Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a new musical adapted from Ed Graczyk's 1976 play of the same name. Classic Stage Company is scheduled to give it its New York premiere in an Off-Broadway run in early 2027, in the company's own theater on East 13th Street. The company has said that the dates are subject to change.

This is not a revival of the play. Ashley Robinson wrote the book and the original concept, Dan Gillespie Sells composed the score, and Shakina wrote the lyrics. The musical was first staged in 2025, when TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presented its world premiere in Mountain View, California, with Broadway & Beyond Theatricals as its partner. The New York engagement follows that production.

It draws on two earlier works. Graczyk's play reached Broadway in 1982 under the direction of Robert Altman, and Altman then made a film of it. The film starred Sandy Dennis, Cher and Karen Black.

The source play takes place in a small Texas town, inside a five-and-dime store. In 1975 a fan club of women known as Disciples of James Dean reunites to mark 20 years since the actor's death. The play moves between that reunion and flashbacks to 1955, the year Dean died, and the women reveal long-kept secrets along the way.

Mona and Sissy are among the members of the group. A visitor named Joanne arrives at the store, and her presence stirs up old stories. The film version is a comedy-drama, and the fan club serves as the frame for a story about friendship and about what people keep hidden from one another.

The musical is built on this material. The sources available for this page do not describe how the stage adaptation changes the plot, so expect the setup above rather than a scene-by-scene match with the play or the film.

Gillespie Sells is a songwriter known for Everybody's Talking About Jamie. The 2025 premiere was presented as a country-rock musical, with chosen family and community as its themes. Shakina, who wrote the lyrics, is also a performer, and she played Joanne in that premiere.

No song list has been published, so there are no individual numbers to point to yet.

Graczyk's play had its world premiere in Columbus, Ohio, in 1976. A Broadway production followed in 1982, directed by Altman, and the film version came out the same year with most of the stage cast repeating their roles.

The musical grew out of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, where it was first presented in that company's New Works Festival. Its world premiere ran from June 19 to July 13, 2025, at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, directed by Sardelli. Jacob Yates was music director, and Ryan Blihovde handled the orchestrations. Classic Stage Company announced the New York engagement in May 2026.