Pump Boys and Dinettes is a musical written by a performance group of the same name. The group, Pump Boys and Dinettes, consists of John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann. The members additionally directed and starred in the Broadway production.
History
The musical was created by two friends who worked at The Cattleman restaurant in New York City, dramatizing their experiences there. It started as a two-man act, and then expanded. As Jim Wann, the show's principal author and composer recalled in 2010,
Productions
The musical premiered on Broadway on February 4, 1982 at the Princess Theatre and closed on June 18, 1983, after 573 performances. The cast featured Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Foley, Mark Hardwick and John Schimmel. It had premiered at the Chelsea West SideArts Theatre in 1981, moving to the Colonnades Theatre in October 1981. The show played in London's West End at the Piccadilly Theatre from September 20, 1984 to June 8, 1985 and transferred to the Albery Theatre from June 11, 1985 to September 2, 1985. The production starred, amongst others, Paul Jones, Clodagh Rodgers, Joe Brown, Brian Protheroe, Carlene Carter and Kiki Dee. The show played for many years in Chicagoat the Apollo Theatre on Lincoln Avenue. A 1983 touring version of the show featured former pop star Nicolette Larson. Larson's performance in the show was well-received, and it began a brief foray into country music for her. In July 16–19, 2014, the show was revived for five performances at New York City Center as part of the Encores! Off-Center program. The cast featured Hunter Foster, Mamie Parris, Randy Redd, Katie Thompson and Jordan Dean. On July 22, 2018 the original cast performed two full-score concert versions of the show at Feinstein's/54 Below in Manhattan. The musical tells the story of four men who work at a gas station and two waitresses at the "Double Cupp Diner," a, located somewhere between Frog Level and Smyrna, North Carolina. The music is mostly from the country rock/pop music genres. They perform on guitars, piano, bass and kitchen utensils. The original cast album was released by CBS Records in the U.S. Its recording of "The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine" reached number 67 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
Other Media
Pump Boys and Dinettes On Television was a pilot episode for a series adaptation of the show featuring the Broadway cast and appearances by Ron Carey and Tanya Tucker. It aired on NBC on August 15, 1983, but a series was never ordered.
