"The Music Man' at the Walnut

When Meredith Willson's The Music Man won the Tony Award as the best musical of 1957-58, many Broadway aficionados were outraged. That honor, they felt, should have gone to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's more innovative West Side Story.

Since both shows are outstanding examples of the American music theater, a tie might have been appropriate. West Side Story set Romeo and Juliet in the contemporary world, attempting to make the story real; but its polite rules for a teen gang rumble seem decidedly unreal in the 21st Century.

The Music Man, on the other hand, has aged gracefully. Meredith Willson's corn-fed vision of small-town Iowa— based on his own childhood, circa 1912—was a fantasy even when he wrote it. The show— and the Walnut's current revival— lovingly recapture a spirit of bygone America.

If you insisted on literal realism, you'd note that Professor Harold Hill claims to graduate from the Gary Conservatory of Music in "ought-five" (1905) and sings wistfully of Gary, Indiana as "the town that knew me when"; yet in fact the real city of Gary, Indiana wasn't founded until 1906. And it's anachronistic when the show displays Victorian customs and the costumes (Queen Victoria died in 1901), not to mention when Willson inserts the 1867 song "Good Night, Ladies."

Tarkington's cousin

Forget such realism; this is a fairy tale. It never pretended to be anything else. River City, Iowa, represents the America that almost everyone wishes they could remember. It's not far away from the old-fashioned Midwest of his Booth Tarkington's Penrod novels, written between 1914 and 1931.

The Music Man accomplishes what Oklahoma! achieved in 1943: It conjures up an inspirational former way of life to remind modern Americans of the glories of their past.

The plot, you will recall, concerns the con man Harold Hill, who sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk, then skips town with their cash without providing their promised music lessons. Only the local librarian and piano teacher, Marian, sees through his ruse. But when Hill's dazzling salesmanship helps her lisping younger brother overcome his insecurities, Marian begins to fall in love with Harold.

Sophisticated music

One of Music Man's virtues is the sophistication lurking beneath the homespun naiveté. Willson, a classically trained musician, wrote Marian's theme song, "Goodnight, My Someone," in waltz time to the same melody as Hill's theme, the march-tempo "Seventy-six Trombones." "Lida Rose" and "Will I Ever Tell You" have separate lyrics and separate melodies that harmonize and are designed to be sung together, as are "Pick A Little" and "Good Night Ladies."

Jeffrey Coon brought a sweetness and charm to Hill that's far removed from the Robert Preston prototype, which was more of a shyster and cynic. Coon used his rich singing voice to win Marian and the audience, especially with the ballad "'Til There Was You." Director Marc Robin also turned Coon into a flashier dancer than most stage Harold Hills.

Jennifer Hope Wills demonstrated the requisite spunk for Marian, and her top notes in "My White Knight" were thrilling. On opening night, however, she suffered some intonation problems— surprising for someone who played Christine in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.

Dazzling dancers

Director and choreographer Marc Robin led a colorful group of supporting players, ranging in age from six to mid-60s. The kids— as well as the dazzling 20-somethings Sarah Meahl and Kevin Munhall— were amazingly precocious with their singing and dancing.

Bill Van Horn created a colorful Mayor Shinn and Alene Robertson was irresistibly droll as the mayor's wife. Fran Prisco, a Philadelphia treasure, was a standout Marcellus, especially singing and dancing the show-stopping "Shipoopi." Randall Frizado, Chuck Ragsdale, Joseph Torello and Nicholas F. Saverine were four excellent character actors who then formed a barbershop quartet. Vincent Crocilla, age seven, was extroverted and poised as Marian's young brother, Winthrop, who belted "Gary, Indiana."