It’s Christmas, and for some that means endless talk about American Girls dolls.
The American Girls brand of dolls, novels, videos, clothing, self-esteem manuals and other accessories for the well-heeled, history-literate female child has always been theater-friendly. Some of the American Girls stores have even had their own auditoriums and live musical revues. All the main characters in the series, save for ‘70s hippie child Julie, exist before the invention of television. One of the newer ones, Rebecca, is from a family of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. She is drawn to the vaudeville stage, and then to silent movies.
For a decade or so, the major American Girl stores in New York, Chicago and L.A. had actual performances spaces where American Girl revues and musicals were performed daily. The whole theater operation was shut down in 2008.
In late summer, American Girl debuted two new Louisiana-rooted dolls, Cecile Rey and Marie-Grace Gardner. Of all the American Girls—even the wealthy daughter of the Industrial Age, Samantha; even the budding film star Rebecca—Cecile and Marie-Grace are the most poised and pageantry-oriented. They sashay with the pomp and prissiness of mid-19th century New Orleans.
Of any of the dolls since Molly (the WW2-era American Girl, who overcomes her shyness to perform in USO-type patriotic community revues), Cecile and Marie-Grace are the most deserving of a theater adaptation. Bad timing for them.