The Music Man
So, I've finally seen "The Music Man" on stage! Arena Stage, here in DC, opened their production of "The Music Man" last night, starring Burke Moses ("Gaston" from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway) as Prof. Hill and Kate Baldwin (Tony Award Nominee for her performance in "Finian's Rainbow") as Marian. And guys, it was AWESOME. Not that I'm gushing or anything. :)
There were some weird things (we'll get those out of the way first. :)) The director, in her notes, said that "our world for The Music Man is set in a vision of America's past with echoes of today". Great. Totally fine. However, her way of executing that vision led to some bizarre costumes. They all looked like they were from the late 20s/early 30s--the Depression, except for the fact that many of the kids were wearing blue jeans (which didn't come into fashion/widespread use by teenagers until the 1950s), and Harold was wearing those lovely suits exactly like in the movie. It was like a bizarre mash-up that for me, didn't work at all. Setting it in the Depression is fine--it would work really well during the Depression--but the mash-up didn't come across as creative, but rather lazy, like they grabbed whatever clothes they had. And during "Marian the Librarian", Marian was wearing pants! (maybe that just bothered me....)
I also didn't much care for Mayor and Mrs. Shinn. They were absolutely hilarious, but it was clear that they were mugging for the audience and making the characters over the top caricatures, which struck an odd note amidst the sincerity of the rest of the cast. Meredith Willson addresses this in a note at the beginning of the script, where he writes "The Music Man was intended to be a Valentine and not a caricature. Please do not let the actors - particularly Zaneeta, Mavor Shinn and Mrs. Shinn, who takes herself quite seriously - mug or reach for comedy effect. The Del Sarte Iadies also should be natural and sincere, never raucous, shrewish or comic per se. The humor of this piece depends upon its technical faithfulness to the real small-town Iowans of 1912 who certainly did not think they were funny at all." I felt like these actors (or maybe the director) just totally ignored that in favor of easy laughs, which was a shame. They didn't need cheap laughs--the show is plenty funny without playing it over the top--and Kate Baldwin as Marian was excellent at finding the humor in Marian and her lines, even the ones that don't seem funny at first glance.
Aside from that, though, the show was fantastic. Burke Moses was superb as Harold Hill. He played Hill as very (very!) smarmy at first, which kind of put me off, but he totally won me over because of the moments of sincerity he allowed to shine through. Like when Harold is singing "76 Trombones", the pure delight and glee on his face as he choreographed the dance and drew the children in was sincere, and very winning. Likewise, the look on his face as he presented Winthrop with his cornet and retreated to leave Winthrop with Marian and Mrs Paroo was so sweet--just happiness at having made this little boy happy. It was great--and the whole scene at the footbridge and when he allows himself to be caught...wow. I loved it. Moses was wonderful.
Similarly, Kate Baldwin’s Marian was more than an equal partner for Moses’s Hill. She really showed Marian’s growth, from a reserved spinster only dreaming of love to a fulfilled woman willing to give her heart while expecting nothing in return. That growth was great. And Baldwin's voice was clear and pure and just wonderful. I loved her "My White Knight"...wow. These two truly deserve each other--in the best sense! :) I only wish we could have seen more of them falling in love--the show is structured differently from the movie, and it kind of felt rushed--they go from tentative allies at the end of Act 1 because Winthrop starts talking, to all of a sudden Marian trying to defend Harold from Cowell. I think that (despite the amazing choreography) they didn't take advantage of "Shipoopi" to allow Harold and Marian to fall in love--their dance there really could be the way to show how they fall in love, but in this production, their dance was just more of a friendly thing, not of two possible lovers. Oh well--the footbridge scene more than made up for it. :)
The real star of the show, however, was the choreography. "Shipoopi" was so atheletic, and "Marian the Librarian" was really fun and inventive--I loved how they showed Marian's change of attitude from buttoned-up librarian to a woman with her own dreams and then back to the librarian. It was great. And "76 Trombones"--wow. I think "exuberant" is the best word to describe that one. There were a number of different styles-including an interesting tap solo by the Tommy Djilas in the middle of “76 trombones”-that prevented the choreography from being repetitive or boring. Similarly, the choreography for “Rock Island” truly made me feel as if the actors were on a bumpy train ride, despite knowing that the stage wasn’t moving. Especially funny was “The Sadder but Wiser Girl”, with Marcellus dancing as the “sadder but wiser girl” to Hill's seductive man of the world. Holy smokes, I was dying laughing.
The show was performed in the round, which was really fun. They really took advantage of the small space and ran all around the theater--it was way cool! I loved how mobile the sets and props were--Harold was standing on top of a pool table singing "Ya Got Trouble" while the townspeople spun it as he sang, or the mobile bookshelf staircase during "Marian the Librarian". It was great. The only problem with theater in the round is that of necessity you sometimes have the actor's backs to you--and I didn't want to miss any expressions!
I'm so glad I got to go--it was great. I loved it. Now I just have to figure out how to go back.... :D
There were some weird things (we'll get those out of the way first. :)) The director, in her notes, said that "our world for The Music Man is set in a vision of America's past with echoes of today". Great. Totally fine. However, her way of executing that vision led to some bizarre costumes. They all looked like they were from the late 20s/early 30s--the Depression, except for the fact that many of the kids were wearing blue jeans (which didn't come into fashion/widespread use by teenagers until the 1950s), and Harold was wearing those lovely suits exactly like in the movie. It was like a bizarre mash-up that for me, didn't work at all. Setting it in the Depression is fine--it would work really well during the Depression--but the mash-up didn't come across as creative, but rather lazy, like they grabbed whatever clothes they had. And during "Marian the Librarian", Marian was wearing pants! (maybe that just bothered me....)
Click to viewI also didn't much care for Mayor and Mrs. Shinn. They were absolutely hilarious, but it was clear that they were mugging for the audience and making the characters over the top caricatures, which struck an odd note amidst the sincerity of the rest of the cast. Meredith Willson addresses this in a note at the beginning of the script, where he writes "The Music Man was intended to be a Valentine and not a caricature. Please do not let the actors - particularly Zaneeta, Mavor Shinn and Mrs. Shinn, who takes herself quite seriously - mug or reach for comedy effect. The Del Sarte Iadies also should be natural and sincere, never raucous, shrewish or comic per se. The humor of this piece depends upon its technical faithfulness to the real small-town Iowans of 1912 who certainly did not think they were funny at all." I felt like these actors (or maybe the director) just totally ignored that in favor of easy laughs, which was a shame. They didn't need cheap laughs--the show is plenty funny without playing it over the top--and Kate Baldwin as Marian was excellent at finding the humor in Marian and her lines, even the ones that don't seem funny at first glance.
Aside from that, though, the show was fantastic. Burke Moses was superb as Harold Hill. He played Hill as very (very!) smarmy at first, which kind of put me off, but he totally won me over because of the moments of sincerity he allowed to shine through. Like when Harold is singing "76 Trombones", the pure delight and glee on his face as he choreographed the dance and drew the children in was sincere, and very winning. Likewise, the look on his face as he presented Winthrop with his cornet and retreated to leave Winthrop with Marian and Mrs Paroo was so sweet--just happiness at having made this little boy happy. It was great--and the whole scene at the footbridge and when he allows himself to be caught...wow. I loved it. Moses was wonderful.
Similarly, Kate Baldwin’s Marian was more than an equal partner for Moses’s Hill. She really showed Marian’s growth, from a reserved spinster only dreaming of love to a fulfilled woman willing to give her heart while expecting nothing in return. That growth was great. And Baldwin's voice was clear and pure and just wonderful. I loved her "My White Knight"...wow. These two truly deserve each other--in the best sense! :) I only wish we could have seen more of them falling in love--the show is structured differently from the movie, and it kind of felt rushed--they go from tentative allies at the end of Act 1 because Winthrop starts talking, to all of a sudden Marian trying to defend Harold from Cowell. I think that (despite the amazing choreography) they didn't take advantage of "Shipoopi" to allow Harold and Marian to fall in love--their dance there really could be the way to show how they fall in love, but in this production, their dance was just more of a friendly thing, not of two possible lovers. Oh well--the footbridge scene more than made up for it. :)
The real star of the show, however, was the choreography. "Shipoopi" was so atheletic, and "Marian the Librarian" was really fun and inventive--I loved how they showed Marian's change of attitude from buttoned-up librarian to a woman with her own dreams and then back to the librarian. It was great. And "76 Trombones"--wow. I think "exuberant" is the best word to describe that one. There were a number of different styles-including an interesting tap solo by the Tommy Djilas in the middle of “76 trombones”-that prevented the choreography from being repetitive or boring. Similarly, the choreography for “Rock Island” truly made me feel as if the actors were on a bumpy train ride, despite knowing that the stage wasn’t moving. Especially funny was “The Sadder but Wiser Girl”, with Marcellus dancing as the “sadder but wiser girl” to Hill's seductive man of the world. Holy smokes, I was dying laughing.
The show was performed in the round, which was really fun. They really took advantage of the small space and ran all around the theater--it was way cool! I loved how mobile the sets and props were--Harold was standing on top of a pool table singing "Ya Got Trouble" while the townspeople spun it as he sang, or the mobile bookshelf staircase during "Marian the Librarian". It was great. The only problem with theater in the round is that of necessity you sometimes have the actor's backs to you--and I didn't want to miss any expressions!
I'm so glad I got to go--it was great. I loved it. Now I just have to figure out how to go back.... :D