Editing Little Nemo (section)

===Theatre===
[[File:Master Gabriel Little Nemo.jpg|thumb|alt=A black-and-white photographed of a neatly-dressed young boy in a hat, sitting on a pedestal.|Master Gabriel as the star of the 1908 ''Little Nemo'' musical]]

As early as 1905, several abortive attempts were made to put ''Little Nemo'' on stage. In summer 1907, [[Marcus Klaw]] and [[A. L. Erlanger]] announced they would put on an extravagant ''Little Nemo'' show for an unprecedented $100,000, with a score by [[Victor Herbert]]{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=141}} and lyrics by [[Harry B. Smith]].{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=141}} It starred Gabriel Weigel, an actor with dwarfism, as Nemo, [[Joseph Cawthorn]] as Dr. Pill, and [[Billy B. Van]] as Flip.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=143}} Reviews were positive, and it played to sold-out houses in New York. It went on the road for two seasons.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=148}} McCay brought his vaudeville act to each city where ''Little Nemo'' played. When a [[Benjamin Franklin Keith|Keith]] circuit{{efn|Keith had partnered with Proctor in 1906.}} refused to let McCay perform in Boston without a new act, McCay switched to the [[William Morris Agency|William Morris]] circuit, with a $100-a-week raise.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=149}} In several cities, McCay brought his son, who sat on a small throne dressed as Nemo as publicity.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=151}}

As part of an improvised story, Cawthorn introduced a mythical creature he called a "[[Whiffenpoof]]". The word stuck with the public, and became the name of a [[s:The Whiffenpoof Song|hit song]] and a [[The Whiffenpoofs|singing group]].{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=143}} One reviewer of the 1908 operetta gave a paragraph of praise to the comic hunting tales presented in a scene in which three hunters are trying to outdo each other with hunting stories about the "montimanjack", the "peninsula", and the "whiffenpoof". He calls it "one of the funniest yarns ever spun" and compares it favorably to [[Lewis Carroll]]'s [[The Hunting of the Snark]].<ref>"Some Dramatic Notes", ''The [Duluth] Sunday News Tribune'', November 15, 1908, p. 4</ref> One source indicates that the dialogue in fact began as an [[ad lib]] by actor [[Joseph Cawthorn]], covering for some kind of backstage problem during a performance.<ref>Gerald Boardman, ''American Musical Theatre, A Chronicle'', as cited by {{cite web|url=http://members.cox.net/jeepers/woof.html|title=Cracker Jack Gobbler|author=Jim Davis|date=February 18, 2006|access-date=2008-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907023713/http://members.cox.net/jeepers/woof.html|archive-date=September 7, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The whiffenpoof is also referred in one of the Little Nemo [[:File:Little Nemo 1909-04-11.jpg|comic strips published in 1909 (April 11)]]. After being held down by nine policemen during a hysteria crisis, Nemo's father tells the doctor: "Just keep those whiffenpoofs away. Will you?".
[[:File:Little Nemo 1909-09-26.jpg|The strip for September 26]] starts with a hunt for whiffenpoofs but instead the hunters find a "montemaniac" and a "peninsula".

Despite the show's success, it failed to make back its investment due to its enormous expenses,{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=149}} and came to an end in December 1910.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=151}} In mid-2012 Toronto-based theatre company Frolick performed an adaptation of the strip into ''Adventures in Slumberland'', a multimedia show featuring puppets large and small and a score that included as a refrain "Wake Up Little Nemo", set to the tune of [[The Everly Brothers]]' 1957 hit "[[Wake Up Little Susie]]".{{sfn|Morrow|2012}} [[Talespinner Children's Theatre]] in [[Cleveland]], OH produced a scaled-down, "colorful and high-energy 45-minute"{{sfn|Howey|2013}} adaptation in 2013, ''Adventures In Slumberland'' by [[David Hansen (playwright)|David Hansen]].

In March 2017, a short, one-act adaptation of the "Little Nemo" adventures was staged at Fordham University in New York City. The play, simply entitled ''Little Nemo in Slumberland'', was written by Aladdin Lee Grant Rutledge Collar, and directed by student Peter McNally. The six person cast, as well as creative team, consisted of students and alums at the university.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theatre.blog.fordham.edu/studio-season-spring-2017/|title=Studio Season Fall 2017 - Theatre|website=fordham.edu|access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref>