The Music Man’ is the wrong Broadway revival for this crucial moment- Page 3

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 12:05pm

MlleDaae said: "A bore of a musical about a local woman ostracized by her community until a grifter con man woos her ..there by making her acceptable again.

The town shuns her due to an untrue rumor that she was in love with an older man. The town accepts her again once she.. falls in love with an older ma -- wtf??

And don't forget the moral of the story - "Maybe we should just believe the con man and everything will work out".

Other than its use of diegetic sound, barbershop a cappella, and the song "Til There Was You".. I dislike this musical greatly."

You seem nice.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 12:16pm

Don't see it if you don't approve of the story. I will probably love it- as it is about illusion and accepting people for who they are- that is the message I get from the play- and so what if has been cast as white- they can diversify it if the producers care to- no reason to exclude anyone- of course, there will be shows that are primarily black, Latino, white- who cares- color counting is getting old and older.......I choose productions by their quality- not by the color of peoples skin.

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 1:44pm

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!"

I'm not claiming The Music Man is pro-Trump. But I don't understand yelling at people who don't have an appetite for seeing a con man accepted back into the fold of polite society and given the heroic, romantic happy ending reward. It's a musical with a song called "Shipoopi"; I wasn't expecting deep profundity. But it does normalize and diminish the severity of bad actions the way status quo-embracing stories do. 

That said, I'm not about to protest it. I think it's just personal taste whether this is a show you can watch right now but people aren't crazy for not being ready to embrace a show about a grifter. I'd feel similarly if they wanted to do another H2$ or Catch Me If You Can. I'm not offended, just not in the mood for it. I'd rather see Ragtime or Newsies or Caroline, or Change. And happily, I will be able to see the last one. 

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 2:46pm

On this year's Fourth of July, TCM will show the beloved American classic The Music Man; followed by Yankee Doodle Dandy, and then 1776.  Can't think of a better way to enjoy Independence Day.

[fosterfan2]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 5:56pm

I personally would rather see Company,though I probably won't be able to. But anyone who wants to see The Music Man--go!!! Have fun! We all have different tastes and opinions. For example,I personally and privately prefer Katrina Lenk over Cardi B,unlike my co-workers. (Don't ask.)  I just keep my mouth shut and collect my paycheck.

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 6:32pm

VintageSnarker said: "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!"

I'm not claiming The Music Man is pro-Trump. But I don't understand yelling at people who don't have an appetite for seeing a con man accepted back into the fold of polite society and given the heroic, romantic happy ending reward. It's a musical with a song called "Shipoopi"; I wasn't expecting deep profundity. But it does normalize and diminish the severity of bad actionsthe way status quo-embracing stories do.

I dunno... there's a lot of subversive profundity in a lot of those songs. I too am hoping and praying for Hester to win just one more A...!

 

[SoCalDirector]

Posted: 6/25/21 at 7:52pm

BUlLL 💩

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 6/26/21 at 12:54am

Agreed with Foster! Go enjoy if you want to. To me there is no way the show is going to feel fresh or new. It was conceived years ago. But a big splashy revival is what the community needs.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/26/21 at 1:53am

Jordan Catalano said: "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."

well obviously yes we should get both of them i agree. i for one would love to see this revival. i just sort of understand where the writer of the article is coming from

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/26/21 at 11:34am

MlleDaae said: "A bore of a musical about a local woman ostracized by her community until a grifter con man woos her ..there by making her acceptable again.

The town shuns her due to an untrue rumor that she was in love with an older man. The town accepts her again once she.. falls in love with an older ma -- wtf??

And don't forget the moral of the story - "Maybe we should just believe the con man and everything will work out".

Other than its use of diegetic sound, barbershop a cappella, and the song "Til There Was You".. I dislike this musical greatly."

Not that I agree with any of this (though I'm not exactly a fan of the show) and why i am even biting heaven knows.   but...

Is there something in the script saying that Marian is younger than Hill?  
In this production, Harold and Marian are being played, respectively, by a 52 and a 46 year old actor. 

Both of whom look youthful. 

Updated On: 6/26/21 at 11:34 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/26/21 at 1:49pm

LOL!  She probably watched the show and thought the pick-a-little talk-a-little ladies were the most relatable characters in the whole thing.  

Viva Purity Culture!

[NameGreg]

Posted: 6/26/21 at 4:12pm

The Music Man is a perfect show for right now, this person’s crazy.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/28/21 at 6:54am

Yipes. It's a musical. Enjoy it, or don't.

Way too much overthinking with this topic.

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/28/21 at 10:22am

Idiotic article on every level. The Music Man has never been one of my favorite shows (just a personal preference thing; there's nothing wrong with the material), but every single argument this article makes is wrong.

[<3Ragtime]

Posted: 6/30/21 at 6:26pm

DaveyG said: "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."

Trying to create controversy where there is none.  

As an aside, I saw a production of THE MUSIC MAN at the Stratford Festival with an African American actor, Daren A. Herbert, as Harold Hill. He was phenominal. He made the show so much fun.

[Mark Waltz]

Posted: 7/1/21 at 8:32am

I consider "The Music Man" up there with "Guys and Dolls" and "Hello Dolly!" to be practically perfect shows that give me that goofy smile the minute the music starts that often brings me to tears of complete joy. All three shows are fantasias on life that should just be enjoyed for the color, the music, eccentric characters (who somehow change during the course of the show) and in the case of Sky Masterson, Harold Hill and Horace Van Degelder either atone or begin to see life from a different angle.

Mrs. Paroo is probably the only character in River City who doesn't need alterations (she's the Molly Goldberg of Iowa) but everyone else either loosens up, gets rid of preconceived notions of others or goes through some sort of spiritual alteration. Maybe not realistic as far as real life and history is concerned, but a joy to spend two and a half hours with. I'm not going to waste my time reading the Ebenezer bag humbug Debbie Downer article, but it is obvious that fans of the theater see her diatribe for what it is. Let's cheer more classic shows like this bringing joy back among the modern take on Capra-corn. I'm still coming down from the joy of the 2000 revival I saw in August of 2001 (fortunately with Rebecca Luker) and I know that the spirit of that revival (which helped me through 9/11 with the cast album) will be with me when I see it in March of next year.