Will it play in Peoria?

The saying, "Will it play in Peoria?" is traditionally used to ask whether a given product, person, promotional theme, or event will appeal to mainstream (also called "Main Street") America, or across a broad range of demographic and psychographic groups.

Origin

The phrase is a corruption of some phrases in a novel by Horatio Alger, Jr. called Five Hundred Dollars; or, Jacob Marlowe's Secret, which was first published in 1890. Alger was an immensely popular author in the 19th century, especially with young people and his books were widely quoted. In the book a group of actors play in Peoria and phrases such as "We shall be playing in Peoria." and "We shall play at Peoria" occur (page 218 etc.). These were shortened in street slang to "Will it play in Peoria".

Peoria as a metaphor

Peoria's Madison Theatre, which hosted both vaudeville and film in the early 20th century

Peoria, Illinois, has developed quite an unusual reputation over the years—so much so that a kind of folklore has grown around the name. The famous catch-phrase about "playing in Peoria" has origins buried in vaudeville or burlesque. Don Marine, professor of theatre at Illinois Central College (East Peoria), commented:

If one were to choose the city in the United States most victimized in jokes and anecdotes by theatrical personalities, the selection of Peoria, Illinois, would be a popular, if not likely choice. Two of the more popular quips are: "Say, I hear you got married. How did that ever happen?" "I was playing a split-bill in Peoria—and it rained!" and "Have you ever played Peoria?" "Peoria? Oh, yes—I spent four years there one night!" The widespread appeal of this verbal maligning by comics, actors and other performers suggests Peoria as a paramount example of the dull, banal, and provincial theatrical road stop. But the popularity of the "put down" suggests as well that the city possesses a theatrical heritage of considerable longevity.

A 1945 comment in American Notes and Queries offers a different point of view, one that is perhaps more accurate:

Peoria (Ill.) has been an old stand-by with comedians for years—but not only because of the "O" sound. Nor because of the four vowel sounds that give it a nice noisy resonance. But largely, I suspect, because of the fact that it is a whiskey town and a river town and not particularly famous for what is known as the genteel tradition.

The phrase originated during the vaudeville era and was popularized in movies by Groucho Marx. The belief was that if a new show was successful in Peoria, a main Midwestern stop for vaudeville acts, it would be successful anywhere.

Old booklet: How to Enter Vaudeville

Marine made a common mistake: he judged Peoria the way Peorians in the late 20th century usually seemed to judge themselves — that is, dull, banal, and provincial. But just ask older residents of Peoria, and they will tell about whiskey, gambling, prostitution, and whatever else goes into making a city "wide open." Only since the 1950s was the lid put on Peoria; but the reputation, and thus the gibes, has existed since vaudeville.

Jack Mabley, writing in the Chicago Tribune, concluded that "if it plays in Peoria it has good taste," but a more apt meaning is, according to James C. Ballowe, former dean of Peoria's Bradley University graduate school, that "Peoria is a tough audience." In other words, "it bombed in Peoria" or "it was great in Peoria" had recognizable meaning from one coast to the other.

The phrase subsequently was adopted by politicians, pollsters, and promoters to question the potential mainstream acceptance of anything new.

Although vaudeville left Peoria many years ago, the slogan was revived in 1969 when John D. Ehrlichman said to a newsman, "Don't worry, it'll play in Peoria," in reference to a decision by President Richard M. Nixon that seemed calculated to upset Easterners. Peoria, Illinois, cashed in on the free publicity with a successful advertising campaign to lure new business to the city.

Peoria as test market

In the United States, Peoria, Illinois, has legendary status as a test market. Peoria has long been seen as a representation of the average American city, because of its demographics and its perceived mainstream Midwestern culture. In the 1960s and 1970s, Peoria was deemed an ideal test market by various consumer-focused companies, entertainment enterprises (films and concert tours), even politicians, to gauge opinion, interest and receptivity to new products, services and campaigns.

In the 1980s and 90s, comedians like Sam Kinison and musicians such as Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Metallica and Phil Collins all perfected and launched concert tours in Peoria. During Presidential campaigns, major TV networks would visit Peoria to "take the pulse" (gauge the response) of everyday Americans on national issues and candidates.^{[citation needed]}

Peoria's historical test market status can be attributed to a number of factors. The term 'Heartland of America' refers to this region, though over the years the moniker has been embraced by other markets as well.

The city is also located approximately halfway between two major Midwestern cities: Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.

At one time Peoria closely reflected the diversity of the United States population in terms of race, income, age, rural and business interests, educational background and other key criteria.^{[citation needed]}

While Peoria is still considered the "test market capital of America," other cities such as Albany, New York; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Santa Barbara, California, are more commonly selected as test markets today for greater testing precision.^{[citation needed]}

Peoria in popular culture

The theme of Peoria as the archetypical example of middle American culture runs throughout American culture, appearing in movies and books, on television and radio, and in countless advertisements as either a filler place name, the representative of mainstream taste, or an embodiment of mediocre culture.

Advertising

• Advertisements for the Gillette Atra razor once asked, "Do they pivot in Peoria?"

Fiction

Peoria is usually used in a complimentary—and positive—fashion in advertising; in contrast, most fictional allusions are an obvious affront and literary usage often implies that "Peoria" is indeed equivalent to "provincial."

• In the Bugs Bunny cartoon What's Up Doc? Bugs joins Elmer Fudd's vaudeville act, and opens it in Peoria.
• In an episode of I Love Lucy, Fred and Ethel reminisce about their vaudeville act playing in Peoria.
• Peoria, being the hometown of Richard Pryor, also became the hometown of Pryor's most famous alter-ego, "Mudbone." Mudbone would refer to Peoria during his appearances in Pryor's stand-up routine.
• In 1999, the comic strip B.C. was blunt about Peoria's reputation: The girl asks at Peter's Drug Store, "I want the most exotic perfume you got": "That would be 'Evening in Paris, Champs-Élysées' ... sixty dollars an ounce"; "What do you have for three bucks?"; "'Midnight in Peoria, Route 24, Junction Eight'"!
• In Emma Lathen's When in Greece: "Charlie’s responsibilities took him far too often to places he preferred leaving to vacationing college students or retired Peoria car dealers."
• In the Futurama episode "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV", an execu-bot mutters, "It will play in Peoria".
• Peoria is frequently referenced in the old-time radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, inasmuch as their stars, Jim and Marian Jordan, were originally from Peoria themselves,
• In The Simpsons episode The Ten-Per-Cent Solution, Annie, Played by Joan Rivers, mentions to Krusty about Playing in Peoria.

News commentary

• In 1977, the news magazine Time used Peoria as a form of "et cetera" (and perhaps a hidden insult) in an article on the proliferation of new vineyards in America, calling them "the new Chateaux Peorias...."
• A film review by Jean Strauss in Newsweek concluded: "...(the) films are small, 'foreign,' unlikely to play in Peoria."
• In 1977, a Christian Science Monitor editorial cartoon shows Jimmy Carter pleading to a "big business booking agent": “But sir—they love me out in Peoria."
• The podcast "Playing in Peoria" takes its name from this saying.
• The November 2009 issue of National Geographic states in its The Big Idea section that electron-dispensing filling stations, a now-possible idea difficult to implement on a large scale, will soon "play even in Peoria."

See also

• Peoria (disambiguation)
• List of places named Peoria
• Haßloch — Germany's test market city

External links

• R. Allen Lott, From Paris to Peoria
• Henry III, William A. (September 14, 1987). "How Does Broadway Play in Peoria?". Time: pp. 86(2). http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965435,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
• Ohlemacher, Stephen (May 17, 2007). "Early Primaries Don't Reflect U.S. Prefs". FoxNews.com. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May17/0,4670,AverageState,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17.