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Overview

Synopsis

There’s trouble in River City! When smooth-talking con man Harold Hill arrives in a small, tight-knit town in Iowa, he expects to dupe its residents with his elaborate moneymaking scheme: Despite his complete lack of musical literacy, he will convince everyone that he is a brilliant bandleader and recruit all the boys in town to form a band, pocketing the cash for instruments and uniforms. The problem? Some of the town members, especially the stern librarian, Marian Paroo, don’t quite buy Harold’s story. As Harold struggles to keep his scheme afloat, he also finds himself increasingly attached to the townspeople, who have all experienced a positive change since Harold came to town. Complicating matters even more, Harold is also falling head-over-heels for the beautiful Marian. As All-American as apple pie and as charming as can be, The Music Man is a crowd-pleasing show with a great number and range of roles that is well-suited to professional, community, and school productions alike.

Show Information

Category
Musical
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1957
Genres
Romance
Settings
Multiple Settings
Time & Place
1912, rivery city, iowa
Cast Size
large
Orchestra Size
Large
Dancing
Heavy
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Religious Groups, Star Vehicle Female, Star Vehicle Male, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Child, Late Teen, Early Teen Characters

Context

Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Marian Paroo

Lead

Female

Soprano

Harold Hill

Lead

Male

Bass-Baritone

Mayor Shinn

Supporting

Male

Non-singer

Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn

Supporting

Female

Alto

Mrs. Paroo

Supporting

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Winthrop Paroo

Supporting

Male

Tenor, Treble/Boy Soprano

Marcellus Washburn

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Amaryllis

Featured

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Tommy Djilas

Featured

Male

Spoken

Zaneeta Shinn

Featured

Female

Spoken

Gracie Shinn

Featured

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Olin Britt

Featured

Male

Bass

Oliver Hix

Featured

Male

Baritone

Ewart Dunlop

Featured

Male

Baritone

Ethel Toffelmier

Featured

Female

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

Alma Hix

Featured

Female

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

Maud Dunlop

Featured

Female

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

Mrs. Squires

Featured

Female

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

Constable Locke

Featured

Male

Spoken

Train Conductor

Featured

Male

Spoken

Charlie Cowell

Featured

Male

Spoken

Jacey Squires

Featured

Male

Bass

Traveling Salesmen

Ensemble

Male

Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Pickalittle Ladies

Ensemble

Female

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

Ensemble

Ensemble

Either Gender

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Songs

Act One

  • Rock Island – Charlie Cowell and Traveling Salesmen
  • Iowa Stubborn – Townspeople
  • (Ya Got) Trouble – Harold Hill and Townspeople
  • Piano Lesson – Marian Paroo, Mrs. Paroo, Amaryllis
  • Goodnight, My Someone – Marian Paroo
  • Seventy-Six Trombones – Harold Hill, Children of River City
  • Sincere – Olin Britt, Oliver Hix, Ewart Dunlop, Jacey Squires
  • The Sadder-But-Wiser Girl – Harold Hill, Marcellus Washburn
  • Pickalittle (Talk-a-Little) – Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Maud Dunlop, Ethel Toffelmier, Alma Hix, Mrs. Squires and Pickalittle Ladies
  • Goodnight, Ladies – Olin Britt, Oliver Hix, Ewart Dunlop, Jacey Squires
  • Marian The Librarian – Harold Hill, Children of River City
  • My White Knight – Marian Paroo
  • The Wells Fargo Wagon – Gracie Shinn, Winthrop Paroo, Townspeople

Act Two

  • It's You – Jacey Squires, Oliver Hix, Ewart Dunlop, Olin Britt, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Maud Dunlop, Ethel Toffelmier, Alma Hix, Mrs. Squires
  • Shipoopi – Marcellus Washburn, Harold Hill, Marian Paroo, Townspeople
  • Pickalittle (Talk-a-Little) (reprise) – Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Maud Dunlop, Ethel Toffelmier, Alma Hix, Mrs. Squires and Pickalittle Ladies
  • Lida Rose – Olin Britt, Oliver Hix, Ewart Dunlop, Jacey Squires
  • Will I Ever Tell You – Marian Paroo
  • Gary, Indiana – Winthrop, Mrs. Paroo, Marian Paroo
  • It's You (reprise) – Townspeople, Children of River City
  • Till There Was You – Marian Paroo, Harold Hill
  • Seventy-six Trombones/Goodnight, My Someone (reprise) – Harold Hill, Marian Paroo
  • Till There Was You (reprise) – Harold Hill
  • Finale – Company

A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

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