Review: Palo Alto Players stage ‘The Music Man’ with all the bells and whistles

There are few characters to admire in “The Music Man,” but the show itself — particularly its music — is a different story. The 1957 musical, with script, score and lyrics all by Meredith Willson, boasts inventive songs, along with a host of tunes that have become Broadway standards for a reason. From small-minded townsfolk primed to believe the worst about anything and everyone to the slick con man looking to profit from those beliefs, the show’s theme still rings true in a lot of ways. Palo Alto Players is staging the classic musical through May 12.

Huckster Harold Hill strides into River City, Iowa, on the Fourth of July in 1912 aiming to trick the local citizenry into ordering instruments and uniforms for a kids’ band he has no intention of leading. He convinces his marks that the band is the only way to save the local youth from the kind of delinquency they didn’t know existed until he arrived. 

The show is at its best as a slice of fun-loving Americana that nonetheless remains quite honest about the malleability of mob mentality — a theme that’s plenty current.

The plot depends on Hill’s charm. Alex Perez is so charismatic and smooth in the role that it almost seems even Hill himself believes in what he’s selling. He’s simply a lot of fun to watch.

As Hill quickly capitalizes on citizens’ vanity and basest beliefs, it’s hard not to be amused as he cons them in the span of the well-loved number “Ya Got Trouble.” He even works a minor miracle in transforming four squabbling school board members into a barbershop quartet, who stroll the town with a harmony for every occasion.

The comic roles among the River City residents offer some highlights. Cameron Weston as Mayor Shinn is the perfect small-town politician who’s all bluster. Linda Piccone lends enjoyable steeliness to formidable town matron Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, the mayor’s wife, easily flattered by Hill into leading a ladies’ dance troupe.

Alicia Teeter brings a beautiful high soprano voice to her clear-eyed but warm-hearted portrayal of Marian Paroo, the librarian and music teacher who alone sees through Hill’s ruse. Knowing she’ll expose his grift, Hill plans to woo Marian into looking the other way. 

“The Music Man” features plenty of large-scale production numbers and the Players’ production goes all out in each one. 

Director and choreographer Lee Ann Payne uses every inch of the stage to full advantage with lively choreography that keeps the large ensemble dynamic in a fairly small space.

While Hill leads River City around by the nose, the actual music man in the orchestra pit, music and vocal director Tony Gaitan, truly keeps the beat. The orchestra has a satisfyingly full, brassy sound that lives up to the signature number “Seventy-Six Trombones” and the show’s many other high-spirited songs.

The ensemble includes a substantial cast of young actors who bring both exuberance and serious precision to the show’s big song and dance numbers. 

Andrew Mo and Sheridan Stewart are a lot of fun as teen sweethearts from opposite sides of town: Mo is Tommy Djilas, a boy from the so-called wrong side of the tracks whom Hill pairs up with the mayor’s excitable daughter, Zaneeta (Stewart).

Henry Champlin and Russell Nakagawa alternate in the role of Marian’s 10-year-old brother Winthrop, who’s shy and hesitates to speak due to a lisp. Champlin was in the role at the show I attended, and he gave a strong performance.  

Costume designer Katie Strawn strikes a nice balance in outfitting much of River City’s youth in a rainbow of ice cream hues, with the adults clad in more saturated colors — suggesting that in just about everything, these townsfolk are all of one mind. Marian stands out in slightly more neutral tones and full-skirted dresses that neatly reflect both her pragmatism and secret romanticism.

Appropriately for a show about a fast-talking grifter, some of Willson’s songs demand real vocal acrobatics. The sung-spoken opening number “Rock Island,” featuring the rhythmic patter of traveling salesmen aboard a train sets the tone. Perez easily rattles off Hill’s monologues of speedy balderdash, as in the wind-up to his “Ya Got Trouble” pitch. At the show I attended, there were just a couple small trips in the lightning-speed lyrics.

There’s also the perky melody of “Pick a Little, Talk a Little” featuring the ladies of River City gossiping in a round-like song that mimics the sound of chickens clucking. How Willson constructed the song is undeniably inventive, and the tune is relentlessly catchy, but comparing the town’s women to hens doesn’t seem all that clever in 2024.

In this song and a few other instances, not surprisingly, the nearly 70-year-old musical shows some signs of age. “The Music Man” saw a Broadway revival in 2022, which brought on songwriting team Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman to update lyrics for some songs. The Players’ production sticks largely to the original show, but does swap in Shaiman and Wittman’s updated version of the song “Shipoopi.” It’s not hard to see why, as the 1957 lyrics celebrate antiquated notions about women’s “virtue.”

This being a golden age musical, Willson’s development of the central romance is slight to nonexistent. Marian sees through Hill’s con immediately, but the conman still wins her heart with his real kindness to Winthrop. Hill himself sees the light a mite late — mere minutes before the finale, when it appears likely he’ll be run out of town or worse. The show is so much fun that this rushed romance seems almost unnecessary, but the songs it spurs, particularly the dreamy “Till There Was You,” make it worth it.

Palo Alto Players present “The Music Man” through May 12 at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets are $20-$63. paplayers.org.