For one weekend, the inside of Buddy Holly Hall will transform into River City, Iowa — the fictional town for the 1950’s classic, The Music Man.
The Broadway musical — which features Harold Hill, the con man who shows up in River City, ready to scam the town into parting with their dollar bills — runs four performances Friday, June 19, through Sunday in the Hub City.
The 100-city tour, which kicked off in January in Springfield, Missouri, has been very successful according to Elliott Andrews — who plays the lead character professor Harold Hill, as the audience will learn is a con artist flitting from town to town, running scams on gullible locals.
“We actually have the night off, which is rare for us,” said Andrews, who was in Orange, Texas, when he spoke Tuesday with the Avalanche-Journal. “And the energy is good after we started in January and then had a week layoff in late May.
“And the sun’s out. When you’re on tour, to be able to go for a walk has made a big difference for us in the last month. So, right now, the vibes are really high and we’re all really happy to be here and do the show.”
The cast and crew will be ready for its first performance slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday followed by performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday before a final show at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“I’m really looking forward to visiting Buddy Holly Hall because a lot of these venues, people will sign their dressing room or a show will leave their wall tag,” Andrew said. “To be apart of that grand tradition of American musical theatre is something that is so, so cool and special.
“The whole reason touring exists is because everybody isn’t flying into New York to see these shows all the time. … It’s a whole different experience. To do it for that audience, that night, is so special.”
Andrews, originally from Naperville in the Chicago suburbs, started performing in professional shows at the age of 18. He attended Western Michigan University before earning a BFA degree.
He performed in musicals for Disney cruises and lived in New York City for 15 years, which allowed him to tally a number of stage credits. Touring holds a special place in his heart because it allowed his wife, Becca, to watch Footloose when she was 5 years old.
“It’s a whole different experience,” Andrews said of his wife. “She grew up in suburban Atlanta and got to see it back in the day, and told me, ‘that’s what hooked me into musical theatre.”
And why not? The original show production in 1957 won six Tony Award winners. The most recent Broadway revival — which ran 2021-2023 — starred Hugh Jackman, who many may know for his portrayal of Wolverine, as the lead character Harold. Dick Van Dyke also played Harold, while a 2003 TV version featured Tony Award winners Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenowethe.
In a bit of happenstance, Andrews and the current cast was also able to perform in Mason City, Iowa, the hometown of Meredith Willson, who used the town as the inspiration to write and compose the musical. It was emotional, to say the least.
“We were able to go to Meredith Willson’s boyhood home, where he’s from, and they had this display of all the different productions of the show. And to have our photo of our cast, to be the most recent one — I can’t talk too much about it, because I get to serious about it. … I just feel so grateful to be able to scratch that old-school musical itch.”
What to expect from ‘The Music Man’ in Lubbock
Andrews leads the cast as Hill, a traveling salesman who plans to con the people of River City into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band that he vows to organize.
Standing in his way is prim librarian and piano teacher Marian Paroo, played by Elizabeth D’Aiuto, who sees through him.
By the end, the pair fall for each other, and Hill’s actions have actually brought the townspeople together.
A musical first on Broadway in 1957, the actors say it’s the heart of the show that keeps audiences coming back.
Meredith Willson’s timeless score has a mix of classic romantic ballads, barbershop, and even a style similar to rap with songs “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “Trouble,” “’Til There Was You,” “Pickalittle” and “Gary, Indiana.”
“I keep saying that my family, we were medium on musicals, but my dad knew the words to this show,” Andrews said of ‘Music Man.’ “This is something he grew up with. … This is a great full-family show. It’s a really accessible musical.”
MEREDITH WILLSON’S ‘THE MUSIC MAN’
WHERE: Buddy Holly Hall
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday
TICKETING INFORMATION: Tickets are available for purchase at BroadwayAtTheBuddyHollyHall.com, BuddyHollyHall.com and Etix.com. Tickets purchased through another source will not be guaranteed.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: ‘Music Man’ marches ‘old-school’ Broadway musical to Lubbock
Reporting by Carlos Silva Jr., Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Carlos Silva Jr., Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY Network
