 Dorothy Banks was an effervescent and somewhat liberated former Broadway showgirl who took a job teaching music and drama at the Hannah Huntley School for Girls, a somewhat old-fashioned institution in Connecticut. While some of the faculty (like French teacher Miss Cathcart and biology instructor Mr. Landis) found Dorothy s methods a bit off-putting, her students, including Meredith, Frankie, Margo and Cissy, thought she was wonderful. And a neat singer and dancer to boot.