'Music Man' takes new spin

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 10, 2000

If you go see Meredith Willson's The Music Man at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre weekends through Aug. 13 expecting to see a replica of the revival now taking Broadway by storm, you may be disappointed. There are no turntables, whiz-bangs or marching legions on parade at the Palace, as there are in Susan Stroman's New York production.

What you get at the Hudson venue are good voices, memorable character actors, cute kids, picturesque scenery, and another look at Willson's charming story. And enthusiasm. Lots of enthusiasm.

You also get something of a new spin on the familiar character of traveling con man "Professor" Harold Hill, by resident actor Joe Lawrence and by the object of his affections, Marian the librarian, played by New York actor-singer-dancer Jodi Lynne Sylvester, in her debut at the Palace.

In the story, set in a tiny Iowa town in 1912, Hill arrives on the train with plans to fleece the suckers into buying expensive band instruments, uniforms and his music lessons, never mind he doesn't know a note. Hill's plan to sneak out of town as soon as he collects his money is thwarted by Marian, who knows about Hill but loves him anyway. Along the way, we meet dozens of characters of all ages, including the pompous Mayor Shinn, played tongue-twisted and tongue-in-cheek by Candler Budd; his wife, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, done delightfully drama-drenched by Susan Haldeman; Hill's old buddy Marcellus Washburn, a little underdone by Dalton Benson; and Marian's troubled little brother, Winthrop Paroo, played cute, but not too cute by a winsome Tommy Frain.

Hill is usually played as slick, sly and conniving by a mature actor (as in, say, 40 pushing 50), and Marian is played all youthful innocence and purity. At the Palace, Lawrence's youngish Hill is softer and sweeter, a guy just on the verge of going bad for good and ripe for rectification. At the same time, Ms. Sylvester's Marian has the years and the hint of earthiness that make her the perfect candidate to snatch Hill's slipping soul from perdition. It's enough of a twist on the usual take to make this production fresh and unique, once you figure out where director Jimmy Ferraro has taken his show.

Kudos for the opening number, Rock Island, when the salesmen recreate the sound of a railroad train, and to choreographer Scott Wright for the big dance numbers that fill the stage and make toes tap. The always remarkable set and scene designer, Tom Hansen, has topped even himself with the clever use of the Palace's limited stage area and lights. They're a real marvel of ingenuity. The uncredited costumer put the icing on the cake with multiple colorful, good-looking outfits.

Even so, you can't help but be let down by the rather lame closing moments and the last song, 76 Trombones, done as a curtain call. The kids' band segment must slowly, painstakingly unfold, the better to underscore the parents' blind devotion, and the last song must be bigger than life, with some genuine trombones and trombone music blasting as the whole cast marches around the room, perhaps in uniform, making the patrons whistle as they file out the door.

Of all the shows in the world, this is one that simply must end with a bang, not a whimper.

If you go

The Music Man is at Show Palace Dinner Theatre, 16128 U.S. 19, Hudson, weekends through Aug. 13. Shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Open two hours before curtain for buffet and cash bar. Buffet and show, $35.95 adults, $19.95 age 12 and younger; show only, $24.95 and $14.95. Call (727) 863-7949 in west Pasco, toll-free (888) 655-7469 elsewhere.