Photo by Paul Stephen
Jason Hatfield as Harold Hill and Heather Setzler as Marian Paroo. Opera House Theatre Company's production of "The Music Man" will run for three weeks.
By John Staton
John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com
Published: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 11:09 a.m.
It’s possible to do the right thing by accident.
In “The Music Man,” that’s pretty much what traveling salesman Harold Hill does until, at long last, he finally does the right thing on purpose.
Of course, Opera House Theatre Co.’s entertaining and moving production of the 1950s Meredith Willson classic is no accident. It’s just that director Suellen Yates and company’s earnest efforts make the proceedings appear effortless, with just a couple of hitches.
It’s a sleight of hand of sorts, a benign deception that, somewhat like the deceptions perpetrated by Prof. Hill – ably played with a mix of well-timed humor and an understated sense of inner conflict by Jason Hatfield – works out well for almost everyone in the end.
As a musical, “The Music Man” remains a winning combination of crowd-pleasing show-stoppers and sly satire of the small-minded small-town mentality, all wrapped around Hill’s core conundrum of whether to continue to live a rogue’s life or to settle down with that sadder but wiser girl, Marian the Librarian (Heather Setzler).
Things get off to a promising start with “Rock Island,” a wonderful, innovative song in which the conversations of traveling salesmen on a train recreate the train’s rhythms (“He doesn’t know the territory!”) while setting up the legend of Prof. Harold Hill, who swoops into unsuspecting hamlets, sells the populace band instruments for their kids on the basis of teaching them how to play, then skips town.
Enter River City, Iowa, Hill’s latest project.
The con in “The Music Man” is relatively benign, and that’s probably intentional. Anything too nefarious might besmirch our leading man beyond recognition. As it is, Hill’s pursuit of Marian’s affections brings out the best in him, even if it’s inadvertent, by cozying up to her family and the townsfolk. Hill winds up giving more than he ever intends to take, which is what makes him such a lovable character and what makes his ultimate redemption so moving. (Some in the audience were shedding tears by play’s end.)
During the course of the story, the audience is treated to some of the most memorable songs in musical theater history. Hatfield nails Hill’s rapid-fire pitch to River City resident “(Ya Got) Trouble” slinks through “Library” (his whispered, jazzy pitch to Marian) and captures the humor of “The Sadder but Wiser Girl,” a duet with old buddy Marcellus Washburn (Zack Simcoe, compelling as always), who gets a charge out of surreptitiously helping “Greg,” Hill’s real name and one he bridles at, probably because it reminds him of who he really is and what he’s really doing.
For her part, Setzler is perfectly cast as the reserved but passionate Marian, and, despite a little trouble with some of her high notes, she does a lovely job of delivering her big songs, “Goodbye, My Someone,” and particularly, “My White Knight,” in which she lays out her not-outrageous requirements for a man, the opinion of her Irish mother (Jemila Ericson, providing some great comedy) notwithstanding.
The whole cast gets into the act on super-fun tunes like “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little,” during which the town biddies dispense backbiting gossip; the rousing “Wells Fargo Wagon,” in which the townsfolk anticipate coveted deliveries; and “Shipoopi,” a feather-light dance confection with swing-style choreography by Kendra Goehring-Garrett.
Performances are solid across the board, but standouts include Dan Morris as blustery mayor Shinn, who’s prone to telling folks to watch their “phraseology”; Teri Harding as his modern-dance loving wife, Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn; Bill Piper as the menacing Hill-hating salesman Charlie Cowell, who’s the closest thing the play has to a villain; and Dru Loman as Marian’s lisping little brother, Winthrop (Loman’s rendition of “Gary, Indiana” is infectious).
Not to be forgotten are the tight harmonies of the easily distracted barbershop quartet of school board members, the outstanding music direction of Lorene Walsh and Debbie Scheu’s colorful costumes, in particular the wild hats of the town ladies, all of which overshadowed a technical glich with a piece of scenery on Sunday.
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