The Music Man
October 21 – 23 | Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre
Friday & Saturday: 7:30 PM / Sunday Matinee: 3 PM
Book, lyrics, and music by Meredith Willson
Directed by Bevan Keating
Choreography by Rebecca M. Stalcup, Artistic Director, Arkansas Festival Ballet
General admission: $25 + $5 processing fee
Students & Children: $15 + $5 processing fee
STUDENT MATINEE: October 20 @ 10 AM / For tickets and info, contact: rachel@wildwoodpark.org
Beloved by generations, Meredith Willson’s six-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy brings 76 Trombones, The Wells Fargo Wagon, Shipoopi, and vivacious antics to the Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre at Wildwood Park for the Arts. Fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef, but he cons the citizens of River City, Iowa, into buying musical instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band. Will the music man skip town with all the money, or will he and Marian, the librarian, start a new chapter? Warm and funny, this enduring American classic is sure to delight the entire family with a very happy ending!
More about The Music Man
Loveable rascal and unrepentant con man Harold Hill is an expert at parting fools from their money. When a fellow traveling salesman insists Hill could never bamboozle the proud people of Iowa with one of his famous schemes, the challenge is too tempting for Hill to resist. He tells the residents of River City they must establish a boys’ band to counteract the evils of the local pool hall, and they should entrust the band’s training to him. Naturally, Hill has no musical training and no intention of leading a band. He plans to abscond with the uniform and instrument money at the earliest opportunity.
A merry series of escapades ensues in which suspicious townspeople — including the mayor, the school board, and Marian, the town’s librarian — repeatedly demand Hill’s educational credentials, while Hill delays and dodges them. But the longer Hill remains in town, the more he’s enchanted by the savvy and attractive Marian. Can the charming librarian inspire the con man to change his ways, or will Hill stay too long, becoming snared in his own web of deceptions?
From the rousing “76 Trombones” to the sentimental favorite “Till There Was You,” The Music Man features many musical numbers that have become American classics. “Audience members of all ages will love this show,” comments director Bevan Keating. “It’s a playful celebration of Americana that hearkens back to a simpler time, offering a welcome escape from today’s complex concerns.”
Oct 20, 10 am: Student Matinee for School Groups
Student ticket: $5
Adult ticket: $5 + 1 free teacher and/0r chaperone ticket per 25 students.
Praeclara presents The Music Man in partnership with Wildwood Park for the Arts and with guest artist Arkansas Festival Ballet. The organizations will offer an arts outreach program in conjunction with this show, which includes sending actors, dancers, and musicians to visit classrooms at Wildwood’s partner schools and other participating locations around central Arkansas. The outreach program will culminate in a special matinee performance of The Music Man at Wildwood on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. exclusively for school children and their teachers.
Schools or teachers wishing to participate in the arts outreach program may schedule actor, dancer, or musician visits by contacting Dr. Rachel Miller, educational programs coordinator at Wildwood Park for the Arts, at 501.821.7275 ext 259.
The Music Man is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. Tel.: (212) 541-4684, Fax: (212) 397-4684. www.MTIShows.com
