Professor Harold Hill...

[fajrdrako]

I saw one of my favourite musicals today: The Music Man. I've always thought of it as unique among musicals: the only thing Meredith Wilson ever wrote (as far as I know), and so perfect a creation. One of my favourite themes: the tale in which a lie becomes a truth, a con man finds himself, and deception becomes romance.

And this production was beautiful. Perfect. Jonathan Goad and Leah Oster were exactly as they should be, and Christopher Van Hagen made a delightful Winthrop Paroo.

In the afternoon we saw The Taming of the Shrew - which was a mixed success: some of its more intriguing tricks just didn't work and the results were slightly confusing - at least, confusing to me. It was not quit funny enough, not quite dramatic enough - but I did like Evan Buliung as a sympathetic, sexy Petrucchio. I was less sure what to make of Kate. This play needs a viewpoint: it's a play with things to say about the battle of the sexes, and this time, I wasn't sure what the point was supposed to be.

Note to self: reviews for future reference here.

Comments

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

I believe Meredith Wilson also wrote The Unsinkable Molly Brown, which did okay and became a movie starring Debbie Reynolds. He didn't have any hits after that, though.

I learned all the lyrics of The Music Man as a kid. I just adored it. :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

He didn't have any hits after that, though.

Yes, but that's two more than most of us have! It said in the program that he worked for eight years on The Music Man and I think that shows - it's so polished and everything in it is precisely as it ought to be. If he was more prolific (or had more hits) I bet he wouldn't have worked on them as carefully or as long.

I learned all the lyrics of The Music Man as a kid.

I did too. What I remember or notice most now is the jokes or words I didn't recognize as a kid - I had no idea what some of those words meant, but learned, year by year. I remember asking my mother who Balzac and Rabelais were. Her answer: "They're French authors, and their books aren't much worse than things you read!"

Imagine my excitement when, at the British Museum a few years ago, I stumbled on a double-bell euphonium! What a strange beast.

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

Ha! Well, I didn't know what a double bell euphonium was until you pasted that handy pic. Cool.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Now we both know!

[flautopiccolo.livejournal.com]

'The Music Man' is one of my favorites too, and not just because Meredith Willson played piccolo. It has a wonderful flute/piccolo book.

Meredith Willson also wrote 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown'.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

'The Unsinkable Molly Brown'

Yes! Thank you for reminding me - I knew that once.

I want to watch the Robert Preston version of The Music Man now as soon as possible.

maaseru kept singing "Till There was You" in the car. I loved it!

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

so perfect a creation. One of my favourite themes: the tale in which a lie becomes a truth, a con man finds himself, and deception becomes romance.

Thus your love affair with Captain Jack Harkness. Aha! I now fully understand [g].

Ya got trouble, my friends...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ah - no trick there! Captain Jack Harkness does appeal to me in many of the same ways Professor Harold Hill does - even to the way they each use a fake title with their pseudonyms. And get tripped up by love.

And I totally want to see John Barrowman playing Hill in a production of The Music Man.

Re: Ya got trouble, my friends...

[filkferengi]

Or Miles Vorkosigan. Now I've got "Warrior's Apprentice: the Musical" running through my head.

:)

Re: Ya got trouble, my friends...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You fiend! Now I have the new hit musical "The Little Admiral"!

Re: Ya got trouble, my friends...

[filkferengi]

You can exorcise it from your brain by writing it down & sharing the love. ;)

Re: Ya got trouble, my friends...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think Lois should be the one for that. I can write Aral, but I'd be terrified to write Miles' dialogue!

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

The Music Man is quite a fun show, even if it does sag in the middle of the second act (not an uncommon problem among musicals!). I love the way so many of the songs are made so that they fit together later. It's a cheap trick, but works every time! Pete Townshend does that in The Iron Man and Psychoderelict, too (not to mention "Face Dances").

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The Music Man is quite a fun show, even if it does sag in the middle of the second act

Which part? The "Lida Rose" section? I night say it gets a little repetitions - the School Board after Hill's credential and his giving them the slip - but that just heightens the suspense. I love Marion's role in Act 2, as we see her feelings change and her resolve resolving.

It's a cheap trick, but works every time!

In this show, I think it's gorgeous!

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's the whole ice cream social section. It's a little like a divertissement in ballet, where there's an "entertainment" and everyone takes a turn. It all makes sense, I just feel like it needs tightening up. Not even chopping out a section, just moving more efficiently through it. The movie does okay, though every time I've seen it in the theatre, it seems to drag badly, and I think the fact that "Til There Was You" is so slow doesn't help. It's a beautiful song, but the tempo... And "Shipoopi" is the only upbeat song in the last section. It's a problem. I had a friend who directed it, and we spent ages trying to fix it, and it's just about unfixable unless you make cuts, which you can't because of the plot.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's a little like a divertissement in ballet, where there's an "entertainment" and everyone takes a turn. It all makes sense, I just feel like it needs tightening up.

Yes; it's amusing, but doesn't add to the 'main plot' of the action. No, I can't think of any way to fix it either, just to zip it along as best you can.