When it debuted in 1957 on Broadway, the high spirits of “The Music Man,” its uplifting music, and charm made it such a big hit that it won the praise of New York City theater critics and five Tony Awards. The show went on to become a popular movie in 1962, and has since been revived on Broadway many times. While the musical is an effervescent jewel in the pantheon of American musicals, today it seems even more joyous because of its charming innocence and nostalgia, a balm for our jaded times.
River City Revival
Now in revival at the Marriott Theatre, the show is still radiant. Set in 1912 in River City, a fictional Midwest town, it has an irresistible idealism. Those early 20th-century years before the hardships of World War I, the Depression, and World War II feel like a long-lost golden-age.The show, created by Meredith Willson, is based on the author’s birthplace, Mason City, Iowa, and many of its characters were drawn from some of the people who Willson knew. That’s one reason for the show’s appeal. But another very important one is its terrific musical score. Songs such as “Gary, Indiana,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “(Ya Got) Trouble,” “The Wells Fargo Wagon,” and “Till There Was You” are so enchanting that they have become classics in their own right.
