| The Music Man | |
|---|---|
 Original Broadway poster | |
| Music | Meredith Willson |
| Lyrics | Meredith Willson |
| Book | Meredith Willson Franklin Lacey |
| Productions | 1957Broadway 1961West End 2000 Broadway revival 2022 Broadway revival |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical |
The Music Man is amusical with book, music, and lyrics byMeredith Willson, based on a story by Willson andFranklin Lacey. The plot concernscon man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader. He sells band instruments and uniforms to naïveMidwestern townsfolk, promising to train the members of the new band. Harold is no musician, however, and plans to skip town without giving any music lessons. Prim librarian and piano teacher Marian sees through him, but when Harold helps her younger brother overcome his lisp and social awkwardness, Marian begins to fall in love with him. He risks being caught to win her heart.
In 1957, the show became a hit onBroadway, winning fiveTony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances.[1] Thecast album won the firstGrammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and spent 245 weeks on the Billboard charts. The show's success led to Broadway andWest End revivals, a popular1962 film adaptation and a 2003television adaptation.The Music Man is frequently produced by both professional and amateur theater companies and is a popular choice for high school and college productions.[1]
Meredith Willson was inspired by his boyhood inMason City, Iowa, to write and compose his first musical,The Music Man.[2] Willson began developing this theme in his 1948 memoir,And There I Stood With My Piccolo.[3] He first approached producersCy Feuer and Ernest Martin for a television special, and thenMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer producerJesse L. Lasky. After these and other unsuccessful attempts, Willson invitedFranklin Lacey to help him edit and simplify the libretto. At this time, Willson considered eliminating a long piece of dialogue about the serious trouble facing River City parents, but realizing that it sounded like a lyric. He transformed it into thepatter song "Ya Got Trouble".[4] Willson wrote about his trials and tribulations in getting the show to Broadway in his bookBut He Doesn't Know the Territory.[5]
The character Marian Paroo was inspired by Marian Seeley ofProvo, Utah, who met Willson duringWorld War II, when Seeley was a medical records librarian.[6][7] In the original production (and the film), the School Board was played by the 1950 International Quartet Champions of theSociety for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA),[a] theBuffalo Bills.Robert Preston claimed that he got the role of Harold Hill despite his limited singing range because, when he went to audition, they were having the men sing "Trouble". The producers felt it would be the most difficult song to sing, but with his acting background, it was the easiest for Preston.[citation needed]
Originally titledThe Silver Triangle, early versions of the story focused on a partially paralyzed boy, Jim Paroo, whom the townspeople wanted to consign to an institution for children with disabilities.[8] The plot revolved around Harold Hill finding a musical instrument that the boy could play: atriangle. In some drafts, Jim was alsononverbal.[8] Willson had an epiphany while reflecting on the "Wells Fargo Wagon" song, in which a lisping youngster sang one of the verses. "Here's this kid who isn't even identified," recalled Willson in his 1957 memoir. "Just a lisping kid but you get hit with some magic anyhow. Imagine if the lisping kid were somebody we know – some character in the story."[9] Willson suddenly realized that this youngster could be the child with the disability. In the finished book, Winthrop Paroo is almost silent and hesitates to speak because of a lisp, but unexpectedly bursts into song when the Wells Fargo wagon arrives with his new cornet.[9]
After years of development, a change of producers, almost forty songs (twenty-two were cut), and more than forty drafts, the originalBroadway production was produced byKermit Bloomgarden, directed byMorton DaCosta and choreographed byOnna White.The Music Man opened on December 19, 1957, at theMajestic Theatre.[10] It played at the Majestic for nearly three years before transferring toThe Broadway Theatre and completing its 1,375 performance run there on April 15, 1961. The original cast includedRobert Preston (who reprised his role in the1962 screen adaptation) as Harold Hill,Barbara Cook as Marian,Eddie Hodges as Winthrop,Pert Kelton as Mrs. Paroo,Iggie Wolfington as Marcellus Washburn andDavid Burns as Mayor Shinn.[citation needed]
In January 1959, Preston left the show and was replaced byEddie Albert for 18 months. Preston returned for two weeks In June 1960, until his successor,Bert Parks, could replace him. Parks finished the Broadway run while Preston was busy filming the screen version.Paul Ford was a replacement for David Burns as Mayor Shinn, later reprising the role in the film version.[citation needed]
Howard Bay designed the sets.Don Walker orchestrated the score.[11] The musical won fiveTony Awards, including Best Musical, winning in the same year thatWest Side Story was nominated for the award. Preston, Cook and Burns also won.[12]Liza Redfield became the first woman to be the full-time conductor of a Broadway pit orchestra when she assumed the role of music director for the original production's final year of performances beginning in May 1960.[13] The long-running American tour began in 1958, starringForrest Tucker as Hill andJoan Weldon as Marian.[14][15]
The first Australian production ran from March 5, 1960, to July 30, 1960, at thePrincess Theatre in Melbourne, and at theTivoli Theatre in Sydney from December 13, 1960, to February 4, 1961.[16] The first UK production opened atBristol Hippodrome, transferring to London'sWest End at theAdelphi Theatre on March 16, 1961, starringVan Johnson, Patricia Lambert,C. Denier Warren,Ruth Kettlewell andDennis Waterman. It ran for 395 performances at the Adelphi.[14]
A two-week revival atNew York City Center ran in June 1965, directed byGus Schirmer Jr. and starringBert Parks as Harold.Doro Merande andSandy Duncan played, respectively, Eulalie and Zaneeta Shinn.[14] In 1987, a Chinese translation of the musical was staged atBeijing's Central Opera Theater.[17]
A US tour, directed and choreographed byMichael Kidd, ended at City Center, where it played for three-weeks in June 1980. The cast includedDick Van Dyke as Hill,Meg Bussert as Marian,Christian Slater as Winthrop,Carol Arthur as Mrs. Paroo, and Iggie Wolfington (who played Marcellus in the 1957 production) as Mayor Shinn.[14][18]
New York City Opera staged a revival from February to April 1988, directed by Arthur Masella and choreographed byMarcia Milgrom Dodge, starringBob Gunton as Hill, withMuriel Costa-Greenspon as Eulalie andJames Billings as Marcellus.[14]
A Broadway revival, directed and choreographed bySusan Stroman, opened on April 27, 2000, at theNeil Simon Theatre, where it ran for 699 performances and 22 previews. The cast includedCraig Bierko (making his Broadway debut) as Hill andRebecca Luker as Marian.Robert Sean Leonard andEric McCormack portrayed Hill later in the run. The production was nominated for eight Tony Awards but did not win any. In 2008, there was a revival at theChichester Festival Theatre, England, starringBrian Conley as Hill andScarlett Strallen as Marian.[19][20]
In 2019, a semi-staged concert production at theKennedy Center starredNorm Lewis as Harold,Jessie Mueller as Marian,Rosie O'Donnell as Mrs. Paroo,John Cariani as Marcellus,Veanne Cox as Eulalie,Mark Linn-Baker as Mayor Shinn (a role he reprised on Broadway in 2022), andDavid Pittu as Charlie.[21]
A Broadway revival began previews on December 20, 2021, and opened on February 10, 2022, at theWinter Garden Theatre. The production starredHugh Jackman as Harold andSutton Foster as Marian withJefferson Mays as the Mayor,Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn,Shuler Hensley as Marcellus,Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo, Benjamin Pajak as Winthrop,Remy Auberjonois as Charlie Cowell,Phillip Boykin as Olin Britt andEddie Korbich as Jacey Squires. It was produced by Kate Horton,Barry Diller,Evan McGill, andDavid Geffen and directed byJerry Zaks, with choreography byWarren Carlyle.[22] It features sets and costumes bySanto Loquasto, lighting byBrian MacDevitt, and sound by Scott Lehrer. The production was set to open in 2020 but was delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[23] It suspended performances from December 28, 2021, through January 5, 2022, after Jackman tested positive for COVID-19.[24] The production closed on January 15, 2023.[25]
The production was a success at the box office, taking in $3.5 million in ticket sales during the week of March 22, 2022, more than any show since the pandemic began.[26][27] Critical reaction was mixed: on the negative side, Jesse Green, inThe New York Times, declared the revival, "flat" and "old-fashioned".[28] He criticized Jackman's "smart but strangely inward performance" and felt that Foster's witty and front-facing performance was compromised by her vocal miscasting. Johnny Oleksinski of theNew York Post described the production as a "let-down", writing, "Sometimes the show is dark and moody, determined not to have too much fun with a story about a con artist who wins in the end despite his misdeeds. At others, it's ... painfully corny".[29] Frank Scheck ofThe Hollywood Reporter gave the production a lukewarm review, calling Jackman "neither a great singer nor a particularly accomplished dancer" and commenting that Foster's "voice doesn’t have the crystalline beauty of such predecessors asBarbara Cook andShirley Jones, and many of the songs aren’t really suited for her". He concluded, however, that "the show ironically feels urgently timely."[30] On the positive side, inVariety,Marilyn Stasio gave the production a rave review, praising all the performances, direction and designs, and calling it "vintage Broadway, but gussied up in grand, glorious style".[31] It was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical,[32] but it did not win any.[33] A specialTheatre World Award for "Outstanding Ensemble" was presented to the 21 cast members making their Broadway debuts in the revival.[34]
An official cast recording was released on September 23, 2022.[35] In the fall 2022 fundraising forBroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS,The Music Man broke the Red Bucket fundraising record by raising $2,002,612 toward the charity.[36]
In the early summer of 1912, aboard a train leavingRock Island, Illinois,[b] Charlie Cowell and other traveling salesmen debate whether modern conveniences are making their profession more difficult. "Professor" Harold Hill is discussed as one whose sales skills make him immune from such changes ("Rock Island"). Charlie says that Hill is acon man who promises to form boys' marching bands, then skips town after taking payments for instruments and uniforms. Upon the train's arrival in River City, Iowa, a passenger leaves the train with a suitcase labeled "Professor Harold Hill".
After townspeople of River City describe their reserved, "chip-on-the-shoulder attitude" ("Iowa Stubborn"), Harold sees his old friend andshill, Marcellus Washburn, who has "gone legit" and now lives in the town. Marcellus tells Harold that the only person who might expose him is the only trained musician in town, Marian Paroo, the librarian who gives piano lessons. He also informs Hill that a newpool table was just delivered to the town's localbilliard parlor so, to launch his scheme, Harold convinces River City parents of the "trouble" that can come from a pool table in the community ("Ya Got Trouble"). Harold follows Marian home, attempting to flirt with her, but she ignores him. Marian gives a piano lesson to a little girl named Amaryllis while arguing with her widowed mother about her high "standards where men are concerned"; she mentions the man who followed her home ("Piano Lesson/If You Don't Mind My Saying So"). Marian's self-conscious 10-year-old brother Winthrop arrives home. Amaryllis, who secretly likes Winthrop but teases him about hislisp, asks Marian to whom she should say goodnight on the evening star, since she doesn't have a sweetheart. Marian tells her to just say goodnight to her "someone" ("Goodnight, My Someone").
The next day, bumbling Mayor Shinn and his overbearing wife Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn lead the festivities forIndependence Day at the high school gym ("Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean") but are interrupted by a firecracker set off by troublemaker Tommy Djilas. Harold takes the stage and announces to the townspeople that he will prevent "sin and corruption" fromthe presence of the pool table by forming a boys' band ("Ya Got Trouble [reprise]/Seventy-Six Trombones"). Mayor Shinn, who owns the billiard parlor, tells the bickering school board to get Harold's credentials, but Harold gets them to sing as aBarbershop Quartet to distract them ("Ice Cream/Sincere"). Harold also sets up Zaneeta, the mayor's eldest daughter, with Tommy, and persuades Tommy to work as his assistant. After another rejection by Marian, Harold is determined to win her ("The Sadder But Wiser Girl"). The town ladies are very excited about the band and the ladies' dance committee that Harold plans to form. He mentions Marian, and they imply (falsely, it turns out) that she had an affair with a now-deceased miser, who willed the library building to the town but left all the books to Marian. They warn Harold that she advocates "dirty books" by "Chaucer,Rabelais andBalzac" ("Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little"). The school board arrives to review Harold's credentials, but he leads them in song and slips away ("Goodnight, Ladies").
The next day, Harold walks into the library to woo Marian in earnest ("Marian the Librarian"). For a moment, she forgets her decorum and dances with Harold and the teenagers. Harold kisses her; when she tries to slap him, she accidentally hits Tommy instead. With Tommy's help, Harold signs up all the boys in town to be in his band, including Winthrop. Mrs. Paroo likes Harold and tries to find out why Marian is not interested. Marian describes her ideal man ("My White Knight", rewritten for the film version as "Being in Love"). She sets out to give Mayor Shinn evidence against Harold that she found in theIndiana State Educational Journal, but they are interrupted by the arrival of theWells Fargowagon, which delivers the band instruments ("The Wells Fargo Wagon"). When Winthrop is so happy about his newcornet, and totally abandons his shyness and self-consciousness, Marian begins to see Harold in a new light. She tears the incriminating page out of the Journal before giving the book to Mayor Shinn.
The ladies rehearse their classical dance in the school gym while the school board practices their quartet ("It's You") for theice cream social. Marcellus and the town's teenagers interrupt the ladies' practice, taking over the gym as they dance ("Shipoopi"). Harold grabs Marian to dance with her, and all the teenagers join in. At the end of the dance, the Mayor angrily denounces Tommy's relationship with his daughter. Regarding Winthrop's cornet, Marian later questions Harold about his claim that "you don't have to bother with thenotes". He explains that this is what he calls "The Think System", and he arranges to call on Marian to discuss it. The town ladies ask Marian to join their dance committee, since she was "so dear dancing the Shipoopi" with Professor Hill ("Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" [Reprise]). They have reversed their opinions about her books, and they eagerly tell her that "the Professor told us to read those books, and we simply adored them all!"
That night, the school board tries to collect Harold's credentials again, but he gets them to sing again and slips away ("Lida Rose"). Marian, meanwhile, is sitting on her front porch thinking of Harold ("Will I Ever Tell You?"). Winthrop returns home after spending time with Harold and tells Marian and Mrs. Paroo about Harold's hometown ("Gary, Indiana"). As Marian waits alone for Harold, traveling salesman Charlie Cowell enters with evidence against Harold, hoping to tell Mayor Shinn. He only has a few minutes before his train leaves, but stops to flirt with Marian. She delays him so he won't have time to deliver the evidence, eventually kissing him. As the train whistle blows, she pushes him away. Charlie angrily tells Marian that Harold has a girl in "every county in Illinois, and he's taken it from every one of them – and that's102 counties!"
Harold arrives, and after he reminds her of the untrue rumors he's heard about her, she convinces herself that Charlie invented everything he told her. They agree to meet at the footbridge, where Marian tells him the difference he's made in her life ("Till There Was You"). Marcellus interrupts and tells Harold that the uniforms have arrived. He urges Harold to take the money and run, but Harold refuses to leave, insisting, "I've come up through the ranks... and I'm not resigning without my commission". He returns to Marian, who tells him that she has known that he is a fraud since the third day after he arrived. (Harold earlier claimed to have graduated from the Gary Conservatory in 1905, but Gary, Indiana, was not founded until 1906.) Because she loves him, she gives him the incriminating page out of theIndiana State Educational Journal. She leaves, promising to see him later at the Sociable. With his schemes for the boys' band and Marian proceeding even better than planned, Harold confidently sings "Seventy-Six Trombones". As he overhears Marian singing "Goodnight My Someone", Harold suddenly realizes that he is in love with Marian; he and Marian sing a snatch of each other's songs.
Meanwhile, Charlie Cowell, who has missed his train, arrives at the ice cream social and denounces Harold as a fraud. The townspeople begin an agitated search for Harold. Winthrop is heartbroken and tells Harold that he wishes Harold had never come to River City. But Marian tells Winthrop that she believes everything Harold ever said, for it did come true in the way every kid in town talked and acted that summer. She and Winthrop urge Harold to get away. He chooses to stay and tells Marian that he never really fell in love until he met her ("Till There Was You" [Reprise]). The constable then handcuffs Harold and leads him away.
Mayor Shinn leads a meeting in the high school gym to decide what to do with Harold, asking, "Where's the band?Where's the band?" Marian defends Harold. Tommy enters as a drum major, followed by the boys in uniform with their instruments. Marian urges Harold to lead the River City Boys' Band inBeethoven'sMinuet in G. Despite the boys' limited musical ability, the parents in the audience are nonetheless enraptured by the sight of their children playing music. Even Mayor Shinn is won over, and, as the townspeople cheer, Harold is released into Marian's arms ("Finale").
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Notes:
As this musical concerns amarching band, the orchestration for several of the numbers includes band instruments.[38][39]
"Lida Rose" and "Will I Ever Tell You", sung first separately and then simultaneously, are examples of Broadway counterpoint (songs with separate lyrics and separate melodies that harmonize and are designed to be sung together). Similarly, "Pickalittle" and "Good Night Ladies" are also sung first separately, and then in counterpoint. Willson's counterpoint is lampooned, along with two counterpoint song pairs fromIrving Berlin musicals, in the 1959 musicalLittle Mary Sunshine, wherethree counterpoint songs are combined: "Playing Croquet," "Swinging" and "How Do You Do?" "Goodnight, My Someone" is the same tune, in waltz time, as the march-tempo "Seventy-six Trombones".[40]
In the 1962 movie,[41] the 1980 and 2000 revivals,[42] and some amateur and regional productions, "Gary, Indiana" is sung in Act 1 by Harold (1962 movie) and Mrs. Paroo (between "Marian the Librarian" and "My White Knight"), with Winthrop singing a reprise of it in Act 2 (with Mrs. Paroo and Marian Paroo in 2000).[citation needed]
| Character | Broadway | West End | Broadway Revival | Broadway Revival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1961 | 2000 | 2022 | |
| Prof. Harold Hill | Robert Preston | Van Johnson | Craig Bierko | Hugh Jackman |
| Marian Paroo | Barbara Cook | Patricia Lambert | Rebecca Luker | Sutton Foster |
| Marcellus Washburn | Iggie Wolfington | Bernard Spear | Max Casella | Shuler Hensley |
| Mayor Shinn | David Burns | C. Denier Warren | Paul Benedict | Jefferson Mays |
| Eulalie Shinn | Helen Raymond | Nan Munro | Ruth Williamson | Jayne Houdyshell |
| Mrs. Paroo | Pert Kelton | Ruth Kettlewell | Katherine McGrath | Marie Mullen |
| Winthrop Paroo | Eddie Hodges | Dennis Waterman | Michael Phelan | Benjamin Pajak |
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Harold Hill | Aconfidence man who pretends to be a traveling salesman and professor of music |
| Marian Paroo | The town librarian and part-time piano teacher |
| Marcellus Washburn | Harold's old friend and formershill, who now lives in River City |
| Mayor George Shinn | A pompous politician who is suspicious of Hill |
| Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn | The mayor's wife |
| Mrs. Paroo | Marian's widowed, Irish immigrant mother |
| Winthrop Paroo | Marian's shy, younger brother wholisps |
| Character | Description | Original Broadway performer |
|---|---|---|
| The School Board (Barbershop Quartet) | Four bickering local businessmen united as singers by Hill (Olin Britt, Oliver Hix, Ewart Dunlop and Jacey Squires) | Bill Spangenberg, Wayne Ward, Al Shea and Vern Reed (The Buffalo Bills) |
| Pickalittle Ladies | Eulalie's four gossipy friends (Alma Hix, Mrs. Squires, Ethel Toffelmier and Maud Dunlop) | Adnia Rice, Martha Flynn,Peggy Mondo and Elaine Swann |
| Tommy Djilas | A young man "from the wrong side of town"; secretly dating Zaneeta Shinn | Danny Carroll |
| Zaneeta Shinn | The mayor's oldest daughter; secretly dating Tommy Djilas | Dusty Worrall |
| Charlie Cowell | An anvil salesman who tries to expose Hill as a fraud and con man | Paul Reed |
| Constable Locke | The town peace officer | Carl Nicholas |
| Amaryllis | Marian's young piano student | Marilyn Siegel |
TheMusic Man is set in the fictional town of River City, Iowa, in 1912. The town is based in large part on Willson's birthplace,Mason City, Iowa, and many of the musical's characters are based on people that Willson observed in the town.[43] The "river" in River City is probably theMississippi River nearDavenport, Iowa: the Rock Island conductor's announcing "River City, Iowa! Cigarettes illegal in this state" implies crossing the Mississippi fromRock Island, Illinois, into Iowa.[citation needed]
The musical includes numerous references to popular culture of the time. For example, in making his pitch, Harold Hill lists popular musicians and composers:Gilmore,Pat Conway,Giuseppe Creatore,W.C. Handy andJohn Philip Sousa.[44] Some of the cultural references are anachronistic: "Trouble" contains references to bothCaptain Billy's Whiz Bang, a monthly humor magazine that did not begin publication until October 1919, and the nonalcoholic "near-beer"Bevo, which was first brewed in 1916.[45][46] In addition,Rafael Méndez (referred to by Hill as "O'Mendez," a great "Irish" trumpeter) was six years old in 1912.[47]
The first recording of "Till There Was You" was released before the original cast album version. Promotional copies of the 45 rpm single, Capitol P3847, were released on November 26, 1957, even before the Broadway production had premiered. Produced byNelson Riddle, it featured his orchestra and 17-year-old vocalistSue Raney.
Theoriginal cast recording was released byCapitol Records on January 20, 1958, instereophonic &monaural versions and held the #1 spot on theBillboard charts for twelve weeks, remaining on the charts for a total of 245 weeks. Thecast album was awarded "Best Original Cast Album" at the firstGrammy Awards ceremony in 1958 and was inducted in 1998 as a Grammy Hall of Fame Award winner.[48]
In 1959, jazz composer and arrangerJimmy Giuffre releasedJimmy Giuffre and His Music Men Play The Music Man, consisting of jazz arrangements of tunes from the musical.[49] "Till There Was You" was covered byAnita Bryant in 1959 as a single forCarlton Records, reaching No. 30 on theBillboard Hot 100.[50]The Beatles covered "Till There Was You" on their 1963 albumWith the Beatles (issued onMeet the Beatles! in the United States). Rosemary Willson later toldThe New York Times that her husband's estate had received more money from the royalties of the Beatles' recordings of "Till There Was You" than it did from the musical's original production.[51]
A cast recording featuring the 2022 revival cast was recorded atManhattan Center and was released on December 9, 2022 by Accidental Jacket Entertainment, produced by Robert Sher, Brian Gillet and Huck Walton.[52]
Preston starred in the1962 film adaptation, withShirley Jones as Marian,Buddy Hackett as Marcellus,Hermione Gingold as Mrs. Shinn andRon Howard as Winthrop.[53]
The success of the 2000 stage revival prompted a2003 television film starringMatthew Broderick as Hill andKristin Chenoweth as Marian, withVictor Garber as Mayor Shinn,Debra Monk as Mrs. Paroo andMolly Shannon as Mrs. Shinn.
ThoughWest Side Story had opened nearly three months earlier,The Music Man captured audiences, critics and five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.Steven Suskin wrote that it was one of only eight musicals that opened on Broadway between 1943 and 1964 to "unanimous raves from the major first-night newspaper critics".[54]The New York Times theatre criticBrooks Atkinson wrote in his review "IfMark Twain could have collaborated withVachel Lindsay, they might have devised a rhythmic lark likeThe Music Man, which is as American as apple pie and a Fourth of July oration....The Music Man is a marvelous show, rooted in wholesome and comic tradition."[55]
Walter Kerr of theHerald Tribune glowingly described the opening scene of the musical: "It's the beat that does it. The overture ofThe Music Man drives off with a couple of good, shrill whistles and a heave-ho blast from half the brass in the pit, with the heartier trombonists lurching to their feet in a blare of enthusiasm. The curtain sails up to disclose the most energetic engine on the Rock Island Railroad (circa 1912) hurtling across the proscenium with real smoke pouring out of its smokestack and real steam rolling along the rails".[3] Kerr called Preston "indefatigable: he's got zest and gusto and a great big grin for another slam-bang march tune".[3] Robert Coleman of theNew York Daily Mirror wrote that the producer "made a 10-strike in landing Robert Preston for the title role", stating that Preston "paces the piece dynamically, acts ingratiatingly, sings as if he'd been doing it all his life, and offers steps that would score on the cards of dance judges".[3]
Frank Aston of theNew York World-Telegram and Sun declared "It deserves to run at least a decade", especially praising Barbara Cook's performance as Marian: "If all our stack-tenders looked, sang, danced, and acted like Miss Barbara, this nation's book learning would be overwhelming".[3] John Chapman of theDaily News pronouncedThe Music Man "one of the few great musical comedies of the last 26 years", stating thatOf Thee I Sing (1931) "set a standard for fun and invention which has seldom been reached. Its equal arrived in 1950 –Guys and Dolls – and I would say thatThe Music Man ranks with these two".[3] In theJournal-American, John McClain deemed the show "a whopping hit. This salute by Meredith Willson to his native Iowa will make evenOklahoma! look to its laurels".[3]
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The Music Man's popularity has led to its being mentioned, quoted, parodied or pastiched in a number of media, including television, films and popular music.
The Music Man has been parodied in a number of TV shows, includingThe Simpsons episode "Marge vs. the Monorail", written byConan O'Brien. At some point during the second Broadway revival, O'Brien was approached about playing the role of Harold Hill for a brief run, but he ultimately could not fit it into his schedule. He says, on the DVD commentary track for the aforementionedSimpsons episode, that it was the hardest choice he's ever had to make professionally, becauseThe Music Man is one of his favorites. O'Brien did, however, as host of the2006 Emmy Awards, sing a parody version of "Ya Got Trouble" in his opening monologue targetingNBC and their slide in the ratings.
The television programFamily Guy has parodied the musical at least three times. In the episode "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows", Lois chastises Brian's high standards in a spoof of "Piano Lesson". In another episode, "Patriot Games", Peter showboats after scoring a touchdown by leading a stadium full of people in a rendition of "Shipoopi", complete with choreography from the film. In Episode 22 ofBoston Legal, "Men to Boys", Alan Shore sings a parody of the song "Trouble" to convince patrons of a restaurant not to eat the salmon. SeveralMusic Man songs were used inAlly McBeal, for example in the season 2 episode "Sex, Lies and Politics" in which lawyer John Cage spurs the jury into singing "Ya Got Trouble" with him.[56] Season 2 Episode 15 (2012), "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", of the TV showMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, makes numerous allusions toThe Music Man, including a song based on "Ya Got Trouble".[57]
MSNBC'sKeith Olbermann has numerous times referred toFox News TV hostGlenn Beck as "Harold Hill" on the air.[58][59][60]
Robert Hanson stars in a community theater production ofThe Music Man in the Netflix original showGrace and Frankie.
In the 1960 filmThe Apartment,Jack Lemmon's character is given tickets to the show but is stood up at the Majestic Theatre. InRomy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Michele sings "The Wells Fargo Wagon". The next year, inThe Wedding Singer (1998), Robbie teaches Rosie to sing "'Til There Was You" for her 50th wedding anniversary.
The 2006mockumentary/documentaryPittsburgh centers on actorJeff Goldblum as he attempts to secure agreen card for his Canadian actor/singer/dancer girlfriend,Catherine Wreford, by appearing with her as the leads in a summerregional theatre production ofThe Music Man in Goldblum's hometown ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The political satire group theCapitol Steps parodies numerous songs from musicals, includingThe Music Man.[citation needed] To evoke turn of the 20th centuryMain Street USA at some of its theme parks around the world,Walt Disney Parks and Resorts uses songs from the show, including "76 Trombones" and "Wells Fargo Wagon".[61]Bill Hayes parodied "Rock Island" in a 1959 industrial musicalGood News About Olds written byMax Hodge, with Oldsmobile product terminology serving as the "whatayatalk".[62]
The North Iowa Band Festival inMason City, Iowa, is a yearly event celebrating music with a special emphasis on marching bands. Willson returned several times to his home town of Mason City during the 1950s to participate in the event, including leading the "Big Parade", and the stars of the film version participated in the event in 1962.[63]
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Robert Preston | Won | ||
| Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Barbara Cook | Won | ||
| Best Featured Actor in a Musical | David Burns | Won | ||
| Iggie Wolfington | Nominated | |||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Morton DaCosta | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Onna White | Nominated | ||
| Best Conductor and Musical Director | Herbert Greene | Won | ||
| Best Stage Technician | Sammy Knapp | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Eddie Hodges | Won | ||
| New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards[64] | Best Musical | Meredith Willson | Won | |
| 1959 | Tony Award | Best Stage Technician | Sammy Knapp | Won |
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Theatre World Award | Meg Bussert | Won | |
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Tony Award[65] | Best Revival of a Musical | Dodger Theatricals,The John F. Kennedy Center, Elizabeth Williams, Anita Waxman, Kardana-Swinsky Productions, Lorie Cowen Levy, Dede Harris | Nominated |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Craig Bierko | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Rebecca Luker | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Susan Stroman | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Nominated | |||
| Best Orchestrations | Doug Besterman | Nominated | ||
| Best Scenic Design | Thomas Lynch | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | William Ivey Long | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Craig Bierko | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Rebecca Luker | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Susan Stroman | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Choreography | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Orchestrations | Doug Besterman | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Set Design | Thomas Lynch | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design | William Ivey Long | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Craig Bierko | Won | ||
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ||||
| Tony Awards[32] | ||||
| Best Revival of a Musical | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor in a Musical | Hugh Jackman | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Sutton Foster | Nominated | ||
| Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Jayne Houdyshell | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design of a Musical | Santo Loquasto | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Warren Carlyle | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Awards[66] | Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical | Santo Loquasto | Nominated | |
| Drama League Awards[67] | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Jerry Zaks | Nominated | ||
| Distinguished Performance | Sutton Foster | Won | ||
| Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award | Hugh Jackman | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Awards[68] | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Choreography | Warren Carlyle | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | Santo Loquasto | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award[34] | Best Debut Ensemble | Won | ||
| Chita Rivera Awards[69] | Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show | Warren Carlyle | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Show | Hugh Jackman | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show | Sutton Foster | Nominated | ||
'Ya Got Trouble' (Meredith Wilson) from 'The Music Man,' performed by Peter MacNicol and the jury
