Seven decades ago Meredith Willson took a story he created with Franklin Lacey and added book, music and lyrics to develop a delightfully devious con man Harold Hill who dupped his victims into believing their town’s fate could only be saved if he, “Professor” Hill, could organize a boys’ band. Thus the sparkling spectacle Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” was born and now the Palace Theater in Waterbury is bringing its triumphant seventy-six trombones to your doorstep Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, June 2, 3, and 4 at 7:30 p.m.
The musical is set in River City, Iowa and is based on Wilson’s hometown of Mason City, Iowa and he modeled many of the characters on people he knew there. Wilson wrote more than thirty drafts and forty songs for the show, originally naming it "The Silver Triangle.” “The Music Man” opened on Broadway in 1957 and for seventy years has been a family-friendly favorite musical comedy. Much of the show’s musical score was considered groundbreaking at that time, equally rich and witty and heartfelt.
The most covered song is “Till There Was You.” In 1963 the Beatles sang it for Queen Elizabeth II and the next year performed it on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Traveling salesmen who went from town to town by train pedaling their wares were not admiring of a man who conned money from innocent folk who believed his lies and schemes, giving him payment for musical instruments, instruction books and uniforms Hill had no intention of delivering. Smooth and fast talking Harold Hill arrives in River City, Iowa ready to once again fleece his “prey,” but some highly unusual events occur.
An old friend and schemer Marcellus Washburn claims to now be reformed and warns his pal to beware of the town librarian Marian Paroo, who is the only one who knows enough about music to stop him. Marian also has a young brother Winthrop who has a lisp and rarely talks, and a caring mother who only wants her children to be happy.
“The Music Man” is stuffed with great songs like “Ya Got Trouble” when Hill warns Mayor Shinn about the destructive influence of pool halls and billiard parlors, “Seventy-Six Trombones” that promises redemption for all the wayward youth, a barbershop quartet that sings at every drop of a straw hat, the grand arrival of “The Wells Fargo Wagon” (an early version of Amazon), the delightful dance “Shipoopi,” and the lyrical love song “Till There Was You” and many more.
Comic complications arise as the Mayor demands Hill’s credentials, his wife Eulalie Shinn gets seduced into leading a ladies dance troupe, the local hoodlum Tommy is persuaded to woo the Mayor’s daughter Zaneeta, and Marian’s piano student Amaryllis confesses her affection for the seldom speaking Winthrop.
What a joy! What a delight! What a great family classic! A wonderful cast of dozens and dozens bring this fun musical to spectacular life. For tickets ($49-89), call Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at tickets@palacetheaterct.org.
Will Harold Hill be unmasked for the shyster he is? Come discover if anyone deserves to be tarred and feathered. Learn that today definitely is a day worth remembering. Come see for yourself how and why it won six Tony Awards!
No comments:
Post a Comment