Interview: Elizabeth D’aiuto of THE MUSIC MAN at THEATRE UNDER THE STARS

From September 15 through September 27, the Hobby Center will be transformed into a mythical version of Iowa in 1912 with Meredith Willson’s beloved musical classic, The Music Man. The gorgeous revival is currently touring the country with at least 76 trombones—and probably a lot more. Elizabeth D’Aiuto stars as the librarian Marian Paroo in the national tour, marking her national tour debut. She has previously appeared on the international tour of The Sound of Music, as well as in productions of Camelot, Man of La Mancha, West Side Story, and Vanities. A graduate of the Boston Conservatory, D’Aututo has a particular love for the Golden Age of musical theater. Broadway World writer Brett Cullum spoke with D’Aiuto about taking on one of musical theater’s most iconic romantic leads, the enduring appeal of The Music Man, her theatrical family, and her journey from Broadway backstage to the national tour.

Brett Cullum: What is it like to play one of the most famous romantic leads in musical history? Marian, the librarian in The Music Man, is just iconic.

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: She is. I mean, I think I was a little intimidated coming in and playing this role because of all the iconic people playing before me, like the original Barbara Cook, Shirley Jones in the movie, Rebecca Luker in the 2001 revival, and then the one and only Sutton Foster. I was coming and being like, okay, how do I make this character my own? How do I bring myself to this character? And so I really do believe I’m bringing a 2026 version, but still paying homage to all of the things that Meredith Willson intended with the character.

She is fiercely independent, and a business owner, and she takes care of her family. Underneath all of that, she’s also just so guarded, too. Not because she’s had her heart broken before, it’s just because that’s how she grew up. She just has the intention of taking care of her family, and she’s not going to settle for some random guy coming into town.

She’s wonderful to play. I really find some things about her that are so relatable, and that’s what I try to really do for this new generation of people coming to see the show. I try to make her as relatable as possible, because the whole song of “My White Knight” is trying not to settle for something, and that’s what every young woman should do, is just not settle for what society says you should settle for.

And then also just singing her beautiful music. Meredith Willson wrote a gorgeous score, and I’m so lucky to get to sing it every single night. Probably one of my favorites is “Till There Was You.” I think it’s probably one of the most romantic songs ever written, and it’s really such a joy. I’m so grateful.

Brett Cullum: For anybody who may not be as much of a geek as we are and knows the Golden Age of musical theater, tell me a little bit about what The Music Man is about.

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: Right. So I’ll give you sort of the short synopsis of it. A con man comes into this small Iowa town, and he says that he wants to create a boys’ band because there’s trouble in their town. For some reason, the whole town believes it, and they go along with this con. They’re giving this man money and everything. The only way he feels like he can really get away with it is to impress the librarian slash music teacher, which is Marian Paroo. So Harold Hill, this con man, is trying to woo this librarian who’s not having it, trying to get the mayor on board who’s also not having it, and then you have Charlie Cowell. He’s trying to create this fake band, but he doesn’t even know how to lead a band at all. So there’s definitely some dot-dot-dots. And then you have to come see the show to see what happens with Marian and Harold, and the mayor and Harold, and someone named Charlie Cowell. So you gotta come see it. It’s a really great show.

Brett Cullum: Why do you think The Music Man endures after all this time?

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: Oh my gosh, it really has stood the test of time. We were talking about earlier how high schools and community theaters are still doing this musical, and I really think that’s just because it’s, first of all, pure theatrical joy. Audiences that come to see it are going to have a good time. It’s just one of those shows that you’re gonna go walking out, and you’re gonna sing the songs, right? You got “76 Trombones,” you got “Trouble,” “Shipoopi,” “Till There Was You,” “Goodnight My Someone.” They’re just some iconic songs. And also, it’s nostalgia, right? There’s something really nostalgic about it. It’s Americana in its finest, and it’s a show for the whole family. There’s something for everybody, whether it’s the music for the older generation, the comedy, the spectacle, the costumes, or the dancing. It really is—there’s something for everybody, and I think that is why it’s just stood the test of time. And really, the music, too, is just such a huge, huge draw.

Brett Cullum: The production pictures are gorgeous. Tell me about the look of this production.

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: We have a really fabulous creative team. Santo Loquasto designed the costumes for the revival with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. We’re so lucky to be wearing those costumes. They’re gorgeous. The set design is beautiful, the footbridge, and the Paroo house. We also have new elements that make it a little more modern, thanks to these projections. So we have a projection wall that slides and moves, and on our panels, too, that you’ll see. So they move, and they set the tone very nicely. So it’s not drawing attention, it’s not trying to be a spectacle of any sort, or be super modern. It really does just complement this little Golden Age musical. It’s such a jewel box, truly. The backdrops, too, are just so gorgeous. And we have Ken Billington, who did our lighting. We couldn’t have asked for a more fantastic creative team. Matt Lenz is our director, and he is usually the associate for Jack O’Brien, who did The Sound of Music International Tour, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Full Monty. We’re so lucky to have him. And Josh Burgess, who did Smash on Broadway. He did the choreography, and those dancers are just absolutely incredible. They are jumping, kicking their feet, and doing flips and tricks. I think that is a huge draw for audiences.

Brett Cullum: Let’s talk a little bit about Elizabeth for a second. How did you get into acting? What sucked you in?

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: Okay, so I come from a very, very theatrical family. My father and his father before that were stagehands on Broadway. So my dad is still currently working at the Eugene O’Neill. He’s the house electrician of the theater, so he’s working at The Book of Mormon right now. So I grew up going to Broadway shows all the time, and I thought that was completely normal: going backstage, hanging around with the actors, playing my little Barbie video games, and hearing the shows. I just thought that was so normal for me, but I’m now realizing just how cool that was. So I was always surrounded by it. And then my mother, too, a Boston Conservatory alumna, was an actress turned theater teacher. She did a lot of soap operas, and she was also in the revival of Mame with Angela Lansbury. She was a dancer, a fabulous singer, and an actress herself.

And, yeah, I just sort of—it was—I feel like I was destined for it. It’s not like I just fell into it. My parents never forced me to do it. I just found this love for singing, and I didn’t even know I could sing. I was the really loud soprano in the choir that never blended. So I realized I could sing. I got into voice lessons with a fabulous voice teacher named Sarah Pfister, who was Christine on Broadway and on tour, so I was so lucky to coach with her. And then when I decided I wanted to do musical theater for my career, my parents were like, okay, are you sure? And I said, yes. They thought I could handle it. They thought my talent was good enough, because they were very realistic.

So they put me into dance lessons and acting lessons, and I trained all throughout high school, and I got into the Boston Conservatory. I studied there for four years, and then I graduated in 2019.

And, yeah, sort of the rest is history. Of course, we had a pandemic in there, which was a little difficult for the career, but I managed to stick it out. I went to Florida, and I worked a little bit there, and then I went on a cruise ship for eight months, and I traveled the world and was a signature singer on Azamara Cruise Lines, which was a great experience.I don’t think I’ll ever do a cruise ship again, but I always encourage people to go out and try things.

And then I booked the international tour of The Sound of Music, and I was a swing, which meant I covered eight tracks, including Mother Abbess, which I feel like I was the youngest Mother Abbess in the world, but still—slay. And that was a great experience. I got to tour China for six months, and then I stayed in Hong Kong for two months. And that’s how Matt Lenz, who was the associate director on The Sound of Music, came to know me.

Brett Cullum: What is it like doing The Sound of Music internationally? Hong Kong and China must have been an incredible experience.

ELIZABETH D’AUTUTO: Yeah! It was crazy! I didn’t realize how much they love American musical theater. They just love it so much. Even though they didn’t speak our language, we had Mandarin and Cantonese projected on screens so they could understand what we were saying, and they knew the music, which was incredible. I think probably because of Julie Andrews and that iconic movie. So they probably heard it in their language, but yeah, it was great. Traveling in China was an incredible experience. The food was different, the theaters were different. It was just really great. I’m so grateful to have done it.

Brett Cullum: This is your first national tour. How long have you been on this tour so far?

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: We started touring in January, and we went all the way until June 28th. We had a bit of a break, and now we’re back up and running from September until the end of December. And then we’ll end in December, which is really exciting.

Brett Cullum: What has it been like doing this show for so many different people and in so many different places?

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: Going around the states has been a different experience in itself. I think a lot of people are so grateful for it. There’s not a lot of Golden Age musicals out there besides The Sound of Music that are touring right now. I mean, we love the Mean Girls and the Beetlejuices and the Mystic Pizzas that are going out. Those are great, but there’s something really special about a Golden Age musical. That is where musical theater came from. So, to introduce it to these different generations is wonderful, because it keeps it alive, right? And then you also have these older generations who are coming up to us after the show and at the stage door, and they’re like, thank you so much. I had this one man who was like, “You have no idea what this means to me. My wife just died two months ago, and she used to sing ‘Till There Was You’ to me.”

That was just so heartwarming and very—it just was—it touched me so much that I was able to just even make them remember things, or just a memory, just something like that. So I feel like I have such a—I’m not trying to put so much pressure on myself, but I feel like I have a big job to do, to keep this alive, this Americana, and this wonderful Golden Age, and this nostalgia of it all. And it’s really wonderful.

Brett Cullum: You’re also kicking off Theater Under the Stars’ season in Houston. Have you ever been to Houston before?

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: It will—yeah, it’ll be my first time. We’ve been to a couple of other places in Texas, like Dallas and San Antonio, but I’ve never been to Houston.

I’m so excited, and it’s been a dream of mine to play at Theater Under the Stars. I’ve always heard about it, I’ve seen pictures, and I’m like, oh, just one day, maybe I’ll get there. And now I’m finally getting here, and I’m so, so excited.

BROADWAYWORLD: Finally, this has to be one of your dream roles. Is there another dream role that you have? What do you do after Marian?

Elizabeth D’Aiuto: I know, what do I do? I think Eliza Doolittle would be next. Anyone doing “My Fair Lady,” sign me up.

Brett Cullum: You would be perfect!  We’re putting that out. We’re manifesting that. Maybe next year with TUTS. We’ll bring you back to Houston.