North Carolina Symphony and Area Actors Present Meredith Willson’s THE MUSIC MAN, 4/13-15

The North Carolina Symphony takes concertgoers to River City, Iowa, this week when Resident Conductor William Henry Curry leads the orchestra and noted area actors in a semi-staged production of Meredith Willson's treasured Broadway musical The Music Man.

The Pops Series performances take place at Raleigh's Meymandi Concert Hall on Friday and Saturday, April 13-14 at 8:00 p.m. A matinee performance follows on Sunday, April 15 at 3:00 p.m.

Maestro Curry and the orchestra take the stage to perform songs from a score of favorites that include "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Ya Got Trouble," "Till There Was You," "Marian the Librarian" and "The Wells Fargo Wagon."

"I'm a great fan of Meredith Willson, who few people remember was one of the great instrumentalists of the 20th century," says Curry, citing the artist's history in Sousa's band and the New York Philharmonic under Toscanini.

That professional background combined with Willson's memories of his small-town childhood to inspire the story of a fast-talking con man, Harold Hill, who tries to dupe Iowa townsfolk into purchasing equipment and music for a local boy's band he claims to be organizing. Yet Hill's escape with the cash is complicated by his growing interest in the straitlaced town librarian Marian Paroo and her family.

The Music Man "is in the great tradition of the American musical comedy," Curry says. "It is a light piece, but it has heart and soul. The music is absolutely irresistible. You feel like you know the characters. They're real, and they grow, which is the mark of great writing."

Joining Curry and the orchestra is a cast of area actors led by Sanford, N.C., based theater director Peggy Taphorn.

"This is sort of a hybrid between a concert and doing the entire show," Taphorn told The Sanford Herald earlier this month. "They needed someone who could craft the script and choose the songs with the conductor. William Henry Curry and I chose the songs we're going to do, which is about 99 percent of the songs."

"Peggy is a total class act," adds Curry. "She's been a joy to work with, and I'm extremely encouraged about our success as we work together on this production."

Roughly 80 North Carolina actors auditioned for roles in the Symphony production. Like Taphorn, who is producing artistic director of the Temple Theatre in Sanford, several members of the cast are familiar to Lee County area audiences. They include Ken Griggs (Harold Hill), Katharine Anderson (Marian), Kathy Gelb (Mrs. Paroo), Michael Jones (Hill's loveable crony Marcellus) and Michelle Harkness (the staunch and comical Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn, the mayor's wife).

Other cast members include Larry Conklin as Mayor Shinn and North Carolina-native Marti Boger, who has performed in operatic roles throughout North Carolina, as well as New York and Lofer, Austria. The cast will rehearse together for one week prior to two run-throughs with the Symphony before performances begin.

The performance follows the Symphony's successful collaboration with Chapel Hill's PlayMakers Repertory Company to present a semi-staged version of Peter Shaffer's drama Amadeus in December 2010. Now the North Carolina Symphony turns those talents on a Broadway classic. The Music Man premiered in December 1957, running for 1,375 performances and winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical over West Side Story. Later a popular film, with two Broadway revivals, it remains one of the most beloved musicals ever written.

Regular tickets to the Symphony's Pops series performances of The Music Man, April 13-15, range from $33 to $48, with $30 tickets for seniors and $10 tickets for students.

For tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724. Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.

To post a comment, you must register and login.