Hillbarn's lively 'Music Man' looks and sounds great

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 8, 2007 | by Keith Kreitman

HILLBARN Theatre proved me wrong again. I was unable to see how it could possibly mount a production as expansive as "The Music Man" in its limited space, but the company was able to bring new life to this 50-year-old theatrical masterpiece.

The production boasts impressive movable sets by Lee Basham, choreography by Joe Duffy and Beth Ann Wells, costumes by Deniz Twelves, an uninhibited, fun-loving adult cast and a bunch of super- talented, super-enthusiastic kids, all staged with great elan by co- directors Toni Tomei Greg Sudmeier, who also serves as musical director.

It made me feel as if I were viewing "The Music Man" for the first time, with new eyes and new appreciation.

This is a work of musical and theatrical genius, one that will endure for the ages. Meredith Willson poured all of his experience in formal orchestral music, scoring for marching bands and the spirit of opera and theatrical musicals into the melodies of this show, utilizing styles from Baroque canonical through 19th-century barber shop quartets and everything in between.

Some segments are unforgettable: The brilliant opening counterpoint exchange between the traveling salesmen on the Rock Island Railroad train; the songs "Ya Got Trouble," "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little," "Marian the Librarian," "The Wells Fargo Wagon" and "Shipoopi" and, of course, the marching band tune that matches anything John Phillips Sousa ever composed, "Seventy-Six Trombones."

The little town Harold Hill descends upon with his bag of commercial trickery in 1912, is the fictional River City, Iowa, ruled by the pompous Mayor Shinn, performed with a Shakespearean turn by John Musgrave.

In the role of the ubiquitous, shady, fast talkin' Harold Hill is Russ Bohard. As I have written before, I don't believe that there's any acting, dancing or singing role that Bohard is unable to do well and here he does it all, as he tries to convince this sleepy little town that it needs a boys' marching band.

The big surprise of the evening is 21-year-old Mindy Lym (who alternates with Stacey Kennedy) as Marian Paroo, the town librarian, with a soprano voice on such numbers as "Good Night My Someone" and "Till There Was You" that may only be described as glorious -- possibly the best I have ever heard in the role. And, she is a darn good actress, to boot. What a talent!

Claudia McCarley is Mrs. Paroo, Marian's Irish mother, struggling to convince Marian to be less choosy about the men in the town.

And, get ready with a handkerchief when her younger brother, Winthrop, traumatized by the death of their father before being inspired by Harold Hill, brings a shock of joy to his worried family with a knockout song and dance routine in "Gary, Indiana." Young Hunter Lowdon will tear your heart out with that one.

Arriving in town, Harold finds an old cohort in crime, Marcellus Washburn (Danny Broome), who fills him in on the vulnerable and gullible folks in this sleepy little town -- and there are many.

Among the townsfolk, there are the four town board members, played by John Shoaf and Paul Sinasohn (rotating with Fred Merrick and Owen Doyle), Pete Wanger and Gerald Chu, whom Hill disarms by conning them into becoming a barber shop quartet.

Others are the town's "ballet ladies" led by the mayor's wife, played by Dee Bailey with Lee Foster, Sheryl Abbott, Joyce Jacobson and Daina Maria de Torok as the hapless would-be dancers.

All goes well for Harold until he falls hopelessly in love with Marian. Then a vengeful fellow salesman (Dan Shilstone) arrives in town to expose Harold, who needs to prove the kids he decked out in uniforms and instruments can really perform or else he gets locked up by Constable Locke (Robert Snedegar) or worse, he'll be tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail.

I wish I had enough space to give credit to all of the heartwarming talents in this show. I must mention Trevor Meacham, who moved up to a full role in this production as Tommy Djilas, the town juvenile delinquent, who has eyes for the mayor's daughter, Zaneeta, played by Amanda Andrews. As a singing and dancing actor, Trevor is proving he's got the right stuff.