Review: THE MUSIC MAN at Capital One Theatre

There is a new corporate kid in town, especially geared for patrons content to stay in the mixed use mini-city center known as Tysons. Similar to Wolftrap, Capital One Hall is a destination venue for touring shows, and Tyson City welcomed River City when the national tour of “The Music Man” paraded into suburbia.

The iconic show, from the musical era of big numbers and feel good endings, book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Wilson, won 5 Tony awards and is a community theatre staple for its large cast and explosively large scenes. This National Tour is tighter and cleans up some of the grittier sensibilities while employing Broadway level talent.

If you missed the show in high school, it’s a time of innocence and possibility. It is early 1900s and small town life is catching up to the rest of the world. An admitted huckster, self-proclaimed ‘Professor’ Henry Hill (the talented  up and comer Eliot Andrews) comes to River City, Iowa to pull off an outrageous and oft repeated stunt—get the town fired up about having musical instruments and uniforms, the better to raise cash and quickly skedaddle out of town. They skedaddled in those days.

This treacherous plot, revealed early on, holds up primarily because of the myriad reactions of the townsfolk—many caught up in the excitement of the newcomer, others skeptical, and even some direct hostility. Or is it jealousy?

What saves this quite long show, aside from nifty timing and the ever present use of AV scrims for background effect, is the wow factor.

A few elements stretch credibility in our modern sensibilities, especially the believability of the romance between Professor Hill and Marion Paroo (the stately Elizabeth D’Aiuto), the music teacher and librarian who sees right through him and aims to thwart him at every turn. More on that later.

At the outset, the show is a fun spectacle. The opening, “Rock Island” is the show’s famous opening number, performed by a group of traveling salesmen aboard a train. It’s a syncopated talkthru performed without music as the salesmen discuss if the modern world of 1912 is rendering their profession obsolete.  Their infectious beat set a nice expectant tone for the show. These salesmen later turn into an impromptu Barbershop quartet, formed on the spot by Professor Hill, to curb further investigation into his plans. Very slick.

Of course “The Music Man” has a memorable score with recognizable iconic songs. It has plenty of famous ballads – “Goodnight, My Someone” and “Till There Was You,” to name a couple – but this show is strongest in its big ensemble numbers, especially when it comes to Joshua Bergasse’ choreography. We all know the singable “76 Trombones” and “Gary, Indiana” but the dancing in numbers like the town social gathering of “Shipoopi” and “Marian the Librarian” in particular is clean and energetic, each performer really having fun with the cheekiness of the moves. “Marian the Librarian” is a real standout, in which Harold tries to woo Marian as they both spin on library ladders, causing the room to erupt into chaos. Who doesn’t like a ruckus in a library?  

What saves this quite long show, aside from nifty timing and the ever present use of AV scrims for background effect, is the wow factor. The effortless talent and dancing, especially focused on ballet moves, set it apart in scene after scene, especially the enjoyable finale and curtain, where the full cast is in a blazing red band uniform. Original costumes by Santo Loquasto are fabulous, though townsfolk seem to be dressed to the nines all the time. But we’ll let it slide.

Andrews as Professor Hill, young and dapper, had a sneaky innocence and is gifted with quick springy moves reminiscent of Dick Van Dyke. Almost too nice to be a cad, he carried the part expertly with earnestness and steady baritone. D’Aiuto’s Marion looked stately but older and had the challenging part of rejecting then accepting the lovable cad. He is smooth, though.  Witness his lines:

Marion: “No, please, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”

Harold Hill: “Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you've collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering.”

Her turn toward Harold is less of a change of heart, or of seeing some good in him she couldn’t before, than simply her deciding to do something for herself for once.

But he also has the charm needed to make Harold someone to root for. Throughout the con, Eliot uses his body language and expression to make every character feel at special--and, to make the audience feel like they’re in on the joke. 

Great supporting roles helped craft the story and give it a hometown feel. The mayor and his wife were fine caricatures of self-importance in their own little world. Bombastic Mayor Shinn (Patrick K. Blashill) and his exuberant wife Eulalie Shinn (Emmanuelle Zeesman) formed a nice pair of strutting characters.

Savannah Stevenson played Marion’s mom, Mrs. Paroo with a gentle brogue and a dispenser of wisdom for her daughter-- “It's a well-known principle that if you keep the flint in one drawer and the steel in the other, you'll never strike much of a fire.”

Broadway directing veteran Matt Lenz has the National Tour moving lightning quick, reflecting the new arrangements of the revival. Some mic sound needed adjusting but the overall acoustics were quite good at Capital Hall.

Pick up a trombone or just pick up the beat, the parade is coming to Cap One!

Running time: two hours and 30 minutes, including an intermission.

“The Music Man” performs from May 29-31 at Capital One Hall, 7750 Capital One Tower Rd, Tysons, VA 22102. For tickets to this or other Capital One shows, go online at https://www.capitalonehall.com/ or 703-343-7651.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best New Play - Top 3

1. Liberation

28.5% of votes

2. Giant

16.5% of votes

3. Dog Day Afternoon

15.7% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats