Evelyn Barge
Asisstant A&E Editor
A traveling con artist named Harold Hill has set his sights on Smothers Theatre as the location of his latest scam.
There’s no need for alarm, however, because Hill is actually the main character in the Theatre Department’s fall musical, Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” which begins its weeklong run tonight.
“Harold Hill is a con man who cheats communities out of their hard-earned money,” the show’s director, Cathy Thomas-Grant, said. “He comes into town and sells the idea of a boys’ band to the community. He asks them to pay for the instruments and the uniforms, and then he steals their money and leaves town.”
Hill’s deceptive plan works perfectly until he arrives in River City, Iowa, the setting of the classic musical that takes place in rural America in 1912. Once again, Hill’s music captivates the townspeople of River City, but one woman, Marian (the town librarian) sees through his scam.
“Marian is the only one in the town that is able to see right through his phony act, and she tries adamantly to prove him guilty,” said junior vocal performance and music education major Christin Wismann, who plays Marian in the production.
A love story evolves between the con artist and the librarian as the transforming power of music takes hold of the small Iowa community.
“Marian witnesses what he has brought to the town, and how he has changed the town for the better with his music,” Thomas-Grant said. “At the end, it doesn’t matter to her that he’s a con man, because he’s brought so much to the community.”
A 46-member cast plays the River City community, including six children who are the sons and daughters of Pepperdine faculty.
“After the production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ last year, which also had children involved, the Theatre Department decided our experience with those kids was so positive that to do ‘The Music Man’ seemed like the best choice,” Thomas-Grant said.
But the Theater Department faced many challenges in putting on the beloved musical.
Sophomore music and theater major Timothy Campbell said his role as the baritone in the town barbershop quartet was demanding, but enjoyable.
“Learning to sing barbershop was great,” he said. “I’ve never sung that way before. Learning to sing those harmonies and make your four voices into one was really challenging, but also fun.”
Thomas-Grant said that for her, the most personally challenging part of putting on the production was coordinating all the technical aspects of the show.
“It’s one of the biggest shows I’ve ever directed technically,” she said. “There are multiple sets and I’m usually a unit set director. I usually get one set and move the actors around it.”
The set in Smothers Theatre was designed by Center for the Arts technical director Rick Aglietti and includes five turntables, which are portions of the stage that revolve, and seven flys, which are pieces of scenery that are raised into the roof or lowered onto the stage.
“Coordinating that with the orchestra has been my biggest challenge,” Thomas-Grant said. “Add in the lighting, which was coordinated by David Barber, and basically my biggest challenge has been making it all come together.”
Wismann said the elaborate choreography was challenging for her, but that the dances are a highlight of the show.
“It has taken many hours to work through the dances to make sure everything was just right,” she said. “It’s hard to organize a cast of 40 people, all on stage at once, without having it look like one big mess. Thanks to the hard work of our choreographer Bill Szobody, the dances have come out great and will be one of the best attractions of the show.”
In addition to complex singing, set design and choreography, “The Music Man” also features many costume changes for each character.
Thomas-Grant said the 46 people in the cast each have at least three costumes, which were all coordinated by the Fine Arts Division costume designer Carol Hack.
To accommodate all the challenging aspects of the production, “Music Man” rehearsals began in late August.
Because the cast has spent so much time practicing together and learning every part of the musical, Thomas-Grant said friendships were formed and cast members became very much like the small community they portray on stage.
“River City is a community, but what I’ve really enjoyed is the community that formed around the creation of this play,” she said.
Wismann also said she feels the most enjoyable part of putting on the show has been getting to know her fellow actors.
“This was my first real musical theater experience, and everyone has been so supportive,” she said. “Everyone has been working so hard to make the show great and, in the process, we have all become so close with one another.”
Thomas-Grant said the show, which was written in the 1950s, can still be enjoyed by modern audiences.
“Things are so complicated today,” she said. “We’re dealing with war in Iraq, a presidential election, the economy, rising gas prices and all that stuff. To come and sit in this musical for two hours is a relief from the stress of everyday life in 2004. It’s a relief to go back and live again in 1912 in this tight-knit, small community.”
Campbell said “The Music Man” speaks to larger social values that are still found in society today.
“Music is timeless and one of those things in the human soul that can’t really be explained,” he said. “The show is about exactly that and about loving life.
”The Music Man” is part of the Mary Pickford-Stotsenberg Performance Series.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11-13 and Nov. 18-20. Matinee shows will be performed at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 14 and Nov. 20.
Tickets are on sale at the Center for the Arts Box Office in Smothers Theater and cost $20 for the general public, $6 for Pepperdine students and $16 for Pepperdine faculty and staff.
“The Music Man” debuted in New York City in 1957 and became an immediate success, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical over “West Side Story.”
Submitted 11-11-2004
