Laughs well-earned in Marriott’s joyful ‘Music Man’
“The Music Man” — 3.5 stars
Great humor powers Marriott Theatre’s jolly revival of “The Music Man,” Meredith Willson’s musical about a loquacious con artist trying to hoodwink the residents of a small Iowa town. And most of the laughs come courtesy of the ace group of comedic singer/actors who play supporting roles in director/choreographer Katie Spelman’s production.
Not too broad, not too subtle, the comedy is nicely limned under Spelman, whose second act tip-of-the-hat to the in-the-round Lincolnshire theater earned well-deserved laughs opening night.
Leading Marriott’s large, vocally robust ensemble is KJ Hippensteel. Hippensteel — whose loose limbs and affable demeanor recall a young Dick Van Dyke — plays garrulous grifter Harold Hill, who convinces River City residents that establishing a marching band will solve the town’s nonexistent juvenile delinquency problem.
Alexandra Silber, a willowy actress with a bell-like soprano, plays skeptical librarian Marian Paroo, whose attraction to the fast-talking instrument peddler is sparked by his kindness to her anxious younger brother Winthrop (the winsome Kai Edgar).
That’s the thing about Harold Hill. His schemes, while rooted in greed and his own self-interest, serve as a catalyst to transforming the community. Upon Harold’s advice, Tommy (Sam Linda) turns from teenage troublemaker to inventor, fashioning a music stand for piccolo players. School board members (Matt Edmonds, Michael Potsic, Quinn Rigg and Michael Mahler) stop squabbling and start harmonizing as a barbershop quartet. A shy youngster finds his voice. A town opens its heart and uncovers its soul.
And it all happens because of music. Ultimately, that’s what this show is about: the power of music to unite people, broaden the mind and inspire joy.
Speaking of which, Marriott’s production has many joyful moments — from “Rock Island,” the tour-de-force patter song for men’s chorus that opens the show, to “You Got Trouble” (which never fails to set my toes tapping) to the jaunty “Marian the Librarian,” cleverly staged by Spelman.
Also worth noting are the pristine harmonies of “Lida Rose” (featuring the terrific aforementioned quartet) and the deliciously staccato of “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little” performed by the ladies auxiliary, a quintet led by Melanie Loren (who plays the mayor’s wife, Eulalie), Caron Buinis, Lillian Castillo, Kelly Felthous and Christine Mayland Perkins. All are fine singers and first-rate comic actors.
Janet Ulrich Brooks’ timing is sharp as ever as Marian’s mother Mrs. Paroo, who worries her daughter will miss out on love. The terrific Alex Goodrich plays the blustering Mayor Shin, the only person in town impervious to Harold Hill’s charm. Downers Grove elementary school student Naya Rosalie James plays Gracie, the mayor’s youngest daughter. The mayor’s constant shadow, Gracie mimics her father’s gestures. Together, Goodrich and James earned some of the biggest laughs from Marriott’s opening-night crowd.
