Review: MEREDITH WILLSON'S THE MUSIC MAN at Red Curtain Theatre

Red Curtain Theatre in Conway always impresses me with their productions, and MUSIC MAN with Book, Music, and Lyrics by Meredith Willson is no exception. The whole Red Curtain community was showing off their singing, dancing, and instrumental pantomiming skills to an adoring crowd August 4-13, at the Staples Auditorium on the Hendrix College campus in Conway, and it was clear that the whole audience was having a great time by the smiles that were on their faces for the whole show. This production has great music with great rhythm and was a perfect fit for this theatre troupe. 

THE MUSIC MAN is set in River City, Iowa, which gets preyed upon by traveling salesmen. One of those happens to be Professor Harold Hill (Johnny Passmore), who promises to teach kids how to play instruments, even though he knows nothing about music. He runs into his friend Marcellus Washburn (Julian Lilley), who has taken the straight and narrow path, but keeps the Professor’s identity a secret. He tries to win over the town librarian and piano teacher Marian Paroo (Kennedy Reynolds), but she learns about him quickly and almost turns him in to Mayor Shinn (JD Cariker), until she sees what a difference he has made in her little brother Winthrop Paroo (Henry Gowin) and the rest of the children. Things escalate, people are ready to tar and feather the professor, but in the end, he wins the girl and the town, and all is well in River City. 

With Director Liz Parker, Music Director Kent Britton, and Choreographer Christina Munoz Madsen, THE MUSIC MAN has quite a few memorable songs that have made it into my lexicon of musical numbers that I randomly serenade to whomever happens to be near me at the time. “Seventy-Six Trombones” is a major group number where Professor rallies the town behind his idea of a band. I loved how the whole cast came together, and the choreography was so much fun. “Ya Got Trouble” was another entertaining Professor and big cast number. My favorites, though, were when the quartet (Bill Holt as Ewart Dunlop, Kurt Baumann as Oliver Hix, Christopher Turner as Jacey Squires, and George Mayo as Olin Britt) paired with the females-both the “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" ladies, and the “Lida Rose” and “Will I Ever Tell You” mashup. And then there’s the opening of the show when the Rock Island Salesmen and Conductor Keith Coker rock back and forth to the clicking of the train. A lot of these numbers demand a command of the material, and the Red Curtain ensemble always comes through.   

The leading characters did a great job moving the story along. Passmore was charming as Professor Harold Hill. He was smooth, sang wonderfully, and had the whole audience believing in his pitch even though we were in on the con. Reynolds held her own and paired well with Passmore. I loved how she melded well with the Barbershop Quartet, and it was so sweet how doting she was with her little brother, who was super cute and stole the scenes he was in. Sara Coker’s Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn really embraced the power of being the mayor’s wife and took her leadership in the social paradigm seriously. The younger couples were sweet to watch: both Zaneeta (Ansley Sherman) and her beau Tommy Djilas (Conner Moyer) had great chemistry, but may have been beaten in the cuteness department by Gowin’s Winthrop and Reagan Madsen’s Amaryllis.  

The Red Curtain has acting, singing, and dancing classes throughout the year, and this show really spotlighted their efforts in enhancing the skill level of this community. The dancing in the production was amazing. There were twirls, flips, and well executed partnering throughout the musical. I love how everyone was given an opportunity to show off their moves in the group numbers. Choreographer Christina Munoz Madsen created scenes that had great cohesiveness and amped up the vibrancy value to each song. Each dancer had their moment, and their pride beamed from every face on stage. 

Broadway World is well aware that creating theatre is not cheap, and ticket sales alone cannot keep a company going. The Music Man was presented in part by Johnny Passmore- Realtor, Coldwell Banker RPM Group, Haynes Ace Hardware and the Conway Convention and Visitors Bureau. We thank all of the sponsors that dig deep in their pockets to contribute to the artistic community. We can’t do it without you. 

Coming up tonight, RCT's Improv troupe is back in downtown Conway performing Summer Blockbusters: The Sequel, at 7pm, for the August Red Curtain Rendezvous. Tickets are $5.00 at the door. Concessions available for purchase. Go see their talented troupe of actors create summer blockbuster hits on the spot with the help of the adoring audience! You're guaranteed to have a good time. 

Broadway World would also like to thank Jeff Wittenburg of Wittenburg Photography for the use of the fabulous pictures. If you are needing some senior pictures or have an event that needs to be captured, check out their website at wittenburgphotography.zenfolio.com for more information.  

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