“The Music Man”
***** “The Music Man” is a musical about a “con-man” named Harold Hill ( or at least that is the name of the character for this story) who sells the idea of creating a boys band in small towns to keep the young men from going astray. With a book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson based on an original story by Willson and Frank lacey, this musical has been around since 1957 and ran on Broadway for over 1300 performances. Hill was played by Robert Preston and later Forest Tucker and over the years, Chicago audiences have seen a great many actors in this role. Marriott audiences are sure to remember the late Bernie Yvon in this role. Tonight’s performance ( and this run) are dedicated to Bernie, who will live in our hearts forever.
This production is a sterling one and the first thing I had to do when arriving at the theater was to clear my head of my memories of Bernie’s performance. As soon as the orchestra, under the direction of Kevin Reeks began the overture and I saw the remarkable direction by Katie Spellman, who also managed to do some unbelievable choreography on the small stage at Marriott, I knew we were in for a treat.
The train sequence of the opening number is difficult to do (with a train set) but she managed to get the men on stage to seem to be on a moving train. This is difficult to do with a train car set, and yet, she pulled it off with a cast of men sitting on suitcases. Bravo Katie.
The story is simple in that the con-man, Harold hill ( played to perfection by KJ Hippensteel, who is quite agile and very flexible. He sort of reminded me of Dick van Dyke in his younger years, and while I did not think he truly had it at first, as time went on he sort of grew on me. He does meet Marian, the librarian (the lovely Alexandra Silber) who does not trust him, but after he helps her little brother Winthrop ( played to perfection by Kai Edgar) overcome his problems, does find herself falling for him.
While this is a love story, it is also a story of a small town that is living in nothingness, come to life and the population become more human and living the life . It is a fun show with lots of date material. Hill wants to create a “boys band”- why not a “kids band?”. This is 2024 over 70 years later. The cast of players is huge and there are sone true standouts that bear mention. Part of the story involves the Mayor of River City played by the incredibly funny Alex Goodrich. One of the things that I believe has bene added is his young daughter Gracie played by Naya Rosalie James. She is a HOOT. I was also very impressed by Elin Joy Seiler as Amaryllis (adorable) and of course, Janet Ulrich Brooks as Mrs. Paroo. She is always at her best!
The four men who compose the make-shift “barber-shoppers) are divine: Michael Potsic, Michael Mahler, Quinn Rigg and Matt Edmonds. Remember, they must have perfect harmony with NO music (acapella) and I truly loved Melanie Loren as Mrs. Shinn as well as Michael Earvin Martin as Marcellus (a friend of Harold’s from the past) , as well as Emily Ann Brooks as Zaneeta Shinn, the always funny Lillian Castillo as Alma Hix and Brandon Dahlquist in his many roles.
This is a big musical and seeing it done on a small stage is always a treat. The intimacy of the theater is special and a solid reason that Marriott Lincolnshire has meant so much to its subscribers over the years since it was Drury Lane North (a long long time ago). While we do not have an amazing orchestra show up at the end, we do have a community of young people (boys and girls) playing musical instruments and bringing joy to the town. This is 2 1/2 hours of pure fun, magic, and joy! Songs like “”You Got Trouble”, “76 Trombones”, “Til There Was You”, “Goodnight My Someone’ and” Gary Indiana” will bring back some fond memories.
