Hugh Jackman is really into his role as Harold Hill in “The Music Man” on Broadway and audiences are spell bound. The reworked musical by Meredith Willson opened Thursday night at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway. The multicultural cast puts forth an amazing performance with lots of credit also due to Sutton Foster, who plays Hill’s reluctant love interest.
Jackson and Foster complement each other as they enact a simple, yet powerful story of a traveling salesman who reaches a small town in Iowa. He cons them to form a band so they have to buy musical, instruments, uniforms and more from him at exorbitant rates.
He falls in love with the town librarian and that’s the way the tale goes. Although the tale is more than six decades old, it appeals in 2022. Care has been taken to rewrite some of the lyrics in the songs including the famous Shipoopi song.
The 2022 version of The Music Man has adapted the lyrics to modern times taking care that it avoids misogyny, racism and sensitivity to the hashtag MeToo movement by correctly editing lyrics that no longer are in keeping with the times.
The script of Music Man ends abruptly but at the Winter Garden Theater it ends with a dance party that encapsulates the entire musical with 76 trombones. The shows begins with a train where the conductor says “All aboard!” As the musical journey commences, the audience is carried along with momentum and nobody wants to step off the illusory train but the show cannot always go on. It must end, sometime!
Jackman delivers both as a Broadway actor and as a Hollywood icon, leaving the audiences wanting more. However, Foster who plays Marion overpowers him a little, with her fantastic voice. The Music Man has reinvented itself and is delightful to watch with its music, dances, humor and overall shenanigans.
