The Music Man’ is the wrong Broadway revival for this crucial moment

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 9:47pm

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-22/commentary-music-man-broadway-hugh-jackman

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 9:52pm

What is the right Broadway revival for this crucial moment?

[jv92]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:01pm

Oh please. This one can f*ck off. Anyone who misses the profundity of THE MUSIC MAN is a damn fool. It’s a very deep show about loss, rejuvenation and redemption. I think all audiences can relate to those themes and feelings. I swear, certain parties won’t be happy until this production is cancelled for good, and that ain’t gonna happen. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:02pm

Well that’s one of the dumbest articles I’ve read in a long time.

Updated On: 6/23/21 at 10:02 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:14pm

JFC.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:17pm

Silly. It’s exactly what we need! Silly and (hopefully) a lush stunning production.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:30pm

jv92 said: "Oh please. This one can f*ck off. Anyone who misses the profundity of THE MUSIC MAN is a damn fool. It’s a very deep show about loss, rejuvenation and redemption. I think all audiences can relate to those themes and feelings. I swear, certain parties won’t be happy until this production is cancelled for good, and that ain’t gonna happen."

Goddamnit, those comments are sexy AF. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:42pm

They lost me at "begs the question" but I hung around to try and figure out what they have been putting in the drinking water at the LATimes. Between McNulty's off the rails articles the last few months and this, they are really coming off as sloppy journalists with too much time and too little sense on their hands. And this comes from someone who is not gung ho for this production. 

[DaveyG]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:43pm

This reporter is a hack. Her articles consistently play to the “woke” crowd and are often filled with factual errors. It’s maddening that she has such a large platform.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:51pm

Seems as the writer has never seen The Music Man or at least has never bothered to understand it. If I were to talk to her, I would tell her to read Scott Miller's "Deconstructing Harold Hill" for a much better analysis of the show and its depth. To reduce it to nothing (or the wrong things) like she tries to do in the article is completely wrong.

I hope the revival is good and I expect it will be but even if it isn't for some reason, the show itself is not a problem.

Updated On: 6/22/21 at 10:51 PM

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 6/22/21 at 10:54pm

Yes, a beloved musical that is going to employ a huge cast, huge orchestra, huge production team and huge crew and is already fetching $550 for rear orchestra seats while bringing in tons of tourists to jumpstart the economy is SUCH the wrong revival for what NY needs right now! We need a revival of Beetlejuice! Maybe a scaled-down introspective take on that story that can appeal to the TikTok crowd.

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 1:23am

Seems that a lot of people nowadays just want to be miserable and take down any attempt to recover; and this cuts across the whole spectrum.  I do want to hear what Sutton does with "Till there was you".  Shirley Jones' voice was so lovely in the film.  

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 2:36am

yeah the author isn’t totally wrong imo. the show is a whitebread illustration of Americana. i think we could use a revival of Ragtime though it probably wouldn’t sell well

[binau]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 3:27am

Forgive me if I missed it but did they specify what would be an example of a ‘right’ Broadway revival? Did they reference Caroline, Or Change?

[jo]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 4:25am

It seems that for some attending the show is also a time to celebrate coming out of the miseries of the pandemic. It is family-oriented, so what? But it is also a good slice of cultural behavior in the past, no matter that it is a fictional view of small town America and the characters are less than pure. To enjoy it with one's family or friends highlight that people feel that sharing such a show strengthens the family ties. I was smiling when I read that a grandmother bought tickets for  Grandma/Mom/Granddaughter Day! Either they are all fans of Jackman or they simply want a day out enjoying the feminine company.

Back to the post-pandemic mood -- heady...and this is probably why people are buying tickets not only to The Music Man...but to other shows as well.

The LATimes - what an irony! Isn't LA (where Hollywood resides) the land of "con-man-ity"?  Where they spin tales of all kinds?   Aren't all actors actually con men 

Updated On: 6/23/21 at 04:25 AM

[bear88]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 4:38am

I don't care all that much, personally, about The Music Man revival, and I doubt I'll see it if the prices stay sky-high during the New York City trip I'm planning for next year.

But there's a certain relentlessness and predictability about articles like this. You knew it wouldn't take long for her to compare Harold Hill to Trump. To criticize a revival that hasn't started rehearsals, the writer cites old articles about it and reviews from 60 years ago. 

I know what Broadway needs, though: hits. It needs shows that get keep talking and motivated to show up at the theater and in New York City - whether they're locals or tourists. That hopefully means some good new shows and, yes, it means some familiar old chestnuts too - whether they're revised a la Oklahoma! or not.

The writer unintentionally piqued my interest in the show more than she intended by talking about the likely spectacle and the mostly terrific score.

Call me crazy, but there is plenty of room for challenging new plays and musicals as well as shows that are just fun and draw big crowds. Some people will be interested in one and not the other; many people will be interested in both. 

[jv92]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 7:47am

Sutton, if you thought THAT was sexy, you haven’t heard me defend THE MOST HAPPY FELLA. 

[JennH]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 9:45am

gypsy101 said: "yeah the author isn’t totally wrong imo. the show is a whitebread illustration of Americana. i think we could use a revival of Ragtime though it probably wouldn’t sell well"

I don't entirely disagree with the article...I have a soft spot in my heart for Music Man but even pre pandemic I was wondering why we need a revival of it. Now I've said the above since the LAST revival of Ragtime. Ragtime is inarguably a brilliant piece and Stephen and Lynn's best score, but it always struck me as a piece that really is difficult to do outside of relevant times, and 2009 wasn't that at all and likely was the reason it didn't do well. After Breonna and George, I said NOW is the time for a Ragtime revival. The time is relevant and would (hopefully) do better than it did last time. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 10:24am

gypsy101 said: "yeah the author isn’t totally wrong imo. the show is a whitebread illustration of Americana. i think we could use a revival of Ragtime though it probably wouldn’t sell well"

 

sorry but that’s ridiculous. A “Ragtime” revival would be great but you ARE allowed to have both. Not every show needs to be a social commentary on the depressing events happening in this country. 

 

[cougarnewtin]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 10:54am

The vitriol that ‘Music Man’ gets has always baffled me. I can accept that the sanitized version of early-20th America might be a bit outdated, but I’ve seen so many people act like it’s the most offensive musical of all time.

This might be controversial, but in my opinion, the actual threat to the development of new works on Broadway is the increased presence of mainstays like Wicked, Phantom, Chicago, and even relative newcomers like Evan Hansen, which will absolutely not be closing anytime soon.

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 11:54am

Harold Hill is no Donald Trump (as Music Man is no rah-rah loving ode to America). Both are grifters, yes. But love changes Harold Hill. I'm not sure Donald Trump is capable of love. Yet I've always found The Music Man to be political. I have always found The Music Man to be an indictment of America itself. And it's the reason I love it. The real hero of the piece is obviously Marian. Where the people of River City are completely glamoured by this man, she, being an intelligent person, a person who believes in, say, science (thus suspect), realizes what he is saying is completely ludicrous. Yet, she is so intelligent she can then also see how this con man is changing her town for the better. And she sees through his veneer of selfishness and can find the lovely man within. The rest of the town, is completely threatened by the illusion of fear and easily malleable because of it. And of course so easily self-deceived in the end! The Music Man is specifically the Revival we need for today!

Updated On: 6/23/21 at 11:54 AM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:08pm

jv92 said: "Sutton, if you thought THAT was sexy, you haven’t heard me defend THE MOST HAPPY FELLA."



 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:20pm

Also, for better or worse, we live in a Capitalist system. If the revival is wrong for Broadway in this crucial moment, the market will decide that. If it doesn’t attract audiences or resonate with them, it will die on its own. We don’t need some think piece telling us what entertainment we should or shouldn’t enjoy.

[jo]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:26pm

Owen22 said: "Harold Hill is no Donald Trump (as Music Man is no rah-rah loving ode to America). Both are grifters, yes. But love changes Harold Hill. I'm not sure Donald Trump is capable of love. Yet I've always found The Music Man to be political. I have always found The Music Man to be an indictment of America itself. And it's the reason I love it. The real hero of the piece is obviously Marian. Where the people of River City are completely glamoured by this man, she, being an intelligent person, a person who believes in, say, science (thus suspect), realizes what he is saying is completely ludicrous. Yet, she is so intelligent she can then also see how this con man is changing her town for the better. And she sees through his veneer of selfishness and can find the lovely man within. The rest of the town, is completely threatened by the illusion of fear and easily malleable because of it. And of course so easily self-deceived in the end! The Music Man is specifically the Revival we need for today!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/23/21 at 12:32pm

What an idiotic article.