The Music Man
Despite COVID which delayed the revival of The Music Man for a few years, the big old Broadway musical is back. The great opening number set in a railway coach beautifully sets the tone for what is to follow. This show has boundless energy, old fashioned optimism and star wattage.
Hugh Jackman plays Harold Hill, the conman who comes to River City, Iowa to cause a little “Trouble.” His plan is to sell musical instruments and lessons to the town’s children, pocket some fast cash and skedaddle away. Along the way he encounters a pretty librarian and you know that the road these two have been traveling may forever be changed.
Mr. Jackman is the musical’s song and dance man in every respect. The show is framed around him (possibly more than ever) and he commands the stage. Not only is he the show’s titular lead, he is also center stage for the ensemble dancing. There are not many Broadway stars who could execute this level of performance within the silly charms of a vintage period piece.
“Marion the Librarian” is possibly the pinnacle moment. Harold visits the library in an attempt to woo the uninterested Marion. Warren Carlyle’s choreography is a rollicking treat, filled with movement and verve. The kids are a joy to watch and it’s not hard to see Marion thawing out in the process. All of the ensemble numbers are thrilling and the faces of the large cast confirm that analysis.
Director Jerry Zaks keeps the somewhat dated plot moving along. The tone is always sweet even when people are being mean in that oversized blowhard way. The show is oddly current in its reference to “dirty books” by “Chaucer, Rabelais and Balzac.” In America’s current scary obsession with book banning, the reference makes you laugh but it also makes you cringe. These conservative windbags are not fictional characters of Broadway shows but real demons intent on destroying free speech and intellectual discourse. (We all know who said, “I love the uneducated”.)
Thank goodness “The Wells Fargo Wagon” is coming to town at the end of the first act. We are gathered for a big Broadway entertainment and the show must and, indeed, goes on. It has to be said that the energy level in the audience was notably high at intermission. A grand time was being had.
In the role of Winthrop, Marion’s shy stuttering younger brother, Benjamin Pajak holds his own with these two theater superstars. The impact of Harold on his psyche feels organically developed in their relationship. What at first may be considered a ploy to get to Marion coalesces into a bigger display of the latent goodness possible in all of humanity.
When Marion sings the gorgeous ballad “Till There Was You” I took a quick glance at the audience. All eyes were locked in and no one moved. Regardless of whether she has a different voice than previous Marions, her characterization deftly created the requisite magic. Combining that presence with an athletically inclined Harold Hill and you have a Music Man where everyone should want to join the band. Big fun, right here in (next to the Hudson) River City.
The Music Man is playing at the Winter Garden Theatre, one of the best houses on Broadway for a show for of this scope and size.