The Music Man -- A Musical Classic

The Music Man movie may be one of my favorite musicals of all time. You would think that would scare me off from the play. On the contrary, I could not wait to see the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s rendition of Meredith Wilson's story. There is always something magical about watching a live performance of a musical when so much personal nostalgia is attached to it. I have such fond memories of songs like” Marian the Librarian” and “Seventy-Six Trombones.”

Like I said, The Music Man with its music and plot has always been one of my favorites. Fast talking, charismatic Harold Hill comes to River City, Iowa to woo the whole town into one big sales job –-purchasing musical instruments and uniforms for a boy band which he professes to know how to lead. The problem is he is no band director and then somwhere along the way he gets wooed by the savvy librarian and quirky townspeople.

So, did it meet my expectations?

First, Laura Griffith (left) as Marian Paroo, Zion Smith as Winthrop Paroo, Brian Vaughn as Harold Hill, Leslie Brott as Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Max Robinson as Mayor Shinn and Carole Healey as Mrs. Paroo in the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2011 production of The Music Man. (Photo by Karl Hugh. Copyright Utah Shakespeare Festival 2011.)

The choreography alone will have me returning to see this show. Choreographer Rhett Guter really had the stage hopping from one scene to the next carrying us through an energetic adventure in small town American. Rhett also takes the stage himself as the scoundrel Tommy Djilas who just happens to be from the wrong side of the track but loves the mayor’s daughter anyway.

You could have easily fooled me in the opening scene. The salesmen gabbing and exchanging stories on the train looked like a real train ride, so perfectly was it choreographed. In a week of watching plays where the opening scenes were a little blah, The Music Man had my attention from the get go.

Brian Vaughn as Harold Hill was brilliant casting. His charismatic portrayal was vibrant, lovable and slippery all at the same time. Perhaps my favorite scene was his initial introduction to River City in the high energy number “Ya Got Trouble” where he convinces them a boy’s band is the way to keep their youth out of trouble.

Harold’s counterpart Marian Paroo (Laura Griffith) was delightful as the town librarian. Proper with a trace of scandal, she played Marian perfectly. She also had one of the strongest singing voices in the play and her rendition of “Good Night, My Someone” fit the play’s era and setting.

The Music Man has one of the biggest casts of the Festival’s plays this season and many of the supporting characters charmed the audience. The Mayor Shinn and his wife Eualalie played by Max Robinson and Leslie Brott brought the idea that a small town is full of big personalities to life on the stage as they led their town from one event to the next. Eulalie was the epitome of a small town socialite matron.

But perhaps one of my most favorite supporting performers was Ethel Toffelheimer (played by Bri Sudia) She was adorable as the less than confident piano player and new bride. After seeing Bri play a completely different character as Helena in this season’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I am becoming a big fan of her comic timing. I hope to see her in upcoming seasons on the Festival stage.

There were so many fantastic performances in this play. It truly had a smile on my face from moment one and I can’t remember an uncomfortable or awkward moment, maybe I was just too enthralled by an old favorite. Of all the plays I have seen this month, this is the one that I want to see again.

You can get tickets to The Music Man by visiting bard.org or by calling 1800-PLAYTIX