We got trouble! Traveling salesman and smooth talking con man Professor Harold Hill is coming to Music City USA! This new production features choreography from 5 time Tony-Award Winner, Susan Stroman and direction by Ray Roderick who is adapting Ms. Stroman’s Broadway direction for this tour.
As the grand finale to the 2002-2003 AmSouth Bank Broadway Series at TPAC, Meredith Willson’s The Music Man marches into TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall Theater in Nashville June 10 through June 15 for eight performances only.
Follow con artist turned conductor, Harold Hill, as he convinces the citizens of River City, Iowa that he can teach their children to play in a marching band. Only after Marian, the town librarian, discovers his secret does the plot thicken. Ultimately, we find the Professor with “his foot caught in the door for the first time.”
Featuring classic songs such as “Till There Was You,” “Gary, Indiana,” and “Seventy Six Trombones,” Meredith Willson’s The Music Man is the all-American salute to music, romance and fast-talking flim-flam.
“The Music Man is one of America’s all-time favorite musicals, with tremendous appeal to family audiences,” said Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC’s Executive Vice President for Sales and Customer Services. “The touring production is first rate, with elaborate period costumes, fantastic scenery, award-winning choreography, and a youthful, talented cast. I can’t imagine a more spirited and fun way to finish this year’s Broadway season at TPAC.”
Meredith Willson’s The Music Man originally opened on Broadway on December 19, 1957 starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook. With book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey, it won 8 Tony Awards beating out West Side Story for the coveted Best Musical Award.
In addition, the cast album won the first Grammy Award for Broadway Musical Score. A film version of the musical made in 1961 starred Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. A very young Ronnie Howard, then starring on “The Andy Griffith Show,” scored one Hollywood’s most important child roles of 1961 when he was cast as the lisping Winthrop. Ronnie recorded the song “Gary Indiana” on March 17, 1961. His father Rance Howard was signed to play Oscar Jackson on March 21.
The recent Broadway production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man opened April 27, 2000 and closed on December 30, 2001 at the Neil Simon Theatre.
Performances for Meredith Willson’s The Music Man run from June 10-15, 2003 in Andrew Jackson Hall. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8:00 p.m. Friday; 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. Saturday; 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices range from $18-60, depending upon performance times and seat locations. For tickets, visit the TPAC Box Offices Downtown or at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Green Hills, online at www.tpac.org, or any Ticketmaster outlet. You may also purchase tickets by calling Ticketmaster at 615/255-ARTS (2787). For information on group discounts for 20 or more, call TPAC Group Sales at 615/782-4060. The Sunday matinee of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man will be signed for the hearing impaired.
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The Music Man Knows the Territory
