The Music Man : Show Development and Promotion

[jo]

Entire Interview under "Multi-topic Interview"

Will reprint only parts pertinent to The Music Man.

Apr 24, 2020 11:16:04 GMT -5 jo said:

Great and very informative interview covering  --

*Bad Education
*Reminiscence - in detail
*The Music Man - more detailed than in TV interviews

*Working with directors
*Wish list director to work with
*Life in quarantine

Collider has written very interesting interviews with Hugh over the years.


collider.com/hugh-jackman-interview-bad-education-the-music-man-reminiscence/


Will break this up into separate topics for easier reading --

Hugh Jackman on HBO’s ‘Bad Teacher’, Quarantine Breadmaking Tips, and Quentin Tarantino
by Christina Radish April 24, 2020



Have you had conversations about what to do with The Music Man?

JACKMAN: For sure. Yeah, we’re talking about it, all the time. Obviously, safety and what is best for people’s health is number one. It’s a bit about my pay grade to really make the decisions of when. We are due to start rehearsals on June 29, so it’s a little up in the air ‘cause we’re not actually seeing an audience until September and opening in October. So, we don’t know what’s gonna happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if it just pushes back a little, but hopefully not too long.


I was curious about whether you’d try rehearsing over Zoom from home, or how that was going to work.

JACKMAN: Yeah. I’ve been FaceTiming with my musical director and singing with him quite a lot. I’ve also been FaceTiming with my choreographer. Just before we closed, we did a workshop, Sutton [Foster] and myself, and learned a lot of the dances. I have time and I have space here, luckily enough, to do some dancing, so I’ve been doing quite a bit of that.

[jo]

When talking to Michael Riedel and Len Berman on their radio show --

Later, Jackman talks next steps when it comes to him starring in the Broadway musical “Music Man” and when it might start. He told Len and Michael “No one really knows when the show will begin, we are following the Governor's lead”.

[jo]

www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2020/04/29/governor-cuomo-snubs-broadway-in-planning-new-york-rebound/#310b1e442c74


Excerpts --

Last week, while putting together the advisory board, Governor Cuomo asked prolific producer Scott Rudin and theater owner James L. Nederlander to share their ideas for raising the curtain again on Broadway.

Maybe because Scott Rudin has wide contacts in New York entertainment, business and political circles, that is why his judgment of when The Music Man might start serious preparations ( rehearsals) may represent practical insights?

[jo]

Former Variety and the International Herald Tribune ( now international edition of the NYTimes) theatre critic Matt Wolf thinks theatre will be back but arguably better with smaller straight play productions --

www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/theater/theater-after-lockdown.html

While theater openings are out of the question for now, when it comes time to start up again, it will be much easier for smaller productions than for large ones. The Hampstead Theater might just have stumbled on a model for recovery.


Small doesn’t have to mean inconsequential: Many writers deliver weighty plays with tiny casts. Pinter, for instance, the Hampstead’s opening choice, seems just the ticket for now. The Nobel laureate’s tightly focused plays mine the shifting social and sexual dynamics between individuals in their own emotional straitjackets (or psychic lockdowns, if you will), and such masterworks as “Betrayal,” No Man’s Land,” and “Old Times” all require casts of four or less. (“Betrayal,” as it happens, gets performed a lot.)

It depends on what drives a theatregoer to see a theatre production.

In the case of THE MUSIC MAN, it will be like a celebration for the theatregoer (and with the group he goes to see it with). Given that it will come out after this earthshaking health crisis that the world is undergoing now … as well as the personal circumstance wrought by the crisis on the theatregoer -- he/she will return, presumably for the first foray back to seeing live theatre, to something that celebrates life! No better show than a classic like The Music Man! When they start playing "Seventy-six Trombones" - that will "lead a big parade" not physically within the confines of the Winter Garden but in all the hearts of the theatregoers so gathered!


Jo

[jo]

May 4, 2020 4:02:21 GMT -5 jo said:

www.msn.com/en-ph/entertainment/music/west-end-theatres-unlikely-to-reopen-before-next-year-says-cameron-mackintosh/ar-BB13z3dO?ocid=spartandhp

West End theatres unlikely to reopen before next year, says Cameron Mackintosh

Zoe Paskett 1 hr ago

Theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh said that theatres are unlikely to stage major shows until “early next year”.
Speaking on the Michael Ball Show on Radio 2, he said that social distancing due to the pandemic would mean the West End and Broadway would be “the last public entertainment to go back”.


All West End theatres have been closed since March 16, with shows officially cancelled up until May 31. This is certain to be extended with the Prime Minister likely to extend the lockdown this week.


Mackintosh said that all the major producers “both sides of the Atlantic” are talking to each other: “The truth is until social distancing doesn't exist anymore, we can't even plan to reopen.” He added that once it has been lifted, it will take “four to five months” to start producing musicals again.

"We will be back, but we need time to get back. If we don't hear in a few weeks, I think the truth is we won't be able to come back until early next year. The longer it is until we can say social distancing is gone, the longer it'll be for the theatre to come back."

© Provided by Evening Standard image

How the coronavirus closures will affect London's theatres

He rejected the idea of inputting social distancing measures in productions at his theatres saying: “You can’t change the staging...One Day More? Can you imagine trying to do that six feet apart? It wouldn’t be any good. And an audience going together and being spaced out would be a horrible experience. It’s the experience that makes it so unique.”
“We want the audience to feel safe and we want the actors to feel safe.”

As well as producing the West End’s biggest musicals including Les Misérables, the Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton, Mackintosh owns a number of theatres. He said this was particularly affected, with “millions and millions” of pounds being lost.

“We know it’s going to get back eventually but it takes months and months to get huge shows like the ones we do up. So my heart goes out to all the wonderful artists and musicians and everyone who works in the theatre who are just sitting there waiting to practice their brilliant arts.”

[jo]

I listened to Michael's BBC interview with Cameron Mackintosh.

Not mentioned in the article is that he has or will open Phantom in South Korea because it is already safe to do that there.

Live theatre will not work with social distancing. It will have to be when we get back to how it was before


Jo

[jo]

I wonder when we will get a more categorical indication of a realistic opening for THE MUSIC MAN. We all realize the dilemma of the decision to be made by Rudin et al -- but it would be appreciated if early word can be given, even if it just to tell the theatregoers that the original Previews opening date is NOT going to happen.

Re tickets already paid for --

I am sure they will work out what is fair to both theatregoers and the production.

I think the issue is if they will simply give full refunds, or give an incentive for a rebooking ( such as the 10% discount given to ticketholders when Broadway theatres were closed), or whatever they can think of that will be mutually beneficial.

One of the real issues could be how long Hugh Jackman is committed to stay with the production. If there is a significant delay in the opening - will he extend his original commitment … or does he have other commitments after the original end--of-contract which may have to be complied with? Maybe a film offer?

Let's hope things will turn out better than expected.

Jo

[jo]

Will he be discussing his theatre career, too? Including incoming role in THE MUSIC MAN?

[jo]

In the recent 92Y session with Hugh -- he was asked about the status of The Music Man

*He said it is going to happen, but while originally scheduled to start rehearsals by end-June, he thinks there might be some pushing back of the schedule.

*He said he has been doing some online discussions/practicing with Warren and Patrick V.

*He said he signed a contract for one year.

*He showed off a strawboat hat identified with the character of Harold Hill, as portrayed by Robert Preston. Maybe he has a song-and-dance number using the hat as prop


Jo

[jo]

It was the Mother's Day Edition for STARS IN THE HOUSE.

One of the moms featured was Sutton Foster.

Of course there was much discussion on how families are coping. When Sutton was asked how she is explaining the whole situation to her 3-year old, she said she tells her "The world is sick...New York City is sick... -- that really hit hard - because we are all in this tragedy together!

On a lighter note -- guest host Andrea Martin asked her if there is a special lullaby she sings to her daughter at bedtime.

Sutton said it was really her non-musical husband Ted who first sang it to their daughter... and then she eventually followed suit...until both sing it to her at bedtime!

She said this was before she got involved in THE MUSIC MAN.

By the time she mentioned that- I already had a hunch on what that song was. Andrea asked her to sing it -- and she said she will sing it in a low key ( befitting how one sings to a little son or daughter at bedtime) --

and true enough, it was GOODNIGHT MY SOMEONE!

Check it out towards the end of the interview --

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzZNyNovRq4

At around 20'22"



Jo

[jo]

By the way --

in case you haven't realized it -- Goodnight My Someone has the same melody as SEVENTY SIX TROMBONES, except it has a much slower tempo. Towards the end, there is a juxtaposition of both, resulting in a unplanned ( or is it?) duet

[carouselkathy]

Ha! Ha! I figured that out as a child when I first saw the film. My mother was impressed that I noticed the similarity. A precursor to being a music major in college?

[jo]

tIn his 92Y talk Hugh talked a little about how they are preparing for the show, including looking at past drafts of the original The Music Man ( some 40 of them, according to him). He said that it is possible that certain aspects which did not work then...might work now ( Could this mean new songs, maybe new production numbers, even new dialog, or new back stories?).

He said that they looked at many back materials - and if I recall right, maybe a book that traces the history of the production?

Could these references (or was he referring to the the actual book) have been what he was talking about ( which I posted on our first Music Man thread --

Sept 15, 2019 18:30:07 GMT -5 jo said:

Found this interesting set of ( maybe not) trivia about the musical The Music Man.

Who knows -- they might even re-introduce some of the original ideas for the new Broadway revival?

This website is actually dedicated to another and related musical ( The Spirit of River City, but it includes a
TRIVIA FROM THE MUSIC MAN section is the most interesting.


www.spiritofrivercity.com/musicmantrivia.html

Did you know....?


The original name of The Music Man was The Silver Triangle. Producers Cy Feuer and Ernie Martin told Willson he needed a better title. Then they were the ones that came up with The Music Man.

Frank Loesser, the creator of Guys and Dolls, beginning in 1949, encouraged Meredith to write a musical about his childhood home, Mason City. He continued to mentor Meredith, co-producing The Music Man, and publishing the songs from the show under the company, Frank Music. Frank Music is now owned by Paul McCartney.



The character Tommy Djilas’ last name came from a New York City Bulgarian delicatessen worker Willson knew.
The character Marcellus Washburn—Harold Hill’s sidekick—was the name of the manager of the Mason City B.F. Goodrich tire store in 1918.

Eulalie Shinn’s (the wife of Mayor Shin) first name came from a high school classmate of Willson’s named Eulalie Johnson.
Rosalie Willson put Meredith Willson through the dreaded five-finger exercises on the piano. This was recreated in The Music Man with Marian Paroo teaching her student Amaryllis.



As a kid in the winter, Willson and his friends would grab onto the runners of the Wells Fargo Wagon to hitch rides.
At first, in The Music Man’s book, there was a spastic boy in a wheelchair, the son of a janitor, whose daily challenges were part of the story. Finally, under pressure from producers Cy Feuer and Ernie Martin, it was Martin who said the kid would steal every scene he was in, and later, the director, Morton da Costa, dropped this boy, substituting Winthrop Paroo, who had a lisp. Winthrop was based on a kid Meredith knew from his childhood in Mason City, named Charlie Haverdegraine, who had a lisp and played harmonica very well. Meredith thought his lisp helped him play the harmonica so well, so he asked Charlie to teach him how to lisp.

The barbershop quartet in The Music Man was based on a barbershop quartet in Mason City that Meredith knew, called "The Rusty Hinges". Meredith himself was in a barbershop quartet group.



Actors that were considered for the lead in the original The Music Man (before Robert Preston landed the role) included Van Heflin, Jackie Gleason, Danny Kaye, Lloyd Bridges, Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Ray Bolger, Bert Parks, Art Carney, Jason Robards, Milton Berle, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, James Cagney, James Whitemore, Any Griffith and Phil Harris.

There’re a couple of scenes in "The Music Man" where Harold Hill keeps Tommy Djilas busy inventing a way for a piccolo player to be able to read music while playing. The way this played out in the show is identical to the real-life experience Meredith had himself as a young man with a Mr. Bushgens, who owned a harness shop in Mason City. In 1915 he fiddled with ways to make music readable to a piccolo player. One was an elaborate breastplate affair that tied in the back with several laces. Swooping out from the breastplate was a curved arm and soldered onto this a lyre to hold the music. Willson strapped it on and tried it at a rehearsal but as he marched it bobbed and the music came right out of the lyre. Then he tried an upright lyre on a wide leather buckle around the upper left biceps. But this cut off Meredith’s circulation and his left arm and fingers went numb.





Along the way, Willson wrote 40 songs for The Music Man. 22 of them were cut. They include "You Don’t Have to Kiss Me Goodnight" (sung by Tommy to Zaneeta), a partner song for "My White Knight" harmonizing with "A Sadder but Wiser Girl". "Iowuh" that had a Native American beat. "Blessings" was written during the out-of-town run in Philadelphia, but was dropped. Also dropped were "I’ve Already Started to Try to Figure Out a Way to Work To Try to Get to You", "I Found a Horseshoe", "My Baby", "Tomorrow", "Chicago", and a salesman’s version of "Ya Got Trouble".

The Willson originally wrote the tune for "Till There was You" in 1950, when it was entitled "Till I Met You".
Rosalie’s mother’s name was Lida, as was Rosalie’s favorite sister, Lida, who lived in Topeka. The song "Lida Rose" was specifically inspired by his mother and aunt.

Willson’s grandfather Alonzo established the first public library in Mason City. And his mother used to take him to the library on Saturday nights. Hence Marian the librarian.



The song that the band is exhorted to play by Harold Hill in The Music Man is Minuet in G. This song was played by Meredith’s high school band. It was the only piece they could play all the way through without stopping.



In Meredith’s book "And There I Stood with My Piccolo", he spoke of "The Spirit of ’76". Perhaps this was the origin of the number of trombones in the famous song. The painting of "The Spirit of ‘76" includes a fife player. A fife is essentially a piccolo which was Meredith’s main instrument. In the early 1950’s, Meredith did an orchestration of Frank Loesser’s "Ballad of Rodger Young"—with 76 musicians in the orchestra.





Mason City’s first high school band began in 1912, the year in which The Music Man takes place. Meredith played piccolo in this band. The band had 2 clarinets, 2 cornets, 1 euphonium, 1 tuba, 1 snare drum, 1 bass drum 1trombone and 1 alto sax.
The name Marian came from Marion McGuire, a senior in Mason City High School in 1912, and a cellist in its orchestra.
The name "Harold" for Harold Hill came from Meredith’s childhood friend Harold Keidle, with whom he played in a trio called "The Jones Brothers". The trio included Meredith’s brother Cedric, who also later played in Sousa’s band.

The Meredith Willson Residence Hall—an entire floor—opened at the Juilliard School, in October of 1990. Willson attended the school under its previous name of Damrosch School of Music.

In 1955, Meredith Willson and Walt Disney founded The Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles (now expanded to include Big Sisters and still going strong.)


The cast recording of "The Music Man" won the first Grammy Award ever issued, in 1959.


In 1950, Meredith Willson wrote a fight song for the University of Iowa, which is still played to this day. In 1953, he wrote a fight song for Iowa State University that is still also still played. .

In 1999, a commemorative stamp with Meredith’s picture on it was issued.

[jo]

Broadway shutdown extended to September 6, 2020!


www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-Broadway-Shutdown-Extends-To-September-20200512

With the ongoing suspension of Broadway performances due to COVID-19 continuing until further notice, the Broadway League is updating information regarding performance cancellations and ticketing protocol. While a date to resume performances is yet to be determined, Broadway theatres are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for performances through September 6, 2020.


"While all Broadway shows would love to resume performances as soon as possible, we need to ensure the health and well-being of everyone who comes to the theatre - behind the curtain and in front of it - before shows can return. The Broadway League's membership is working in cooperation with the theatrical unions, government officials, and health experts to determine the safest ways to restart our industry," said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League.

"Throughout this challenging time, we have been in close communication with Governor Cuomo's office and are grateful for his support and leadership as we work together to bring back this vital part of New York City's economy - and spirit."


Those holding tickets for performances through September 6, 2020 will receive an e-mail from their point of purchase with detailed information regarding refund and exchange options. Any customers holding tickets through September 6, 2020 that have not received an e-mail by May 18th are advised to contact their point of purchase for assistance after this date.
Broadway performances were suspended on March 12, 2020. At that time, 31 productions were running, including 8 new shows in previews. Additionally, 8 productions were in rehearsals preparing to open in the spring.

Off Broadway shows are also suspended through September 6, including; Anne Frank, The Musical, Black Angels Over Tuskegee, Camp: A New Musical, Drift, Frankenstein: a new musical, The Gazillion Bubble Show, The Imbible, The Imbible: Day Drinking, Jersey Boys, Little Shop of Horrors, Love Quirks, A Musical About Star Wars, Pinkalicious The Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong, Rock of Ages, Sistas: The Musical, Swing! The Musical, Trevor, Trumpilton: An American Musical Parody, and Wicked City Blues.

The Broadway League will continue to work with city and state officials to determine an appropriate date for performances to resume and will provide updates to the public as decisions are made.

[jo]

The Music Man was originally scheduled to open for Previews on September 9, 2020.

Hopefully, some form of indication from the producers can be given as to the probability of the show keeping to its original schedule.

There are fans who will be travelling beyond the tri-state and may have to cancel flights and hotel accomodations, some even from overseas.


Jo

[jo]

I guess we might get an indication if the originally scheduled official rehearsals starting June 29 start or fail to happen. Or if delayed to a definite date, that could be an indication as to when the show might be able to open for previews?


Jo

[jo]

BWW prophets are now busily making predictions


www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1122425

[jo]

This is a more incisive analysis from The Hollywood Reporter on what is in store for Broadway --

The Broadway League on Tuesday confirmed that theaters will remain dark for an additional three months, though industry insiders anticipate the reopening date remaining in flux, possibly until early 2021.

In the longest scheduled extension to date of the blackout of Broadway theaters prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade organization the Broadway League announced Tuesday that the 41 top-tier New York theaters that went dark on March 12 will remain that way at least through Sept. 6.

That's a full three months beyond the last extension, which bumped back the original April 12 end date for the closure to June 7. However, few pundits are expecting to see theaters open for business on Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, which falls on a Monday when most Broadway theaters remain dark. The situation seems likely to be re-evaluated as that date approaches, with producers and theater owners adopting a wait-and-see policy in accordance with state guidelines and other safety and economic considerations.


"No one wants to get too far ahead of the Governor on this," said one prominent producer who spoke off the record.
"While all Broadway shows would love to resume performances as soon as possible, we need to ensure the health and well-being of everyone who comes to the theater — behind the curtain and in front of it — before shows can return," said Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin in a statement Tuesday. "The Broadway League's membership is working in cooperation with the theatrical unions, government officials and health experts to determine the safest ways to restart our industry. Throughout this challenging time, we have been in close communication with Governor Cuomo's office and are grateful for his support and leadership as we work together to bring back this vital part of New York City's economy — and spirit."

The League's decision follows last week's announcement from the Society of London Theatres, extending the shutdown of live entertainment venues in the British capital through June 28. Like Broadway, that date appears to be a marker rather than a set plan for reopening. West End theaters have been canceling performances on a rolling basis, which seems certain to continue through the summer.


Broadway was the first sector in New York to impose a blanket suspension of operations on March 12 and most insiders expect it to be one of the last to come back.

While some have floated the idea of theaters reopening with socially distanced seating plans, few if any producers think that model would work given Broadway's exorbitant running costs. The more likely scenario involves temperature checks for theatergoers along with compulsory masks and gloves, no intermissions and deep-disinfectant cleaning of auditoriums between performances. But many questions remain, including how to provide adequate protection for actors in productions that don't allow for social distancing.


The famous William Goldman quote about the film industry seems especially applicable to post-pandemic Broadway: "Nobody knows anything." But the smart money seems to point to an early-2021 reopening, with anecdotal estimates ranging from January through March.

In what could turn out to be a harbinger of things to come for many of the country's stages, Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater, one of America's largest and most respected nonprofits, last week took the bold step of announcing that operations will resume with a compressed mini-season of just three productions running March-August 2021. That represents a massive reduction from the originally scheduled 11 shows, with a budget slashed from $31 million to $12.6 million. Those drastic measures make necessary allowances for the time required to build and rehearse productions, underscoring the complicated logistics for the theater sector of emerging from lockdown.



A Shugoll Research industry survey this month indicated that only 41 percent of New York theatergoers say they are likely to return when theaters resume activity, while almost one in five people, or 17 percent, say they are very unlikely. More than half those polled, or 58 percent, said they will wait at least a few months before attending a show.

When theaters went dark, the 2019-20 season was just a little beyond the midway point, with another 16 productions scheduled to open before the April 23 cutoff for 2020 Tony Awards consideration. An announcement was made March 25 that due to the coronavirus shutdown, the Tonys would be postponed to a later date to be set once Broadway resumes activity.
Two Broadway shows that had begun previews when the lights went out — Martin McDonagh's Hangmen and a revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — have already announced they will not reopen after the suspension ends. Other shows from nonprofit producers that were about to begin performances have been pushed back to next season, including Roundabout's Birthday Candles and Caroline, or Change; Lincoln Center Theater's Flying Over Sunset; and Manhattan Theatre Club's How I Learned to Drive.


That still leaves 10 incoming productions in limbo, some of which had minimal advance sales and muted buzz at the time of the shutdown, even less so now. How many of those will forge ahead with opening plans remains to be seen. Uncertainty also hangs over established shows that had started to see a slight decline in business after the initial boom period — Mean Girls, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and even Disney's Frozen among them.

Many are quietly wondering about the wisdom of coming back to half-empty houses even for long-running behemoths like The Phantom of the Opera, which relies heavily on tourism for the majority of its traffic. Even the most optimistic estimates don't anticipate the return of tourists to New York in sizable numbers before summer 2021 at the earliest.


If most of Broadway's 41 houses do reopen, the likelihood of swift financial casualties and prompt closings could mean many prime venues will sit vacant for the first time since the slump of the 1980s and early '90s. The steady growth since then, which propelled Broadway to a record $1.8 billion in grosses last season with attendance of 15 million, now inevitably seems headed for a major reset. Some industryites are asking whether this will mean renegotiating ticketing price scales, landlord percentages and union rates to bring down the prohibitive costs that put Broadway off limits to many entertainment consumers.

Losses to the sector are difficult to calculate, especially with no certainty about a reopening date. But 2019 box office grosses for mid-March through Labor Day totaled $915 million. Industry analysts generally estimate that factoring in the losses to theater-district businesses fed by the Broadway economy — hotels, restaurants, bars, parking garages, taxis and car services — means multiplying total ticket sales by three. That would peg the overall financial blow for the six-month period at a staggering $2.7 billion. At any rate, the impact on one of New York City's principal economic drivers and job pipelines will be devastating, with the fallout sure to be felt for years to come.


As for the Tony Awards, there are two principal schools of thought about which way to go.

Some are lobbying to put a cap on the partial season and present awards for the shows that opened before March 12. This, however, would handicap recent openings like West Side Story and Girl From the North Country given that not all of the Tony Nominating Committee will have seen them and certainly not the majority of voters. Shows that opened early in the season, on the other hand, like Moulin Rouge! and the limited-engagement, Tom Hiddleston-led revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, would have an advantage.

The alternate plan is to combine the truncated partial 2019-20 season with any shows that open between the resumption of Broadway operations and the late-April cutoff for 2021 Tony consideration, presenting the double awards at a ceremony in June next year. That option also has clear disadvantages for some, however, given that voters have notoriously short memories and shows like Betrayal or The Inheritance that have long closed will be ancient history by then.
Whichever route the Tonys choose to go, there are sure to be disgruntled players. But even a partial ceremony of outstanding Broadway artistry right now could serve as a much needed morale booster to a sector facing unprecedented challenges.


David Rooney
[e-mail]
@thr

[jo]

The sentiments of many --

[jo]

May 13, 2020 2:21:16 GMT -5 jo said:

deadline.com/2020/05/new-york-city-movie-theaters-reopening-and-broadway-1202932910/#comments

Broadway theaters aren’t expected to reopen in New York City for quite a long time, Deadline sources saying not before 2021.

First, as Deadline clarified today, Broadway isn’t in a shutdown through Labor Day weekend, as most media outlets falsely indicated; today’s news outlined a ticket-refund policy period through that holiday weekend. The Broadway League will follow reopening guidelines as prescribed by Cuomo’s office. Its statement today didn’t announce or speculate a reopening date.

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

From March 13, 2019!

It's good to read this article again featuring an interview with Scott Rudin which gave us the premises …and what to expect...for the revival!


www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hugh-jackman-lead-broadway-revival-music-man-1194075

CULTURE
Hugh Jackman to Lead Broadway Revival of 'The Music Man' (Exclusive)


6:00 AM PDT 3/13/2019 by David Rooney



One of the most bankable of contemporary stage stars, the Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning actor will play Harold Hill in a major 2020 production of the 1957 Meredith Willson classic.

Get ready for 76 trombones and a box office stampede.

Hugh Jackman will take on his first Broadway musical role in 16 years when he heads the cast of a major 2020 revival of The Music Man, producer Scott Rudin confirmed today. Jackman teased the announcement Tuesday with a promotional image from the production on his Twitter feed, sparking wide speculation across theater sites.


The actor will play "Professor" Harold Hill, the charismatic con man who comes to the small Iowa town of River City posing as a boys’ marching band organizer and intends to abscond with the cash he collects for musical instruments and uniforms. Prim librarian Marian sees through his scam and plans to expose him, but romantic complications ensue.

"The first musical I was ever part of was the phenomenal The Music Man," said Jackman in a statement. "The year was 1983, and I was at Knox Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. I was one of the traveling salesmen, and I think I can actually (almost) remember that unforgettable opening number! That was probably the moment when the magic of theater was born in me."


"The idea of bringing The Music Man back to Broadway has been lurking in the back of my brain for a long time, maybe even for 35 years," continued Jackman. "When Scott Rudin called me with that very idea, I was floored. To finally be doing this is a huge thrill."

"There is just no way to accurately describe the level of excitement I feel about the opportunity to present Hugh in what I think is the best role ever written for an actor in all of Broadway musical theater," added Rudin.

Unique among 21st century marquee names in his ability to straddle big-screen action franchises and old-fashioned song-and-dance roles onstage, Jackman has proved himself to be among the most reliable guarantees of blockbuster ticket sales since his Tony-winning 2003 Broadway debut in the Peter Allen bio-musical, The Boy From Oz.

The actor has appeared three times since on Broadway in limited engagements in the plays A Steady Rain (2009) and The River (2014) and the concert showcase Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway (2011), generating combined grosses of $83.4 million.



With premium pricing having significantly pumped box office earning potential in the five years since the most recent of those productions, a Jackman-led revival of a canonical property like the 1957 Meredith Willson musical promises to be massive, particularly given that the actor has signed on for a full year.


A leading New York stage star who has been absent from Broadway for the last few years is believed to be on board to play Marian and will be confirmed in the coming weeks.


Adding further luster to the production is the reassembly of the core creative team from Rudin's lavish 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly! That smash hit starred Bette Midler and earned a whopping $128.2 million in New York, before heading out on a national tour that is proving popular across the country.


Hugh Jackman on Bringing 'The Greatest Showman' to Life for Upcoming Arena Tour


Director Jerry Zaks will again handle the reins, with Warren Carlyle on board as choreographer, Santo Loquasto designing sets and costumes, Natasha Katz on lighting, Scott Lehrer on sound and David Chase on dance arrangements. Joining the team will be distinguished music veterans Jonathan Tunick, doing orchestrations, and Patrick Vaccariello as music director, a role he filled on both The Boy From Oz and Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway.


"These are great American works of art that deserve to be put on stage with as much love as you can give them," Rudin told The Hollywood Reporter. "What I learned on Dolly was that there is an enormous hunger for them from the theatergoing audience. But the hunger I think is to see these Golden Age musicals done in a Golden Age way."


"When you take on one of the 10 or so great, beloved titles, you're trying to do the urtext version of it," he continued. "That's what I think we did with Dolly and what we're going to do here. We're going to do it in a way that no one has ever seen it before. It's going to be big and beautiful and super-luxe and gorgeous and incredibly romantic, and very much in the world of why the show has lasted for 60 years."



Jackman's footprint in musicals goes far beyond his Broadway appearances. In his early career days in Australia, he starred on stage in Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast, before landing the part of Curly in an acclaimed 1998 National Theatre revival of Oklahoma! in London. He headlined a 2002 Carnegie Hall concert staging of Carousel, opposite Audra McDonald, and starred in the big-screen musicals Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. He has hosted the Tony Awards four times, winning an Emmy in 2005 for one of those emcee turns.


In May this year, Jackman will kick off a world arena tour titled The Man. The Music. The Show., backed by a live orchestra and performing songs from across his career. On the big screen, he will next be seen in Bad Education, with Allison Janney and Ray Romano.

Rudin said Jackman thought long and hard on the right musical-theater project to bring him back to Broadway, and the conversation that led to this project has been going on for about three years.


The Music Man is often ranked among the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. In his first attempt to write for the stage, Willson penned the book, music and lyrics for the show, which was six years in development. It premiered on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in 1957, winning six Tony Awards, including best musical, and running for more than three years.


"When we did Dolly, my desire was to put 1964 onstage," said Rudin. "That's what we want to do here. We want basically to put onstage an experience that is our version of what we believe people felt when they walked in to the Majestic to see The Music Man in 1957, which is that blow-the-roof-off-the-theater, blow-the-doors-off-their-hinges musical-theater hysteria that only a handful of shows have ever generated. That's the job."

Robert Preston originated the part of Harold Hill, starring opposite Barbara Cook, and went on to reprise the role in the 1962 movie version with Shirley Jones. Matthew Broderick played Hill in a 2003 TV remake, while other notable performers who have tackled the role on stage over the years include Forrest Tucker, Van Johnson, Bert Parks, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Gunton and, in the most recent Broadway revival that ran from April 2000 to Dec. 2001, Craig Bierko, Robert Sean Leonard and Eric McCormack.

Like Jackman, Rudin also has connections to the show that go way back. The Broadway premiere was a huge hit for influential producer Kermit Bloomgarden, in whose offices Rudin got his start in the theater business at age 14.
"I was obsessed with The Music Man when I was a kid," said Rudin. "I would ask him endless questions about it and spend months and months poring through his files for every single document I could find that related to The Music Man. A ton of what I learned about being a producer I learned from Kermit, and in a way, for me personally, this is kind of a valentine to him."



The revival will begin previews Sept. 9, 2020, ahead of an Oct. 22 official opening at a Shubert theatre to be announced, along with additional casting. Group ticket sales begin on June 9 this year, with single tickets available starting Sept. 15.


David Rooney
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Jo

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Reminder :


playbill.com/article/submit-your-questions-for-tony-winning-director-jerry-zaks-now

The Broadway Q&A Series
Submit Your Questions for Tony-Winning Director Jerry Zaks Now!
By Logan Culwell-Block
May 18, 2020

The director of Broadway's Mrs. Doubtfire and the upcoming The Music Man will answer your questions live on Playbill and The Growing Studio's The Broadway Q&A Series.


Jerry Zaks will be live on The Broadway Q&A Series, presented by Playbill and The Growing Studio, May 20 at 1 PM ET. The four-time Tony-winning director will answer questions about his work on Mrs. Doubtfire, Hello, Dolly!, the upcoming revival of The Music Man, and more during the hour-long chat, which will be available to view on demand following the live stream.

To submit a question for Zaks, click here. (Jo's note: Pls check out link)

Zaks' more than three decades–long career as a director on Broadway has seen him be nominated for 8 Tony Awards and win four, for his work helming productions of The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me a Tenor, Six Degrees of Separation, and Guys and Dolls. His most recent Broadway credits include the hit revival of Hello, Dolly!, A Bronx Tale, and Meteor Shower. Zaks is currently working on Mrs. Doubtfire, which had just begun previews when Broadway paused in response to the current health crisis; and the upcoming revival of The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.

The Broadway Q&A Series presents hour-long live interviews with Broadway pros on Mondays and Wednesdays, with a Friday session featuring faculty members from two major university theatre programs. All streams are hosted on Playbill.com and on Playbill's YouTube channel from 1–2 PM ET. Following the stream, interviews are available on demand at Playbill.com/BroadwayQandA.

Also scheduled to appear on the series are Marc Shaiman (May 25), Warren Carlyle (May 27), Scott Ellis (June 1), Marc Bruni (June 3), JoAnn Hunter (June 8), Sam Gold (June 10), Andy Blankenbuehler (June 15), Jack O'Brien (June 17), Bartlett Sher (June 22), Lorin Latarro (June 24), Walter Bobbie (June 29), Jerry Mitchell (July 1), Sergio Trujillo (July 6), Denis Jones (July 8), Andrew Lippa (July 13), Alex Lacamoire (July 15), Kathleen Marshall (July 22), and Stafford Arima (July 27).

The Growing Studio offers classes, training, and workshops with Broadway’s premier creatives. Faculty includes directors, choreographers, composers, music directors, producers, casting directors and agents in NYC, London, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and beyond. Visit TheGrowingStudio.com and TGS' Instagram for more information.