BroadwayFan4, "Lil Abner" isn't the dumbest show ever. There are many far dimmer shows (Uh, feeling green anyone?) In fact, L'il Abner has some very clever topical references and an underlying theme of the conglomerization of America that are ABSOLUTELY relevant today.
The big problem - as with the brillant book and lyrics of "Finian's Rainbow" - is that the show was very much 'of its time' - ie the 1950's. Al Capp was a student of both human and business foibles and he laced the strip with some pretty wicked barbs. The writers of the musical Norman Panama and Mel Frank were comedy writers for Bob Hope in the 40's, a period in which Hope was basically his time's Jon Stewart. These guys tried to mirror the time they were living in (especially the effect of the military-industrial complex almost four years before Eisenhower coined the phrase) and I think did a good job.
Dumb, no. Dumb like a fox? Darn tootin'.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=972787#3631451
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