Whoa Nelly! Trivia Quiz

Answer: George M. Cohan

Known as the "man who owned Broadway", Cohan was an extraordinary story teller who wrote tales about Mr & Mrs Joe Average and, in doing so, brought theatre to every American rather than the well-to-do. Known for his longevity as a performer, Cohan wrote and appeared in over thirty Broadway musicals and wrote in excess of 1500 songs.

His best known works include "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". To commemorate his magnificent contributions to the art, a bronze statue of the man was commissioned and erected in Times Square.

Answer: 1920s

Cleverly written by Cohan, he sets his protagonist right in the heart of the cultural explosion that represented the day. In what the French called the "crazy years" there was strong industrial growth in America and lifestyles were undergoing significant changes. The motor vehicle and the telephone were becoming "must have" accessories and jazz music was starting to blossom. Women were winning the right to vote and in the midst of this is Nellie, a department store employee, who is drawn to the higher life on offer but is in love with a common labourer.

Answer: Irish-American

Kelly is one of the most common surnames found in Ireland and, whilst there are a number of varying origins of the name, the most common introduction is that it is the Anglicisation of the Irish surname O'Ceallaigh, which means "descendant of Ceallach".
Cohan is probably best known for his mighty "flag-waving" numbers such as "Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag", but the use of an Irish-American protagonist within his work is neither an accident nor a rarity. Cohan, himself, is of Irish-American heritage and he was proud of the fact. He felt that he was doubly blessed by his heritage in that (a) he was American and (b) he had a strong and proud ancestry to go with it. His upbringing in Providence's Irish community seeps through much of his work. In this play it is borne out strongly in the number "Nellie Kelly, I Love You", which utilises a waltz clog rhythm and an Irish lilt can be heard in numbers such as "Harrigan" from the musical "Fifty Miles From Boston" and "Mary's a Grand Old Name" from "Forty Five Minutes From Broadway".

Answer: False

It turned out the opposite for Cohan. Certainly the musical was received with, at best, warm acclaim, but it certainly didn't have the critics falling over themselves to sing its praises (no pun intended). Without being insulting the critics were essentially declaring that it was a "nice" production. Certainly Cohan had moved away from his usual style, which involved libretto and music, and there was a danger that he would slip into something that would be branded as "old fashioned" for the Roaring Twenties.

The public, however, thought differently and swarmed to it in great numbers. The war (WWI) was far enough behind them now, the economy was on the rise and these were looking like boom times. In its initial run of sixteen weeks at the Treamont Theatre in Boston it had broken all records.

Its move to Broadway saw Cohan's best return since "Little Johnny Jones". It ran for almost a year, producing 248 performances and allowing Cohan to form a second troupe that went to London and performed for a year before taking the tour through Europe.

Answer: Julian Mitchell

Mitchell had had the pleasure of working alongside Cohan previously on "Mary" (1920) and "The O'Brien Girl" (1921) during which time they had formed a formidable partnership in conjuring a number of "silly dance steps". Mitchell had previously made his mark working alongside Lew Fields where the pair had combined to bring out a clear definition and importance to the role of a chorus within a production.

Some of his most notable works included "The Wizard of Oz" and "Babes in Toyland", both in 1903, and "The Girl Behind the Counter" from 1907. "Little Nellie Kelly" would prove to be Mitchell's final production with the announcement of his retirement at the show's closure.

Answer: Invites all of Nellie's department to a party at his Aunt's place

Oh he's a right cad this Jack Lloyd. He is wealthy in his own right but comes from a family for whom money is no object. So used to living under the illusion that money will solve all his problems, he conceives the idea of the party at his Aunt's, the redoubtable Mrs Langford, place as a ruse to get Nellie alone.

The party presents an opportunity to show Nellie how the "other half" lives and to dazzle her with the family's wealth. It would also give him the chance to get to "know her better". But Jack is no fool, he knows that if were to invite Nellie alone that she would see through the ruse. "No", he thinks, "I'll invite her whole department". Now that's a plan that couldn't fail.

Answer: Nellie Kelly, I Love You

This is without doubt the stand-out number in the production. If Cohan has a greatest hits package, then this one would be required listening. It is sung by Jerry Conroy, Nellie's boyfriend, who has managed to work his way into the party, without an invitation, and uses the number as his way of professing his feelings for her. Cohan is careful not to overdo the sentimentality in the number and the Irish lilt that he has infused into the tune provides the song with an upbeat and positive air that overcomes the gloom from lines such as "but the forecast says stormy weather".

Answer: The maid and the butler

The necklace has disappeared and the accusing fingers have been pointed at Conroy. After all, he's just a lowly labourer who has gatecrashed the party. He sees that he cannot compete (financially) with Jack Lloyd for the affections of little Nell and in desperation he steals a trinket with which to impress the dear lady.

But it's not true. For once we can genuinely say "the butler did it". Diligent work by Officer Kelly (Nellie's father) and the singing detective (Ambrose Swift) soon uncovers a plot by the maid (Matilda) and the butler (Wellesly), who believe that Nellie is beneath the status of Jack (listen to "Something's Got to Be Done"). Fortunately, in the end, Conroy's innocence is proved and true love wins the day.

Answer: Charles King

King began his Broadway career with the role of Arte in Lew Fields' "The Mimic World" in 1908. He would enjoy further success with roles in "The Geisha" (1913) and "Good Morning, Judge" (1919) before being entrusted with Cohan's wonderful number "Nellie Kelly, I Love You". King would go on to star in two other massive hits for Lew Fields, "Hit the Deck" in 1927 and "Present Arms" the following year, before being seduced by the lure of Hollywood.

He would take the lead role in "The Broadway Melody" (1929) which would go on to become the first "talkie" to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Answer: No

Cohan purportedly sold the rights to MGM on the proviso that it be used as a vehicle for an eighteen-year-old Judy Garland who, the year before, had made a name for herself as Dorothy Gale in movie "The Wizard of Oz". Jack McGowan's script, however, bore no resemblance to Cohan's play, placing its focus on a generational drama that involved a long conflict between a father, his daughter and the man she chooses to marry. The only real links the film has to Cohan's work are the title, the name of the main character, the Irish flavour and that song, "Nellie Kelly, I Love You".