G. Oliver! the Musical

I have occasionally joked with friends about the idea of making the G. Oliver Riggs story into a musical. Turns out, it’s not such a wild idea. The History Theatre in St. Paul has announced its 2013-14 season, and one of the shows is about the Minneapolis Working Boys Band, a contemporary of (and occasional competitor to) my great-grandfather’s St. Cloud Municipal Boys’ Band.

The theater’s press release describes the world premiere show as “a celebration of community, music, love, and patriotism.” Working Boys Band, with book and lyrics by Dominic Orlando and music by Hiram Titus, will be performed May 3-June 1, 2014.

The Minneapolis Working Boys Band/photo from the History Theatre website

The Minneapolis working boys band was organized in 1918 by Professor C. C. Heintzman as a way to give boys a positive activity that would keep them out of trouble. The band continued through at least the mid-1930s; I first became aware of its existence when I saw it mentioned in events connected to G. Oliver and his band. For example, in 1930, the Minneapolis Working Boys Band was one of 26 bands that competed in the second annual, two-day state band contest, organized by G. Oliver and held in St. Paul (The St. Cloud boys took second place in the marching contest, losing to the St. Paul Police Band. The Brainerd Women’s band and the Sleepy Eye high school band tied for third place).

The later director of the Minneapolis Working Boys Band, William Allen Abbott, was a friend of G. Oliver’s. He was one of the guest directors who filled in for G. Oliver in 1936 when G. Oliver was in the hospital (I wrote about it in this September 2011 blog post, Pinch-Hitting for G. Oliver).

In addition to Working Boys Band, the History Theatre’s new season includes other intriguing shows, like Tim O'Brien’s The Things They Carried, based on the Austin, Minnesota native’s book about his experiences in Vietnam; Lonely Soldiers: Women at War in Iraq; and Baby Case, about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.

The theatre is selling subscriptions for the 2013-2014 season now through December 8, 2013. Single tickets for all shows will go on sale Tuesday, July 9, 2013.