed with the tagline, "The sailor man with the spinach can!", the film is a musical...
. But, in his words, "the balance wasn't correct" this time around. Altman found out that pop singer Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
was in New York at the time, but he did not feel sure she would land a part. "If you're really serious," he advised her, "read for it." Thanks to his encouragement, she landed the part of the waitress Sissy—her first major role on stage. Another of the performers, Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
, previously appeared in Altman's 1975 film Nashville.
The first Broadway preview of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean took place on February 8, 1982. Between February 18 and April 4, 1982, it ran for 52 performances at the Martin Beck Theater
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It...
, before closing at author Graczyk's request. Some time later, Altman directed a film adaptation of the same name, which went on to win the Best Film Award at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
.
Reception
The Broadway version of Jimmy Dean was not well-received with critics. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
commented that "Neither the gimmicky plot nor its cliched participants are credible." John Simon of New York Magazine wrote, "Although the play becomes a little less boring in the second act, it is too little too late, and at the cost of some whopping improbabilities. Hit-and-miss directorial bravura and an expensive production are not enough to justify so much ado."