River City, Iowa is in trouble but the town just doesn’t know it. That’s what Professor Harold Hill tells them as he warns of the dangers of boys playing pool. Instead, he offers to form a band and teach them how to play.
Only complication is, Harald can’t teach anyone how to play music. He doesn’t know himself. But that’s not a problem for him. He’ll collect the money for uniforms and instruments and be long gone before anyone realizes they’ve been scammed.
The only one who sees through his scam is Marian Paroo, the local librarian, who also teaches piano on the side. Even her younger brother wants to join the professor’s fake band.
Theatre Under the Stars is bringing the Meredith Willson classic The Music Man (1957) to the Hobby Center complete with its iconic songs including “Seventy-six Trombones,” “Till There Was You” and “Ya Got Trouble.” And then there’s the dance numbers.
Elizabeth D’Aiuto (International tour of The Sound of Music) plays Marian and describes her as “Someone who’s fiercely independent and strong willed in her beliefs. The caretaker of the family. And someone who’s closed off. She’s afraid to be vulnerable, never has let herself go.
“And it’s not until Harold Hill comes to town, that she’s very skeptical of, and changes things around her and she sees things — People who were enemies are now friends and people are singing in the streets and the kids are now dancing in the streets. More specifically her little brother who had a lisp and didn’t talk is now talking and wants to join this fake band.”
Even though Marian distrust Harold, “the thing that he gives her is the ability to be vulnerable and the chance of falling in love. That is so wonderful to play.”
Describing Harold, D’Aiuto says: “He was a con man through and through. He’s charming; he knows he’s charming. He’s like a song and dance man without being a song and dance man. I don’t think he realizes the good that he’s doing in the town even though he’s trying to steal everybody’s money. He’s creating community.
“I don’t think he realizes it until Marian tells him that,” she says. And in this story of redemption, he finally decides to stay. “He has this great line: ‘I finally got my foot caught in the door.’ He’s willing to go to jail because he wants to stay in this community he’s put together again.”
D’Aiuto comes from theater royalty. “I actually come from a very musical theater family. My mother was an actress turned theater teacher. My father’s and his father before him are stage hands on Broadway. My dad’s [Todd D’Aiuto] the house electrician at the Eugene O’Neill Theater where The Book of Mormon is right now. He’s been doing that for 30-plus years. My mother [Deidre Alexander] was in the Broadway revival of Mame with Angela Lansbury. And did a couple of soap operas.”
Growing up, D’Aiuto says, “There was nothing else I wanted to do. I used to go into Broadway shows all the time thinking that was normal. And it wasn’t.” She went on to get a degree from the Boston Conservatory, graduating in 2019 or as she puts it: “right before the Pandemic. “
Asked why The Music Man has continued to be so popular, D’Aiuto says:
“It’s the nostalgia of it. It’s the music. It’s really stood the test of time. Meredith Wilson wrote a beautiful score. It’s the pop music back in the day. You would hear it on the radio and then there would be iconic singers singing these songs. Even the Beatles who really put ‘Till There Was You’ on the map.”
“It’s true Golden Age musical theater that we’re bringing back, that I feel like is dying out. To reintroduce it to this new generation is really, really wonderful.”
Asked what she’d tell people who have already seen The Musica Man thinking about coming again, D’Aiuto says:
“Why not? It is that iconic. It’s pure theatrical joy. You can’t go see The Music Man without having a good time. It’s one of those shows when you walk out you want to sing the music.
“What audiences should take away is a feeling of being lighter. This is a show that reminds us that people can change and it’s never too late to open your heart and that community really matters. Meredith Willson created this incredibly joyful musical and world that underneath all the comedy and spectacle there’s a beautiful message that connects people and for people to believe in one another.”
Performances are scheduled for September 15-27 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at TUTS at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-558-8887 or visit tuts.org. $42-$172.
