Cohan’s 1905 Hit Is Dandy for Youths

Laguna Playhouse’s Youth Theatre director Joe Lauderdale wanted to teach the younger generation about how the great American musical started. While he was at it, he wanted to give his young actors a chance to experiment in period acting and performing styles.

George M. Cohan’s 1905 smash Broadway musical “Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway” fit the bill on both counts.

“Cohan was a classical figure in musical theater history,” Lauderdale says, adding that “Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway”--which opened Friday--is “from the very beginning when the modern musical was being created. It’s a great slice of Americana.”

Producer Abe Erlanger was looking for a starring vehicle for his popular leading lady Faye Templeton and asked Cohan if he could write a musical for her without a flag. Cohan replied, “I could write a play without anything but a pencil,” and proceeded to turn out one of his biggest hits.

In June Walker Rogers’ adaptation, the musical becomes a play within a play. A high school drama club is seeking a musical to produce and, when the cocky young director tries to emulate Cohan’s dancing, he falls and hits his head, summoning the specter of Cohan to advise him, particularly since the club’s teacher is a descendant of Templeton and has a trunkful of memorabilia.

“Forty-Five Minutes” is the choice, and the kids tackle it with a frenzy.

“Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway,” Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre, Moulton Theater, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 and 5 p.m. Ends Sunday. $12-$15. (949) 497-2787.