Music Man

Choreographer Ron Cisneros and Costumer Jean Henderson were the clear winners in the new Davis Musical Theater Company production of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” under the direction of Steve Isaacson. I am consistently impressed with what Cisneros can do with a mixed group of dancers and non-dancers and make it all look cohesive.

And there are lots of people on stage. Perhaps more than I remember seeing on the DMTC stage before (many of them children of varying sizes from adolescent down to very young). The choreography makes this good show a very good show.

As for Henderson, she must have been seeing stars before she finished the costumes. The 4th of July scene is filled with stars and stripes of all sizes. The whole look of the production is crisp and clean and makes the action on the stage pop.

Add to the excellent choreography and costumes is a solid cast of performers, reuniting many old timers who haven’t worked together in awhile.

Rand Martin may not be the most dynamic Harold Hill you’ll ever see, but he handled the role well, unfortunately flubbing several lines at the performance I saw. But Hill is the traveling salesman you can’t not like and Martin does a good job.

Laura Wardrip is excellent as Marian Paroo, the librarian who is not easily taken in by this stranger who promises to create a boys’ band to prevent the youth of River City, Iowa from being corrupted by the new pool table in town. Wardrip has a lovely voice and she looks beautiful, especially in the gown she dons for the town social.

As Marian’s mother, Lenore Sebastian is first class, with an Irish brogue that sounds authentic to this American ear.

Michael Carey rounds out the Paroo family as Winthrop, the shy young boy with a lisp, still brooding over his father’s death two years before, whose life is changed by Hill and his promises.

Gil Sebastian is a bombastic Mayor Shinn, the master of the malaprop and home grown phrases (“I couldn’t make myself more clear if I were a buttonhook in the well water.”) who only wants his town councilmen to “get that spellbinder’s credentials” and to keep the town hoolligan away from his oldest girl.

As Shinn’s wife, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Mary Young has a role to sink her teeth in. She’s awful–but she’s supposed to be and she relishes the chance to sing off key and preen over all of the townspeople.

My one disappointment with the direction or choreography (not sure which was responsible) was for the tableau of Grecian urns done by Eulalie and her women friends. There seemed to be no difference between “one Grecian urn” and “two Grecian urns,” nor did they really create anything that came close to resembling “fountain.” It’s supposed to be bad, but it could have been a little better at being bad.

Marcellus Washburn was Hill’s old buddy from years before, who happens to be in the town when Hill decides to set up shop. He’s Hill’s second banana and there is no better than Paul Fearn. Always reminiscent of Buddy Hackett (who played the role in the movie), Fearn was the perfect choice for this role.

Matt Kohrt is Tommy Djilas, the town hooligan and McKinley Carlisle is Zaneeta Shinn, the mayor’s oldest girl. They make a cute couple.

Rich Kulmann in the small roles of the train conductor and later the town constable had serious projection problems and could barely be heard, something unusual for the veteran Kulmann.

Marc Valdez is appropriately smarmy as Charlie Cowell, the anvil salesman determined to warn the town about Hill before it’s too late.

The town councilmen, Rich Price, Rick Wennstrom, Don Stephenson and Andy Hyun make a great barbershop quartet, though their tempos seemed a bit slow from time to time.

The "Pickalittle Ladies," who fill Professor Hill in on all the gossip about Marian, are irresistible.

Isaacson is credited with scenic design and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, knowing that things often get done at the last minute and the Isaacsons were called out of town for a death in the family. The backdrop seemed to have no correlation to the show itself and added nothing to the look of the stage except a lot of empty sky and buildings out of proportion with what was supposed to have been Main Street.

But even with all of its little flaws, you have to work really hard to do a bad production of “Music Man” and this one is a delight.

The Music Man

I can only assume that someone slipped some adrenalin into the punch backstage during the intermission on opening night of Woodland Opera House’s production of “The Music Man.” The difference between Act 1 and Act 2 was striking.

When we left the theater at the end of the show, we noticed that all of the cast photos were hanging on the board, as usual, but there were no labels identifying who was who. This led me to believe that the problem opening night was that the production, directed by Angela Shellhammer with musical direction by Laura Snell, just wasn’t as ready as everyone hoped it would be.

All the elements for an excellent show are in place. It’s visually stunning, with one glaring exception. The choreography by Shellhammer and Eva Sarry is creative and technically well executed. The performers all have impressive credentials and some were excellent on opening night, but not all. There is a nice pit band, though someone in the horn section needed to brush up a bit on “the think system” before the next performance.

Everyone was working very hard, but there was just a terrible lack of energy in Act 1. Oh they worked their little tails off, but “Music Man,” Meredith Wilson’s paean to small town America, circa 1912, is a snappy show with a lot of sizzle and Act 1 had neither snap nor sizzle.

Rodger McDonald makes a great Harold Hill, the swindler who makes his living selling non-existent boys’ bands. He has a strong voice and wonderful chemistry with Gina Marchitiello as Marian Paroo, the town librarian. Unfortunately McDonald had an inordinate number of dropped lines and bungled lyrics. He covered nicely, but the fluffs were noticeable.

Marchitiello has a lovely voice and was spot-on throughout. Her Marian strikes just the right balance between indignant, suspicious librarian and the woman whose heart softens as she gets to know Harold.

Her mother, Mrs. Paroo, was played by Nancy Agee, who created a likeable character who is pushing her daughter into a relationship with the stranger in town.

Jeff Nauer was outstanding as Marcellus Washburn, Harold’s old accomplice, now living a “straight” life with a sweet girlfriend (Jessica Larrick as Ethel Toffelmier). His “Shipoopi” at the start of Act 2 set the stage for the energized act to follow.

Particularly endearing was Samuel Stapp as the shy, lisping Winthrop, whose life is turned around by Harold and the anticipation of the boys’ band.

Abby Miles was cute as Amarylis, who is sweet on Winthrop, but who teases him anyway. Her duet with Marian was charming.

Casey Camacho played the town “bad” kid, Tommy Djilas and did a wonderful job, as did Kendra Evans as Zanetta Shinn, his girlfriend and the mayor’s oldest girl.

Mayor and Mrs. Shinn need to be larger than life. The mayor is a pompous blowhard with the eloquence of George W.Bush and his wife Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn should take center stage whenever she appears. Unfortunately, whether due to actor decisions or stage directions Stephen Kauffman and Nancy Streeter did not fill the bill. Kauffman’s halting, befuddled delivery actually managed to kill each laugh twice. A line like “I don’t think I could be clearer if I was a buttonhook in the wellwater” usually gets laughs, but when you stop after “buttonhook,” there is no laugh. Nor is there a laugh after you add “in the wellwater.” It just doesn’t work, but most of the mayor’s lines were delivered in that manner.

Streeter gave a fine performance, but it didn’t do credit to Eulalie. For example, when all the women are arguing about who is going to tell Harold a bit of gossip, Eulalia should roar “I’ll tell!” not interrupt in normal tone of voice. Eulalie knows she’s a figurehead and she needs to act like one.

The barbershop quartet of Harry Baertschi, Kent Borrowdale, Wayne Raymond and Jim Newlove improved as the show progressed.

The costumes for the show were outstanding, as one has come to expect from costumer, Laurie Everly-Klassen. So it seemed very strange that anvil salesman Charlie Cowell (Andrew Hyun) was put in a skin-head wig which flapped about on his neck, fooled no one and was only a distraction.

Past experience with Woodland Opera House has led me to believe that this show really just needed a couple of more rehearsals. It’s hard to do a bad “Music Man” and this is basically a very good show. As it settles into the run, I’m sure the wrinkles will get ironed out (and the skin head wig glued down more securely).

The Music Man

This appeared in The Davis Enterprise on 8/9/06

Leland Ball started in theater 46 years ago. He joined the Music Circus in 1976 and has been guest director, resident director, associate producer and producing director. He “retired” in 2002, but has directed one or two shows each summer for the past 2 seasons. However, he is finally hanging it up for good and next summer, his bio promises, he will return as a member of the audience only.

Ball chose to go out with the quintessential American musical, Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man,” which opened last night at the Wells Fargo Pavilion. What better way to top off a professional theatrical career than with 76 trombones (give or take a few), high stepping dancers, a barbershop quartet and a house filled with clappers and toe
-tappers.

John Hillner gives a top notch performance as Harold Hill, the traveling salesman who finds his life changed forever by an impulse stop in a little Iowa town, where he plans to work the “boys band” scam he has been running for years.

Sarah Tattersall is excellent as Marian Paroo, the librarian who is first suspicious of the smooth-talking stranger, and then falls under his spell.

Her mother, Mrs. Paroo, is broadly played by Brooks Almy, with a brogue so thick you could cut it with a knife.

As the mayor with all the verbal eloquence of George Bush, Patrick Quinn delights. He’s bluff and bluster and determined to “get that spellbinder’s credentials” if it’s the last thing he does.

Ruth Gottschall may have done more with the role of Eulalie McKecknie Shinn, the mayor’s wife, than I have ever seen done in many, many productions of this show. She has a face as expressive as Carol Burnett’s and with her impeccable timing, she gets the biggest laugh of the show with her line “I think he means peep.”

Robert Creighton is delightful as Harold’s old scam partner, now gone straight, Marcellus Washburn. When he leads the kids of the town in the “Shipoopi,” he’s great fun to watch, but he shines dancing around the stage while Harold sings about “The Sadder but Wiser Girl.”

Nine year old Matthew Gumley has an impressive set of credentials for one so young, but he seems to have been working steadily since age 4. He is the perfect Winthrop, the shy little boy with a lisp who can’t understand why his Daddy had to die, but who also falls under the spell of Hill. Gumley is one big ball of talent and is obviously enjoying every minute of the attention on stage.

Strong performances are given by Shane Rhoades as Tommy Djilas, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks who “almost had perpetual motion once,” Manoly Farrell as Zaneta, the Mayor’s oldest daughter, who is giggily infatuated with Tommy, and Andrew Boyer as the anvil salesman, Charlie Cowell, who is determined to make sure that Hill gets his commuppance.

Add to this strong cast a chorus of singers and dancers as crisp and precise as a kick line of Rockettes and the end result is a delight.

Due to popular demand, a special Sunday matinee performance has been added on Sunday, August 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets for this production are being offered at $15 off to children, ages 4-11.

Music Man

There were somewhat fewer than 76 trombones at the finale of Music Circus' opener, "The Music Man" Lawsuits by five people in the neighborhood prevented the traditional inclusion of a local high school band for the closing musical number. However, even without the splash that the addition of a band would have made, opening production to Music Circus' 2001 season does not lack for energy or enthusiasm.

Meredith Wilson's story of River City, Iowa and the effect of a
traveling salesman on small town life in early part of the 20th
century has been delighting audiences for decades and the current
production, directed by Leland Ball, does not disappoint. Ball's
direction makes use of every bit of space in the Music Circus tent,
imaginatively setting scenes in the aisles, giving the amazing Music
Circus tech crew the opportunity to rush onto the stage in the dark
and change the scenery. The end result is a high energy, fast moving
show which keeps the audience involved until the final notes.

Michael G. Hawkins commands the stage as Harold Hill, the con artist
who intends to bilk the town out of its money by selling them on the
idea of a boys band.

Sarah Tattersall is Marian, the Librarian who suspects Hill, but
succumbs to his charm, and to the difference he brings in the life of
her young brother, Winthrop. She has a clear soprano that soars in
numbers like "Goodnight, My Someone" and "My White Knight."

Michael Federan steals the show in his scenes as Winthrop, a winsome
lad with a lisp who is brought out of his shell by the notion of
playing a trumpet and marching in a band. Director Ball has given
Winthrop the chance to shine by doing backflips and walking on his
hands across the stage at one point.

Hannah Mae Sturges as the young Amaryllis sings a lovely duet with
Marian, nicely expresses her frustration in trying to be friends with
Winthrop, and she plays a mean "cross-hand piece" as well.

Another scene stealer is Casey Nicholaw as Marcellus Washburn, Hill's
accomplice. He dances a lively "Shipoopi," but is at his best in "The
Sadder but Wiser Girl."

Veteran Music Circus performer Lenny Wolpe is a marvelously droll
Mayor Shinn, whose malaprops and bluster make him the perfect
stereotypical small town mayor.

As his wife, Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn, Gina Ferrall is a delight. Her
ode to a Grecian urn or two is especially fun.

The School board--Michael Dotson, Bob Sutton, Matt Castle and Chris
Weikel--sing those great barbershop melodies and, with their
increasingly complementary costumes (ending with a white ensemble
trimmed in red, even down to the shoes), are wonderfully reminiscent
of that bygone era.

Brian Shepard and Mia Price as the lovers Tommy Djilas and Zaneeta
Shinn are cute and gawky and fantastic dancers.

Choreographer Bob Richard has assembled an energetic and talented
group of dancers and works well within the limitations of the small
Music Circus stage. Small numbers, such as "Sadder but Wiser Girl"
and "Pickalittle" are fun, but he shines in the bigger numbers like
"Iowa Stubborn," "Seventy-Six Trombones" and "Wells Fargo Wagon."

There is great difficulty in staging a show like "Music Man" in the
round. Much of the action does not lend itself to easily playing to
the entire house, and so we saw several scenes from the back side, but
Director Ball seems to have compensated for this by alternating the
direction in which the scenes are played--the gymnasium scene faces
one direction, the Paroo porch faces another, etc. When the action
lends itself to lots of movement, the set is a raised platform in the
middle of the stage, from which the action can rotate to face each
section of the house, in turn.

The sets by Michael Schweikardt are simple, but work well. Local
establishments are represented by signs which hang from the lighting
rig, the 4th of July celebration in the gymnasium becomes bunting
which is lowered to drape the upper portion of the stage, the
footbridge sets squarely in the middle of the stage and is easily
shuttled off by the hard-working tech crew.

"The Music Man" takes us back to the simple days when the town social
was the biggest event of the week, and when the arrival of a stranger
in town could set the town on its ear. You'll tap your toes and clap
your hands, and leave the theatre humming "76 Trombones." (But hum
softly so you don't disturb the curmudgeons in the neighborhood.)