‘The Music Man’ – Book, Music, and Lyrics by Meredith Willson. Story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. Directed by Matt Lenz; Choreography by Joshua Bergasse; Scenic & Video Design by Ann Beyersdorfer and Lisa Renkel; Lighting design by Ken Billington. Costumes: Original Broadway costume designs by Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto. Presented by Big League Productions at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St, Worcester, MA, from May 15–17, 2026.
By Mike Hoban
As America continues its slide into something unrecognizable to the country’s Founders, there may be no better break from reality than the nostalgic and highly entertaining national touring production of The Music Man, playing this weekend at the historic Hanover Theatre in Worcester. While this classic musical may be a highly sanitized version of early 20th-century Small Town America, it remains one of the defining gems of the Broadway canon, and this touring production hits all the right notes.
Set in 1912 Iowa, the birthplace of Meredith Willson, writer of the book, music, and lyrics for The Music Man, it tells the story of con man Harold Hill (Elliot Andrews) who aims to run game on the citizens of the fictional town of River City. The plan goes serendipitously awry, however, as he transforms the lives of all those around him, in addition to his own. With help from his former grifting partner Marcellus Washburn (an animated Paul Urriola) who has “seen the light” and left the con game behind, Hill devises a ruse to convince the townspeople that in order to defeat the forces of evil – namely a pool table (”Ya Got Trouble”) – they should form a boys marching band (it is 1912, remember) to keep the kids off the streets, and more importantly, out of the pool hall. Of course, would supply the instruments and uniforms at a tidy profit, skipping town before a note was played.
Unfortunately for Harold, the Mayor owns the pool hall and demands that Hill produce his musical credentials, a task he delegates to the bickering members of the school board. Hill cleverly manipulates the board into forming a barbershop quartet to keep them distracted. Implausible as the scheme may seem, it’s a great excuse to have the guys croon a handful of a capella tunes (“Goodnight Ladies”, “Lida Rose”), which they do beautifully. The con is working, with the only obstacle being Marian (the operatic Elizabeth D’Aiuto), the librarian/music teacher who could expose him as a fraud when he attempted to articulate his ridiculous “Think System” that would allegedly teach the children to play their instruments. He tries to win her over for his own nefarious purposes with some relentless overtures, and she consistently rebuffs him, but, this being a musical, love eventually blooms. (One teen girl behind me at the press performance summed up his behavior perfectly: ‘It’s definitely sexual harassment, but it’s whimsical.”)
As Harold Hill, the lithe Andrews oozes charm and moves gracefully throughout (even when he’s not dancing), although he’s not a particularly strong singer. D’Aiuto captures the steely, uptight Marian Paroo and transitions sweetly into a smitten lover, but her voice is a little too operatic for this reviewer (although she brings down the house with the American Songbook stunner, “Till There was You”). As Washburn, Urriola is a perfect comical sidekick to Andrews’ slick Hill, and Emanuelle Zeesman is a standout as the mayor’s wife, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, particularly in the orchestration of the Grecian Urn dance. But the real star of this show is the choreography by Joshua Bergasse and his outstanding dance team. Aided by a terrific orchestra (that blasts the big numbers without overpowering the performers), Bergasse has assembled a top-notch dance team, and the dance numbers, particularly “Ya Got Trouble,” “Shipoopi,” and “76 Trombones,” are showstoppers.
Given our political situation, a show praising the virtues of a con man may seem to be a bit ill-timed, but The Music Man is the perfect escape to the 24-hour news cycle. For more information and tickets, go to: https://thehanovertheatre.org/event/the-music-man/
