"There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringing. No, I never heard them at all till there was you." Those words echoed out of the luscious greenery of the Oakland Hills from the everlasting lyrics and music of Merdith Wilson's The Music Man from the song "Till There Was You" as sung by Wilson's characters, Marian Paroo and Professor Harold Hill.
The Music Man is the latest production from Woodminster Summer Musicals for the 2010 season, and pleased the audience in a wonderful effort. The show is directed by Joel Schlader; choreography by Harritet Schlader; and musical direction by Richard Vetterli.
Wilson's masterpiece has been performed all over the world, won the 1957 Tony Award for Best Musical, and has had two notable film productions. In 1962, Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, and a young Ron Howard did it for the big screen. And for the small screen in 2003, Matthew Broderick, Kristen Chenoweth, and Victor Garber took their turns at Wilson's unforgettable songs. Even The Beatles have had their shot with a song from The Music Man as they recorded "Till There Was You" for their 1964 album Meet The Beatles which also had "I Wanna Hold Your Hand".
For those not familiar with this play, the story begins on the 4th of July, 1912. It is set in the American Midwest and is about lifetime con artist and salesman, Harold Hill (portrayed by Robert Moorhead), who pretends to be a professor of everything. His latest scam is to pilfer money from residents of the fictional town of River City, IA. He does so by convincing the townspeople that the new pool hall is nothing but trouble for their young boys. So he hatches a plan to get parents to buy uniforms and musical instruments for a brass band that's formed by the town's boys, whom he will teach. He sways the people by claiming to have graduated from The Music Conservatory of Gary Indiana in 1905.
However, Hill wasn't expecting to fall in love with the town's librarian, Marian Paroo (Susan Himes Powers). He wins her heart by befriending her reclusive brother Winthrop (Elliott Carr) and mother (Marie Shell). Marian actually hides the evidence that Hill has been hoodwinking the town. There are other twists and turns to the story, and all in good fun.
Moorhead and Powers make an excellent pair and lead the company nicely. Moorhead does magnificently as the tricky Hill with awesome renditions of "Till There Was You" and "Seventy-Six Trombones". Powers did very well in transitioning from the cold librarian to the charming chanteuse she becomes at the end.
They receive great support from Greg Carlson as Mayor Shinn and Sandi Weldon as Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn. Carlson transformed into Edna Turnblad for Woodminster's Hairspray just last month, and transforms back into a more traditional role as the Mayor. He carried himself with ease into this role. Meanwhile, Weldon seemed to get most of the laughs from the audience.
Other notables were Greg Sottalano in the role of Constable Locke and Elliott Carr as the young Winthrop Paroo. Sottalano is certainly deserving of bigger roles in the future as his comical timing was impeccable. And Carr sung adorably with "Gary, Indiana".
A few disappointments were the ensemble dancers were not always in sync and the barber's quartet were occasionally off key. The quartet did redeem themselves with a melodic version of "Lida Rose". Maybe opening night jitters for all involved of these disapointments.
Additionally, Amelia Hart seemed nervous at times in the role of the Shinns' daughter, Zaneeta. She seemed to stumble with some lines and her comedy was untimely on many occasions. This could possibly be attributed to inexperience.
The orchestra was superb. They were so good under Vetterli's direction that one of the musicians did great mimicking the sounds of a bassoon. The orchestra didn't have a bassoon player this evening.
Technically, there were some issues with the audio feedback of the speakers and at times, the timing was off for some of the microphone cues with the limitations of not not enough mics to go around. However, the lighting design was still well done by Michael Barney, and another fantastic set by Gary Barten, especially the train for the opening scene.
The Music Man concludes performances this weekend with shows Fri-Sun, Aug. 13-15 @ 8 pm nightly. If you'd like to watch the show, bring warm clothes and blankets just in case it gets chilly and foggy in the Oakland Hills. Additionally, bring a flashlight for your walk back to the parking lot ($5 cash for parking) in the dark. You can also have a picnic as the venue is set up with picnic tables. Woodminster Amphitheater is in Oakland's Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road Oakland, CA 94602. For tickets, call (510) 531-9597 or click on the links below:
http://www.ticketweb.com/snl/VenueListings.action?venueId=12301
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