The Music Man : Fan Page

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Re above Paul O'Brien "liked" my replies...
and also made a comment --

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I've been having some conversations with Benjamin Pajak ( Winthrop) --

and he decided to post one of my responses on his Instagram Stories.

www.instagram.com/stories/direct/2990486124175001421_34823538601/

For ease of reading --

bajph1
To me, this revival made the theme of a town coming into its own a reality - through a "Pied Piper" with initial bad intentions but also finding himself changed for the better, a town in disarray as far as its sense of community is concerned, and Prof Harold Hill appealing to the young minds (and their appreciation of music) in his call for harmony. To me, the use of "76 Trombones" to create the sense of harmony, as the band leader showed how each instrument, each band member, can be part of a whole group that works as one -- beautiful metaphor as far as I am concerned. And the story of Winthrop, starting with his sad outlook blossoming into a boy who has found the joys of boyhood and family is only second to the story of a wayward con man finding his own true self through the appeal of an unlikely woman - how beautifully these stories were laid out. I have seen the show several times, and each time, the realization of the sense of upliftment that the show brings became even more pronounced. Thanks to all!

Jo

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I followed the other replies before this one --

why would they fault TMM for the failure of others.

It is likely that these people have not seen this TMM revival. They do not realize that this show is very, very successful because it brings out a sense of joy and upliftment, especially coming after the sadness brought on by the pandemic. They do not know that it is not just Jackman as a show magnet but the show itself is such a revelation of the sense of community that is regained, of a little boy who found the joys of boyhood again, and the story of 2 unlikely souls who found their true selves in each other. It is a period Americana story that is more fulfilling than (maybe) the historical insights from Hamilton, because it is something that many may have experienced in their own small communities. It is this sense of identifying with the story that gives it its universal appeal.

And of course there is the magic on stage that is HUGH JACKMAN!

Jo

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Chance to win a WINDOW CARD or a PLAYBILL signed by the cast!

http://instagram.com/p/CmKFTUUOVVM

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A man from Iowa writes a love-letter review of THE MUSIC MAN, current resident at the Winter Garden Theatre!

'The Music Man' still trumpets for Iowa, thanks to Meredith Willson's genius, Hugh Jackman's talent
Dick HakesSpecial to the Register




Hugh Jackman is deep in trouble onstage at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City.

But not the kind you might think.

From my seat in the 14th row, I watch this international “Wolverine” mega-star roll flawlessly through the classic “Ya Got Trouble” scene from “The Music Man” as he portrays the shyster Professor Harold Hill.

Hugh Jackman arrives on Sept. 7 for a screening of the film "The Son" as part of the 79th Venice International Film Festival at Lido di Venezia in Venice, Italy.
He skillfully works the gullible residents of a small Iowa town into a fever, warning them a new pool table in town will lead to the ruination of their kids. I’m thinking this rapid-fire, pulsating monologue may have been the world’s first big rap song a half century ahead of its time.

Kids will be “fritterin' away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!” Jackman shouts. Next up, he warns, will be smoking “tailor-made cigarettes” and “covering up a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen.”


Pretty soon the townspeople chant “trouble, trouble, trouble” and the stage erupts with a perfectly choreographed dance frenzy as only Broadway can provide. Jackman happily rules the roost as the congenial conman and chief instigator of this mayhem.

The Winter Garden crowd ― another sell-out at 1,500 strong with some choice tickets in the $700 range ― responds with an appreciative roar through all of this, at some points even clapping in sync with the songs.

I did not know New Yorkers did that kind of thing, but I guess they do.




Sutton Foster, Benjamin Pajak, Hugh Jackman and the cast of "The Music Man."
It is clear Jackman has won over this big city audience just like he manipulated the small-town rubes onstage. His wildly popular performance with blockbuster reviews has been going on here since last February.

At this point in the show, I am now beaming. I want to stand up in the theater and shout, “I’m from Iowa!”

I want to shriek to the Manhattanites: “That’s our story on stage and Meredith Willson was our guy!”

Thankfully, my companions intervene.

Songs still enthrall audiences young and old
On my left is my 20-year-old granddaughter, a transplant from Japan now seeking her life and fortune in this city. I had feared she might find “The Music Man” too corny for her tastes, which of late include performers way off my radar with names like Sueco and Lubalin.



But I relax when I see her enthralled at what unfolds onstage. She whispers “amazing” under her breath, and later I see her jaw drop when Jackman manipulates the four city councilmen into a pitch-perfect barbershop quartet ― a brand of old-time music I doubt she has heard much of before.

She is dazzled again when “Pick-A-Little” and “Goodnight, Ladies” blend the male quartet with the female gossips of the town in a clever song-coupling technique showcased by Willson twice during the musical.

Hugh Jackman has starred through most of 2022 in the Meredith Willson musical "The Music Man" at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City.
Beside me on the right, my wife of 52 years clutches my hand when Jackman’s co-star Sutton Foster, as Marian the Librarian, steps into the spotlight for her “Goodnight, My Someone” solo.

Both of us get emotional as the sweet melody floats through this ornate, historic theater. We are transported some 30 years back to when our daughter sang this role at Storm Lake High. A generation before that, my own Laurens High School staged it.





In fact, what Iowa high school drama department worth its salt does not revive “Music Man” at least once every other decade?

Jackman soon launches into “76 Trombones,” perhaps one of the most recognizable and rousing marching band anthems ever written. It is no wonder it boils the blood. Willson was a piccolo virtuoso in John Philip Sousa’s band and later composed fight songs for the Hawkeyes, Iowa State University and his own Mason City High School.

The parade gets this audience practically marching in their seats. I decide I now love this responsive crowd and the entire city.

X-Men movie cultists revere Jackman as the spike-fingered mutant who holds a Guinness World Record for “longest career as a live-action Marvel character.” The rest of us appreciate his musical roles in movies like “The Greatest Showman” and “Les Misérables.”

Hugh Jackman stars in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
Toward the end of this show, he strides onstage in a brilliantly white, tailored, three-piece suit to put some serious moves on Foster. This produces an audible gasp from the females in the auditorium, including the two flanking me. I learn he was named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine in 2008 and now I worry either of my companions might run away with him given the chance.

'The Music Man' showcases 'an honest, very human, just plain nice Iowa'
After standing ovations, Jackman thanked the audience and made us laugh. He then in what is known as a “curtain appeal” auctioned the two straw “boater” hats he had worn during the performance, autographed of course. In about two minutes, he sold them both for a total of $30,000 for the benefit of the nonprofit Broadway Cares organization. More delighted gasps around the room.


We found out later this was chicken feed. At another curtain appeal, Nicole Kidman bought one of the hats for $100,000. Aussies apparently stick together. Jackman supports dozens of other charities as well.

But when the show was over and the lights came on, what struck me most was this: A mega-famous, talented showman from Down Under ― about as far as you can get from here ― ends up joining forces with an Iowa musical genius from a past century to promote our state to the world in 2022.

Sure, there were lines in the musical about “by-God stubborn” Iowans, and most of the townspeople were goofy. And frankly, some references deemed offensive were said to be carefully sanitized or eliminated.

But there were also great music, romance, fun and family amid the cornfields and crickets. The work showcased an honest, very human, just plain nice Iowa where the people sing in the streets that they would “give you our shirt and a back to go with it” if you needed it.

Willson once called the work “my gift to my home state.” How amazing to think it is still trumpeting for Iowa some seven decades later.



“Music Man” has been the primo ticket on Broadway all year, and Jackman only recently extended his revival performance through Jan. 15 at the Winter Garden.

Get there if you possibly can before it’s over, and be Iowa proud.

But please remain seated.

Dick Hakes is a retired weekly newspaper editor, North Liberty freelance writer and fan of musical theater.

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Available on BroadwayUpClose --





The uniform belongs to Prof Harold Hill... but the cornet is Winthrop's
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From a journalist of Hollywood Reporter --

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Another link to Hollywood --

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