A movie musical that features the Shawnee Town 1929 Museum will hit theaters this weekend.
Capturing the life of American fashion designer Nell “Nelly Don” Donnelly Reed, the film “Nelly Don the Musical Movie” puts Shawnee on the big screen.
The film will open this weekend in local theaters.
 Shawnee Town stands in for Reed’s hometown
While the movie was shot in a variety of locations around the Kansas City area, Terence O’Malley, the writer-director-producer and co-lyricist, said Shawnee would be the perfect place to replicate Reed’s early years in Parsons, Kansas.
“The house there — which is Shawnee Town 1929 — for us, it looked like Shawnee Town 1900. And that’s what’s needed,” said O’Malley, who is also Reed’s great-nephew. “It was just really a perfect place for us to emulate Parsons, Kansas.”
The scenes shot at the Shawnee Town 1929 site follow Reed’s birth and childhood in a whimsical, melodic fashion.
“It really was a great way to start the film off, in terms of establishing the point in time, where this all takes place, because it starts off with Nelly as a little girl, and she’s singing that song to her doll,” O’Malley said. “And then her mother sings a song to her about how if you want to be successful, you have to stick with it, and you have to persevere.”
Shooting in Shawnee went smooth
All it took was one object — a foot pump sewing machine — to get O’Malley’s attention.
“I went through the Kansas City, Missouri, Film Office and they have venues on their website of places where filmmakers might shoot for locations,” he said. “What I noticed was that Shawnee Town had an old pump sewing machine and I thought ‘Oh my God, that’s perfect.’ And it still works.”
After working with the museum to make sure the shoot was safe, smooth and respectful to the items showcased at the historic site, O’Malley said he walked away impressed.
“The folks there could not have been more accommodating,” he added. “I can’t say enough about [museum director] Charlie Pautler. He was just a prince of a guy.”
The movie is a family affair
The movie is a culmination of O’Malley’s work, having previously told his great-aunt’s story in a documentary, book and a stage musical.
It follows Reed (played by Julie Pope) as she goes from a small-town kid with big dreams to a fashion icon facing harrowing challenges, including a philandering alcoholic husband and business partner, an affair with a United States Senator, a fake adoption and a Mafia-linked abduction and ransom.
“Nelly Don’s story is unique to Kansas City,” O’Malley said. “There’s a lot of cities that had garment districts, but they didn’t have Nelly Don, and the story of Nelly Don is not just about a successful dressmaker; she had a very interesting personal life.”
Working with composer Daniel Doss, O’Malley felt like it was a story worth a Broadway-esque tribute.
“This film is a comedy, it’s a drama. It’s a musical. It’s got pathos. It’s really just a celebration of her story,” he said. “What I want people to derive from it, more than anything, is just entertainment. I just want the movie to be entertaining. I just hope people really enjoy it.”
The film will be playing in local theaters
“Nelly Don the Musical Movie” will start screening on Friday at these local theaters: AMC DINE-IN Studio 28 in Olathe, Glenwood Arts Theater in Overland Park, Screenland Armour in Kansas City and Union Station Extreme Screen in Kansas City.
More information can be found at the movie’s official website.
Meet this local Nelly Don fan: Shawnee Mission Faces: Mary L. Schmidt, costumed dog runner and historical interpreter
