Review: Keeton Theatre's THE MUSIC MAN

If you were to ask me to list my five favorite musicals (or even my top ten), there is a very good chance I would not include Meredith Willson's The Music Man among my chosen favorites. But then I see another production of that particular Willson tribute to Americana that features a fast-talking salesman and a beautiful young librarian named Marian and I am suddenly reminded that I absolutely adore The Music Man and all 76 of its trombones - and I feel remiss in not listing it among the shows I love.

So what's the deal? Most likely, it is because we live in the 21st century and personal tastes in musical theater have evolved over time...we tend to prefer edgier material, shows with more bite and more theatrical gravitas that challenges our preconceived notions. Face it: The Music Man is, well, rather quaint. In this day and age, during which musical theater artisans are spinning vividly entertaining works out of suicide and depression, adaptations of literary masterpieces and stage musicalizations of popular movies, Meredith Willson's musical - which takes place in 1912 Iowa, for goodness sakes - sticks out like a proverbial sore thumb.

But give the show further consideration and you will see just how adept Willson was at capturing the pop culture zeitgeist of a particular moment in time, how effectively he creates characters that still resonate, providing equal servings of comedy and drama with ease and alacrity - all set to a score of musical theater standards that continue to entertain and delight. The man, it should be completely obvious, knew how to write a great song and how to create theatrical moments that have become part of stage history, leading us to this point in musical theater time, when contemporary composers and playwrights are able to deal effectively with deeper, sometimes darker and seemingly more serious, inspiration.

If Showboat, the tale of performers on a Mississippi riverboat struggling with societal change at the turn of the 20th century, begat Oklahoma, then Oklahoma begat The Music Man. which begat Man of La Mancha, which led to Les Miserables, which led to Next to Normal, ultimately resulting in this year's Tony Award-winning Fun Home, the story of a young lesbian growing up in a funeral home with her closeted gay and suicidal father. It always pains me when young theater artists express disdain for classic and legendary musicals, preferring shows of a more recent vintage without considering that they are all important to the continued growth and evolution of a beloved art form.

I will now step down from my soapbox in order to heap praise upon director/choreographer Stephanie Jones-Benton and musical director Ginger Newman for their wonderfully entertaining, if flawed and imperfect, revival of The Music Man, onstage through October 24 at Donelson's The Larry Keeton Theatre. Sweetly sentimental in its quaint way - a lovely slice of Americana writ large upon the musical theater stage - The Music Man is clever and heartwarming, its rather simple story of life in River City, Iowa, still engaging and certain to set your feet to tapping as you hear Willson's score ("(Ya Got) Trouble," "Good Night, My Someone," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Marian the Librarian," "Will I Ever Tell You" and "Till There Was You" are musical theater standards) performed with confidence by the 28-member cast.

Jones-Benton and Newman have marshaled their troops to present a winning production that succeeds almost despite its shortcomings: the River City boys' band seems particularly light of boys, Tommy Djilas' gang is non-existent (where are the young actors needed to beef up his gang of rabble-rousers?), the sound design seemed to distort some of the music in the show's early going (enough that I asked the person next to me if I was hearing correctly or having a stroke) and some of the choreography is repetitive (although I will give Jones-Benton high marks for utilizing the skills of her cast members to full effect). Yet, somehow, it all works - and only the most misanthropic among us would not find themselves totally caught up in the good-humored hijinks that transpire on the Keeton stage.

Chief among the show's attributes is the exceedingly lovely and tremendously talented Tonya Pewitt, who may have been destined to play librarian Marian Paroo. Pewitt's voice has always been a favorite among Nashville's musical theater leading ladies, but hearing her glorious soprano singing Marian's songs will leave you presuming the score was written expressly for her. Her beautiful voice is exquisitely supported by her onstage presence, making Pewitt's Marian a memorable reiteration of the beloved character.

Scott Chevalier lends his fine voice to the role of the peripatetic con-artist Professor Harold Hill and he is definitely in command of his character, despite the fact that there's a lack of romantic chemistry with Pewitt (although I must admit that their duet of "Till There Was You" was a truly lovely version of one of my all-time favorite songs). That, however, can be easily overlooked: Chevalier is charming, possessing a warmth that comes over the footlights, thoroughly engaging the audience in his onstage machinations and manipulations.

Among the supporting cast, Jamie London is a delightfully blustery Eulalie McKechnie Shinn, stealing every scene she's in with an easy vigor (younger cast members might be advised to watch how easily London takes charge of every moment she's onstage with the perfect blending of glee and grace). Brian Best zealously portrays Marcellus with good comedic timing. Austin Jeffrey Smith is well-cast as the teenaged troublemaker Tommy Djilas, perfectly paired with the talented Stella London as Zaneeta Shin. Cary Street is terrific as Marian's devoted mother (as well as Winthrop, played by Heath Teasdale, whose rendition of "Gary, Indiana" ensures I'll be humming it for the next week, at least), delivering her lines with a consistently Irish lilt. Larry Rhodes is effective as Mayor Shinn, particularly as the foil for London's Eulalie.

The River City quartet of feuding school board members sound great ("Lida Rose" is a musical highlight, to be sure) and they are quite believable: kudos to Justin Boyd, Terry McLemore, Earl Landree and Riley Bolton for their superb performances. Just as impressive are the "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little" ladies, played by Amber Boyer, Jessica Boyer, Elizabeth Rhea and Kristi Stephens Walker...ideal as Eulalie's cadre of mischief makers.

Jim Manning's set for the classic musical is clever and inventive, making full use of the Keeton Theatre stage to provide the cast with an eye-popping backdrop for their musical theater adventure.

• The Music Man. Music and lyrics by Meredith Willson. Book by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey. Directed and choreographed by Stephanie Jones-Benton. Musical direction by Ginger Newman. Produced by Larry Keeton. Presented by The Larry Keeton Theatre, 108 Donelson Pike, Nashville. Through October 24. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes (with a 15-minute intermission).

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