2nd Star Productions’ The Music Man
What do you expect from an iconic musical winner of five Tonys, a Grammy and an Oscar? A show so revered it cemented the careers of Shirley Jones and Robert Preston, and launched little Ron Howard to stardom?
At 2nd Star Productions, expect the perfect delight of screen and vinyl.
The Music Man tells a story as old as human nature about opportunism and naiveté, exceptionalism and jealousy — with humor. It’s nostalgic and sweet without being sappy, it’s upbeat and colorful, and it’s delivered in spectacular song and dance. If you don’t love this show, I will personally refund your money.
E. Lee Nicol strikes just the right chord as Professor Harold Hill, the Gilded Age flimflammer who revolutionizes a parochial town with his bogus vision for a boys’ band he knows he can’t deliver. Yes, Ya Got Trouble right here in River City. Even prim and lovely Marian the Librarian (Emily Mudd) can’t resist this dynamic, quick-witted huckster, especially when Hill helps her little brother, Winthrop (Andrew Sharpe), overcome debilitating shyness.
Hill transforms the quarrelsome school board through rich barbershop harmony with, in order of height, Nathan Bowen’s anchoring bass and David Merrill’s soaring tenor bookending Brian Binney and Kevin Cleaver’s mid-range voices, parrying each of their inquiries into his qualifications with the suggestion of a song: Lida Rose or Goodnight Ladies, the last performed in duet with the gossiping Pickalittle Ladies (Allison Baudoin, Victoria Rose Brown, Rosalie Daelemans, Kirsti Dixon, Diane Schwartz) as they justify their unwavering scorn for Marian.
This provincial town is full of unforgettable characters. You meet the self-important Mayor and Mrs. Shinn (Martin Hayes and Jeanne Louise) and their ditzy daughter Zaneeta (Abigail Wallen), who is secretly dating that wild kid Tommy Djilas (Daniel Starnes). There’s Marcellus Washburn (Brian Mellen), Hill’s former accomplice turned upright citizen; Marian’s plain-spoken mother, Mrs. Paroo (Carole Long) with the brogue; and teasing Amaryllis (Vanessa Daelemans) who is enamored of Winthrop. There’s even a salacious traveling salesman, whom Marian waylays in order to save Hill — Nicholas Mudd (Charlie Cowell) — played by Marian’s (Emily’s Mudd’s) real husband. As the credits attest, this is a family show both on and off-stage.
Beautifully cast with winning leads, this production also features townsfolk of all ages and shapes. The ensemble is tight, from the percussive patter of peddlers on a train (Rock Island) to show-stoppers such as the Wells Fargo Wagon and Seventy-Six Trombones, complete with stunning dances featuring Andrew Gordon and Tabitha Thornhill. Even the pit orchestra outshines any that 2nd Star has assembled in years. There’s love (Till There Was You), patriotism (Columbia, Gem of the Ocean) and zaniness (Shipoopi). There are five, count ‘em, five meticulous sets and gorgeous period costumes in a bouquet of eye-popping colors. With clever staging, a train car appears to actually scroll past the town. Only the lighting seems off at times with low lights obscuring rather than showcasing the dancers.
Harold Hill is a wise man. “Pile up enough tomorrows and you’ll have a pile of empty yesterdays,” he warns. Don’t let many tomorrows pass without catching this great show.