Mayor Shinn in The Music Man

[mattmarkowski99]

I just finished watching The Music Man with Robert Preston, and I enjoyed it a great deal. I was intrigued though by one character, Mayor Shinn. I thought he was a very funny stereotypical character. I was just wondering what others thought about Mayor Shinn. 

[Theater_Nerd]

I love the character of Mayor Shinn. He was expertly played by Paul Ford alongside Hermoine Gingold as his eccentric wife "Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn".

It's a great movie. 

[MarkBearSF]

I think it's a wonderful character role - and even moreso the role of his wife. One of the best - in a perfect musical with an excellent film adaptation.

And one can't neglect mentioning the superb performances by Paul Ford and Hermione Gingold (Baaaaalzac!) 

[Alex Kulak2]

I know this is unrelated, but I just love the names of characters in Golden Age Musicals. Shinn, Eulalie, Ernestina, Zaneeta, Winthrop. They're just so eccentric and fun to say.

[Stage Door Sally]

If you like Paul Ford as Mayor Shinn, catch him in the film A Big Hand for the Little Lady starring Joanne Woodward and Henry Fonda. It's a hoot.

[Amanda DeLalla]

The Music Man is such a brilliant show...it's pure Americana fluff and yet it manages to be both cleverly written and deeply heartfelt. And the Shinns are indeed fantastic roles. When I did the show, I had to do everything I could to keep from laughing at the Mayor's malapropisms during the gymnasium scene.

Eulalie is the true definition of a scene-stealing character. In my high school theatre class, I "designed" a set of costumes for the show as a term project, and my sketch for Eulalie took the "peacock wife" description literally. I loved it! Lol...

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

^^^

That was me, guys...logged into the wrong account...

[Mr. Nowack]

They really are great characters. The last time I saw the show I was laughing at Eulalie hysterically the whole time she was onstage.

[Phantom4ever]

"Pure American fluff" with a healthy dose of sharp anti-McCarthyism satire in there :)

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Yes...which is why I commented on the clever writing...make no mistake that Harold Hill knows EXACTLY what he's talking about at all times!

[Adair Haywind]

I would love for this show to return to Broadway with Seth MacFarlane as Harold Hill.

[Broadway Bounce]

The Shinns are the definitive meaning of "character actors."  And ..when done right...can walk away with the show.

FYI...David Burns won a Tony for originating the role in the original Broadway cast.

 

[darquegk]

MacFarlane's love of this show runs deep- he's covered (as himself and his various characters) probably at least half of the show's score. His swing version of "Sadder but Wiser Girl" is one of the best big-band charts I've ever heard. Joel McNeeley's arrangement would have done Sinatra in his Sinatra/Basie days proud.

[OlBlueEyes]

Was there ever a more difficult Tony to choose between Music Man or West Side Story? Being sentimental, I probably would have chosen Music Man since it was practically the entire output of Meredith Willson's life. Bernstein had a room full of awards.

Buddy Hackett and little Ronnie Howard.

 

 

[Mr. Nowack]

My friend mentioned yesterday after seeing Rosie in Hairspray that he would be interested in seeing her as Eulalie if the rumoured live version was ever realized. What do people think about that?

[MarkBearSF]

Rosie would be great. She can ham it up all she wants and there's no actual singing.

[Dollypop]

Having played the role a while back I can say it was great to hear all those laughs coming my way.  I played him as being effete and above it all and it worked beautifully. Would jump at the chance to play the role again.

[mamaleh]

Paul Ford was a family favorite starting way back when he was Sgt. Bilko's exasperated commanding officer on The Phil Silvers Show through his unexpectedly becoming a father in late middle age in NEVER TOO LATE (you must see the movie version; it's pretty good).  Always loved his bluster, especially as Mayor Shinn.  I believe he became an actor fairly late in life.

[OlBlueEyes]

Paul Ford also had a great role in a comedy that I think has been surprisingly forgotten considering the attention it received when released and the quality of the cast. The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming chronicled the reaction of the inhabitants of a small New England island during the Cold War when a Soviet submarine ran aground there.

Featuring  Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin in his first major film role, Brian Keith, Theodore Bikel, Jonathan Winters, and Paul Ford.

Alan Arkin played the sub captain.

[Stage Door Sally]

That movie was on TV last week. It's still a hoot.

[mattmarkowski99]

Does anyone know if he ever had a song written for him that was either unused or cut?

[NoName3]

No one has mentioned Ford's absolutely perfect turn as Horace Vandergelder in the 1958 film of The Matchmaker opposite the wonderful Dolly Levi of Shirley Booth.

[GavestonPS]

Phantom4ever said: ""Pure American fluff" with a healthy dose of sharp anti-McCarthyism satire in there :)

 

"

I'm glad to see THE MUSIC MAN get its due here and I realize Annie didn't mean "fluff" in a bad way. But not only is the fluff used to explore themes such as hope, faith and love, the entire show--with its patter songs, barbershop quartet of town councilmen, hen-peeping town ladies, et al.--points forward to the "concept musical" of the following decade.

At its heart, the show may be naive in a peculiarly American way, but it isn't so different from the Americanized Don Quixote of MAN OF LA MANCHA (a serious, "dark" musical): If you believe in people (including yourself), you may inspire them to be better than they are.

[A Director]

The Music Man is about how art can changes lives!