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The
Broadway Revival 2000
My
Review of the Show
-June 8, 2000-
"The Music Man", Meredith Willson's tuneful look at small-town America,
and the effect that one colorful outsider has on it, has been a staple of theatre
productions, big and small, since it first swept through Broadway and the United States in 1957-58. The success and enduring memory of the 1962 feature film further
ensured that it would stay in our collective memory in a way that few musicals ever
do. However, after an attempt in 1980 to bring the show back to Broadway proved
to be somewhat of a disappointment, from critics and audiences alike, some
questions were raised when it was announced that another "Music Man" revival was headed to Broadway in 2000, directed by
Susan Stroman and starring Craig Bierko.
Could a relatively unknown film actor pull off the part made so famous by Robert Preston? Could a woman who never
directed a Broadway show, and known mainly for her choreography, adequately stage a revival of one of the most beloved
musicals in theatrical history? Would people in the year 2000, as theatre has become more darker-toned and full of
gimmickry, even want to see a relatively simple, wholesome, upbeat show that they may have already seen the movie of
several times, as well as countless productions at their local high schools and community theatres?
Well, from the time the first reviews and award nominations started coming in, and with attendance increasing week by
week, it has become clear that the answers to the above questions are all 'yes', and having finally seen the show myself this
past week, I have to concur that this version was well worth the wait, and will hopefully introduce a new generation of people
to Willson’s ‘valentine’, as he referred to the show as.
The kind of spirit “The Music Man” evokes in an audience has always been a parallel to the story itself; a colorful, brassy
gust of melodic air that blows through the stodgy demeanor of our day-to-day plodding, invigorating and inspiring us to sing
and dance, and giving us new reasons to smile and to hope. This production succeeds in that respect by keeping the mood
light, the pace brisk, the characters endearing, and the audience a part of the show. From the overture, played by orchestra
members assembled inside the opening scene’s ‘train’ set, we are invited into
the show, not only as observers to the story, but almost as ‘River City-zians’ ourselves, as the
grammatically challenged Mayor Shinn would say.
The real star of this show is the music and songs, and Stroman wisely refrained from any drastic updates to what is such
a strong piece in and of itself. Sure, the production found additional humor in some new little ways, particularly with Max
Casella’s portrayal of Harold Hill’s sidekick Marcellus, and Stroman’s strength in choreography and splash brightens up the extended and ebullient “76 Trombones” segment, but generally speaking, the
show is played fairly straight to the book and score, and the characters are kept to their bright and clearly drawn
archetypes. A few people have made comments that the production as a whole should have been ‘darker’, an
indication of how the perception and tone of theatre has changed since 1957, but I
don’t see how that would be possible with this show, with its bouncy, joyous score, its almost corny jokes and
observations on Americana and its foibles, and especially the colorful personalities within.
And speaking of them, a production of “Music Man” rises or falls with its lead performers, and this show did a great job
with casting. The four men who comprise the makeshift barbershop quartet (Blake Hammond, Jack Doyle, John
Sloman,
Michael-Leon Wooley) have a real rapport and joy in their singing that is a pleasure to watch; Max
Casella, as mentioned,
finds some new humor in the part of Marcellus; and Paul Benedict and Ruth Williamson are both well-suited to the foolishly
endearing characters of Mayor Shinn and his wife.
Of course, the main focus of the show is on Harold Hill, and the object of his pursuit, Marian
Paroo. Craig Bierko, as an
up-and-coming film and television actor with no significant Broadway credentials, had quite a lot to prove to many who
questioned his ability to perform Harold Hill, but he more than ably justified his casting with a strong and subtle performance. Bierko’s version of Hill is interesting, in that early on, he sounds and acts
a lot like Robert Preston’s seminal portrayal in the original production and film, and then beginning around the “Marian Librarian”
sequence, the similarities become blurred or forgotten, and it becomes more evident that Bierko is quite a good
actor in his own right, and adds a lot of subtlety and unique inflection to the part, and actually has a stronger and smoother voice than
Preston. It’s almost as if he (or the production itself, if Stroman or the producers encouraged him to do that), is giving a nod to
Preston at first, or acknowledging the many pre-production comparisons and mentions of him by saying, “Ok, you want
Preston? See, I can do Preston. But if you
observe, I can also be different as well.” Or maybe there was no such calculation about it, and Bierko just really does sound an awful lot like Preston. Regardless, he did a fine job, particularly with
the difficult acting scenes during the second act where
Hill’s swindling nature becomes conflicted by his true desire for Marian.
My only real critique with Bierko was during a few moments when he would be speaking directly to someone, but looking out front.
For example, in “Marian Librarian”, he is sitting next to Marian, and singing “I love you madly, madly, madam librarian,
Marian”, but looking out front to the audience, and not at Marian, which felt
a little awkward to watch. Granted, that may have been Stroman’s directive, as choreographer,
because I know that choreographers do tend to complain if someone is not strongly facing front during a big production number, but I saw Bierko doing that on two or three
otheroccasions, and he has large, expressive eyes, so I think it would have been just as well for him to have faced front, but have his eyes
focused sideways at Marian during moments such as that.
Rebecca Luker, as Marian, was convincingly acerbic during the early scenes, and proved to be especially adept and engaging as her character gradually warms up to her ‘White Knight’ Hill.
Luker’s voice was never a question, with its soaring, ‘made for Broadway’ quality, but her acting was also quite satisfying in this
role. The chemistry between her and Bierko as Hill seems even more natural than that of Preston and Shirley Jones in the
film version. I found myself believing more surely that these two people could and would end up together during this production
than in the film, which required a somewhat higher suspension of disbelief.
Other nice aspects of this production include the aforementioned “76 Trombones” bridge sequence, which although much longer than it would seem it should be, is nonetheless built up so
cleverly and feverishly that you are sad it ever ends; dance heavy sequences throughout that are jovial and accomplished (with the
exception of “Marian Librarian”, which seemed a little disjointed and formless, although I liked the ‘book clapping’
segment); and a now legendary curtain-call that so appropriately manages to ‘one-up’ the show itself.
My only major complaint about the show… I bought one of the souvenir T-shirts, which has the word ‘trouble’ prominently displayed on the front, and ‘Meredith
Willson’s THE MUSIC MAN on Broadway’ on the back. A nice idea. The problem, though? The word ‘trouble’ is not capitalized. Think about it...
How could they make a T-shirt for “The Music Man” with the word ‘trouble’ and not print ‘trouble’ with a capital ‘T’??!!!
-Eric Endres
The Broadway Revival 2000
Cast List
Cast Bios
About Bierko's Casting
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