Friday, May 31 - Saturday, June 8 • Directed by Peggy Breaux Hupp
In 1957, one of the most endearing and popular musicals opened on Broadway. The Music Man starred Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, and went on to play to great acclaim for 1375 performances. Along the way, it won many Tony Awards including Best Musical (beating out West Side Story which also opened that season). Following Robert Preston in the title role were Eddie Albert and Bert Parks. Dick Van Dyke starred in a short lived 1980 Broadway revival.
Meredith Wilson, the composer, lyricist and book author of The Music Man, based the show on his boyhood experiences growing up in Mason City, Iowa. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with the cash. In River City, Iowa, prim librarian and piano teacher Marian Paroo sees through him, but when Hill helps her younger brother overcome his fear of social interactions due to his lisp, Marian begins to fall in love with Harold. Harold, in turn falling for Marian, risks being caught in order to win her.
Meredith Wilson wrote 40 songs for The Music Man dropping 22 during the rehearsal process. The final score features classic songs such as "'Till There Was You", "Trouble", "The Wells Fargo Wagon", "Goodnight My Someone" and "76 Trombones". Although not immediately recognizable, the latter two songs share the same melody. "Goodnight My Someone" is sung in waltz time while "76 Trombones" has a march tempo. In 1963, The Beatles recorded "'Till There Was You" on their "Meet the Beatles" album. Meredith Wilson's widow said that the estate made more money from the Beatles recording than from the musical itself.
In 1962, a movie version of The Music Man was released with Robert Preston reprising his Tony award winning role with Shirley Jones co-starring as Marian Paroo and Ron Howard as Winthrop. Warner Brothers courted Frank Sinatra and Carey Grant for the title role, but Meredith Wilson insisted on Preston. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year.
14 окт 2024
