THE MUSIC MAN - Goodman Theatre, Chicago

[markypoo]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 8:19pm

The two major newspapers were divided on this one, and since I don't see it until August 4th I was hoping that anyone who has seen it thus far would post their comments.
Thanks in advance.

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 9:44pm

I may be biased since I got a cheap $30 seat that put me in the obstructed view (don't do it!), I thought it was OK. 

This production seemed more "stripped-down" than I was expecting in terms of set. Geoff Packard as Harold Hill was fine, but unremarkable. 

Matt Crowle and Bri Sudia were the best parts of the production -- and they have such small roles! 

I recommend getting a ticket, but maybe you'd want to save the $30 to pay for a tenth of a ticket for the upcoming Broadway revival. 

[Skip23]

Posted: 7/10/19 at 10:49pm

MUSIC MAN is getting killed this Summer.

Chicago’s Harold Hill looks like a grown up Ronnie Howard.

And the Goodspeed Hill was just soooo nice.

No real...muscle!

[MNNiceorIce]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 3:39pm

Saw this in one of its first previews and found it to be a very pleasant production of an already perfect musical.  The tempos were so fast I was amazed I could still hear every word perfectly (the tempo for Pick-A-Little STARTED where it usually ramps up to).

Geoff Packard was an appealing Harold Hill but, dare I say it, a tad too young? 

The most obvious weak link here is Marian. While fine in the acting department, her singing and more specifically her delivery of her songs was shockingly amateur for this caliber of production house.

The ending is very strange -- maybe it was just because it was their third time going through it but it seemed awkward.

For a regional production, it's well worth seeing, though.  

[greggregson]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 7:00pm

I’ve seen it twice, and the “strange ending” has been cut. It’s now the traditional ending with the children of River City attempting to play together as a band for the first time.

[MNNiceorIce]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 7:04pm

Good to know about the ending. Interesting in concept, strange in execution.

I’d like to see it again to catch what they’ve ironed out.

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 7:12pm

^^I'm deeply curious about what that original ending was... when I saw it last week, there was nothing strange about the ending.

I have to say, Marian's singing was not very good, and that really ruined a lot of the evening for me. She had no power or control, especially in the high range. Other than her, I mostly really enjoyed the production and would recommend it to anyone who can get an affordable seat.

I was surprised to find very few of Mary Zimmerman's tricks in the show. I suppose this musical didn't lend itself to many moments of inventive stagecraft. It's mostly a very traditional and straightforward production. 

Regarding Packard as Harold Hill, I was stricken by the couple lines in the text that mention that he graduated from college in 1905, and the time of the musical is 1912. Wouldn't that make the character just 29 years old?

 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 10:32pm

I caught the July 3 preview.

The mayor's wife is a hoot. I could not take my eyes off of Heidi Kettenring in her role of Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn.

I hated Marian's house. OK, maybe hate is too strong a word. But the front facade seemed SO TALL. Anytime a character would enter the house, they'd step inside, then down. It looked awkward.

Loved Goodnight My Someone UNTIL a group of performers came onto to the stage to remove scenery. I wouldn't have minded waiting 10 seconds for scenery removal AT THE END of the beautiful number - not during.

Loved the choreography in Marian the Librarian. There were 10 or 12 on stage at once, so it didn't have the overstuffed look of other scenes.

The change from the classic footbridge to the SPOILER destination was lovely.

In the lobby near the coat check, guests are invited to pose in a marching band hat. Very good, Goodman.

[MNNiceorIce]

Posted: 7/12/19 at 4:58pm

Regarding the original ending during early previews, I'll include it as a spoiler...just in case.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

At the preview performance I saw (third preview, I believe), at the end of the show when Harold is brought before the townspeople I noticed several audience members abruptly leaving.  I was kind of shocked they were heading out before the end but...traffic, right? 
Anyway.
The next thing I know, when the "band" comes out onstage it's the actors from the show PLUS the audience members in their modern clothes, band hats and lugging instruments.  They all played their instruments as horribly as they are supposed to.  When the townspeople call out "there's my (insert name here)"  and went to hug their child, they went over to the (mostly adult) audience members who seemed just as surprised as we were.  They got them offstage before the curtain call.  It just seemed really disorganized, rushed, and unplanned. 

Totally agree about Marian.  Just a very strange choice considering the level of talent I've seen in Chicago.  She was a fine actress, excellent even in some parts, but the voice and the stage presence while singing were just not there.  Maybe she just needed more time in the role.  Bri Sudia is her understudy and I can't help wondering how much more interesting she would have been in the role.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/18/19 at 12:04pm

Delighted to say I got to catch the penultimate performance of this production last night. I honestly enjoyed the show very much and it was my first time seeing ANY incarnation of the show. I really enjoyed Geoff and Monica, I sincerely hope Geoff is in the Hugh Jackman revival as an understudy. He just had really great charisma and his sweaty head just added to how much work he was doing up there. I agree the mayors wife was a standout and hoot. Terrific performance. Also, it was a nice surprise to see Peter K Rosenthal on the stage.
I really enjoyed the choreography, and perhaps this is just how all shows from that era are like, but I found some of the moves similar to that of the Hello, Dolly revival and I wouldn’t have been surprised if Warren Carlyle was actually the choreographer.
This show was my first time using the discount code 10TIX and I ended up with second row, nearly center, seats. 10 dollars was such a steal, especially considering the regular price was around 100 dollars. I’d recommend using it to everyone who can!