Little Me

Little Me was the parody "confessional" self-indulgent autobiography of "Belle Poitrine" ("Pretty Bosom"), subtitled The Intimate Memoirs of the Great Star of Stage, Screen and Television, by Patrick Dennis, who had achieved a great success with Auntie Mame. Published in 1961 and illustrated with photos of the author in drag, it was considered pretty risqué at the time. It was reissued in 2002 with a new Preface and Foreword.

It was made into a musical with book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman, and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, which was made memorable by Sid Caesar in multiple roles with multiple stage accents, as all of Belle's husbands, each of whom comes to a propitious untimely end. Virginia Martin as Belle, won a Tony Award for "Best Supporting Actress."

It is a rags-to-riches comedy, the best known song in the score being Real Live Girl. In his memoir, Rewrites Simon mentions that aside from tailoring it to Sid Caesar, the second attraction was a chance to work with the choreographer Bob Fosse.

Little Me was revived as a vehicle for Martin Short.

External link

• Curtain-Up Review of the revival with Martin Short