Book, Music
and Lyrics by Meredith Willson.
Directed by
Joseph McGrail- Bateup,
Musical
Direction by Zach Raffan.
Choreographed
by Kathryn Jones.
Presented by
Queanbeyan Players.
The Q,
Queanbeyan until 25th June, 2016.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens.
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| Deana Gibbs (Marian Paroo) and the Pickalittle Ladies Photo:Bec Doyle |
First
presented on Broadway in 1957, Meredith Willson’s charming musical fable tells
the story of a community in Iowa, duped by a persuasive con-man, Harold Hill, (Gordon
Nicholson) into buying instruments and uniforms to form a boy’s band. Hill’s
plan comes unstuck when he makes the fatal mistake of falling in love with the
town librarian, Marian Paroo (Deanna Gibbs).
Fleshed out
by an excellent score containing a succession of lovely songs, including the
rousing “Seventy Six Trombones”, and a song made popular by The Beatles, “Till
There Was You”, and what is surely the first rap-song to be used in a musical,
“Rock Island”, as well as plenty of juicy character cameos for the large
ensemble cast, “The Music Man” is an excellent choice for this latest
production by The Queanbeyan Players.
Heading the
enthusiastic, 50 strong cast, Gordon Nicholson, as the music man, Harold Hill,
sings his songs well, especially “Trouble”, and “Seventy Six Trombones”, but
elsewhere is surprisingly subdued. The show is called “The Music Man” after
all, and that character needs to dominate. On opening night it was Deanna
Gibbs, delightfully secure in voice and characterisation, who lead the show.
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| Deanna Gibbs (Marian Paroo) and Gordon Nicholson (Harold Hill) Photo: Bec Doyle |
Bill Lord as
the bumptious Mayor Shinn, Kerry Warner as his attention-seeking wife, Eulalie,
and Janet Tweedie as Marion’s mother, Mrs Paroo, get the lion’s share of the
laughs, while Callum Doherty, as Marion’s lisping little brother, Winthrop, is
delightful, especially in his big song, “Gary, Indiana”. Dan D’Abrera as Tommy,
Emily O’Brien as Zaneeta, and Jeremy Brown as Charlie Cowell, all contribute
strong performances.
Pretty sets
and costumes, together with some nice touches by first time director, Joseph
McGrail-Bateup, like having musical director, Zach Raffan, discover a shining golden trumpet centre stage
to commence the show with a rousing
trumpet solo, and the inclusion of a
reference to the famous painting “American Gothic” in the “Iowa Stubborn”
number add to the enjoyment.
The
imaginative choreography by Kathryn Jones’s succeeds in making each dance
number a highlight, particularly the spirited “Shipoopi”, which involved almost
the entire cast in a sustained whirl of movement.
Zac Raffan’s
appropriately brassy big band took a little while to settle on opening night,
leading to some very brisk tempi, but by second act was sounding so impressive
that many members of the audience stayed in their seats to listen to the play-out music.
First night
nerves resulted in some pitch problems for the men’s quartet, and some of the
scene changes for Ian Croker’s attractive settings could be smartened up, but
over-all, this delightfully nostalgic production of “The Music Man” is well on the road to becoming another triumph
for The Queanbeyan Players.
This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 11.06.2016.
