‘Music Man’ offers fun blast from the past
Jeffrey Shankle as the fast-talking swindler Harold Hill and Janine Sunday as his love interest, Marian Paroo, star in 'The Music Man,' on stage at Toby’s Dinner Theatre until May 18. The show debuted on Broadway in 1957 and had several revivals, most recently the 2022 production starring Hugh Jackman.
Photo by Jeri Tidwell Photography
Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia is now presenting The Music Man, the brash, classic musical of Americana.
The show opened on Broadway in 1954, garnering five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and inspiring a motion picture released eight years later that starred Robert Preston, Shirley Jones and Buddy Hackett.
The Music Man centers around Harold Hill, a self-proclaimed “professor of music,” actually a con artist, who arrives in “stubborn Iowa” (per the musical’s lyrics) in 1912.
Played by Toby’s seasoned leading man Jeffrey Shankle, Hill convinces the people of River City that the panacea to their problems, real and imagined, is to form a musical band made up of the town’s children. He asks for funds to purchase all the instruments and uniforms, with the intent of skipping town with the money.
The situation changes when “Professor” Hill falls in love with Marian, the skeptical town librarian, played by the charming Janine Sunday. At great personal risk of exposure, Hill contemplates staying in River City to win her love.
Hill fulfills his promise to deliver the band’s instruments and uniforms. But then, he must invent a way to teach his new band members to play. Hill employs the spurious “think” method, whereby if one believes hard enough, one can play music.
The magic of the story is that even though this tale starts off with an outrageous swindle, the lovable rogue Hill ends up giving the town something far more valuable than a mere band. He creates a wonderful sense of community and comradery that River City had been lacking.
Familiar numbers
Director and choreographer Mark Minnick has assembled a strong cast to revive this vintage Broadway musical to delight diehard fans as well as those new to its fun plot and melodic tunes.
Many will recognize the song “76 Trombones,” directed by conductor Ross Scott Rawlings and performed by Toby’s ensemble of talented musicians, who sound like a very professional small-town band, albeit a bit shy of the magic number of 76 trombones.
“Marian the Librarian” was performed fabulously by the orchestra, whose haunting repetition of the accompaniment in a somewhat minor key makes the love song stand out in this upbeat musical.
This number also showcases the smooth, charming acting and singing of Shankle as Hill, who must overcome Marian’s skepticism to win her affection.
The show’s choreography is strikingly similar to the 1962 film adaptation. Fans of the motion picture version will delight in the footbridge scene — a fond movie memory, such is its closeness to the film.
At the footbridge, of course, we hear “Til There Was You,” one of the show’s most famous tunes. Shankle and Sunday’s duet here is excellent.
Sunday, who also designed the production’s period costumes, performs a poignant “My White Knight,” a song from the Broadway show. Although moviegoers may not be familiar with the number, it’s reminiscent of an operetta.
Touches of Americana
As part of Hill’s designs to avoid discovery of his scheme, he assembles a classic barbershop quartet. Carter Crosby, Vince Gover, Alec Brashear and David Bosley-Reynolds perform “Ice Cream/Sincere,” “It’s You” and, most famously, “Lida Rose.” The quartet solidifies the “All-American Musical” promotion Toby’s is “trumpeting” for The Music Man.
On this note, classic American references to W.C. Handy and John Philip Sousa blend agreeably with high-culture literary references to Chaucer, Rabelais and Balzac.
Mayor Shinn, a foil to Hill, is played to the hilt by Alan Hoffman. He unleashes outrage and bluster when Hill resists his demands for his credentials and rails against the mayor’s new pool hall in the familiar song lyrics: “Ya Got Trouble in River City with a capital ‘T’ and that rhymes with ‘P’ and that stands for pool.”
This excellent production of a truly fun musical runs through May 18, at Toby’s Dinner Theatre. Consider trying the drink special (at an extra cost) named “Shipoopi,” after one of the show’s songs.
Depending on performance, tickets range from $84 to $92 for adults (those 65+ pay $74 for Tuesday evening or any Wednesday performance); children 4 and older are $64 to $67.
Remember, the tips you leave for waiters also constitute the majority of the actors’ pay, so be generous.
Tickets are available from the box office by calling (410) 730-8311 or online via Ticketmaster (with a service fee). Toby’s Dinner Theatre is located at 5900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia.
