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Music Man by Welk Resort Theatre  We’ve got trouble, my friends. Right here in Escondido!
There’s a so-called “Music Man” in town going by the alliterate name of Harold
Hill, and he’s stirring up this quiet town with dire warnings about the
inherent dangers of those new things called “pool tables” – hazardous objects
that lead our youth down the road to degradation. What can we do to save our
kids from this horrible fate??? Why, Harold is so glad you asked! Get those
boys involved in a boy’s band. And, as it so happens, the smooth-talking,
spellbinding salesman Harold just happens to sell band equipment and uniforms,
promising to lead the boy’s band in music that will bring down the pool house
walls just like trumpet players once brought down the mighty walls of Jericho.
The verdict as to whether or not Harold Hill can lead a band is still out, but certainly Director Lewis Wilkenfeld has shown he can lead a great musical including his recent productions of Oklahoma!, Carousel, and Show Boat at the Welk as well as Hello Dolly this past summer at Moonlight. With Music Man he has another entertaining show with one of the all-time great musical scores by Meredith Willson featuring songs like Till There Was You, Gary, Indiana, We’ve Got Trouble (Right Here in River City), a couple barber shop quartet classics, and its show-stopping Seventy-Six Trombones. Big, brash numbers like Seventy-Six Trombones are a bit hard to pull off to their full potential on the relatively small Welk stage and with the small ensemble, but they do pretty well all things considered. In fact, they do incredibly well in the big Shipoopi scene in which Harold Hill and Marian the Librarian teach the local kids the latest dance crazes, featuring some energizing choreography by John Charron performed enthusiastically by the cast and hilariously by Harold’s friend Marcellus Washburn (Jeff Asch) and his girl, Ethel Toffelmier (Katie Wilson). The other little bright spot choreographically speaking is Pick-a-Little (Talk-a-Little) in which the ladies of River City spread juicy gossip about Marian while sounding and strutting like a coop-full of disapproving hens.
Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Charlie Cowell: Jeffrey Wolf Harold Hill: Michael G. Hawkins Mayor Shinn: Zale Kessler Ewart Dunlop: Patrick Beller Oliver Hix: Ralph Johnson Jacey Squires: Chris Wade Olin Britt: John Burt Polhamus Marcellus Washburn: Jeff Asch Tommy Djilas: Jake Fry Marian Paroo: Jill Van Velzer Mrs. Paroo: Karen Schooley Amaryllis: Heather Youmans Winthrop Paroo: Sterling Beaumon Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn: Diane Thrasher Zaneeta Shinn: Sarah Jenkins Gracie Shinn: Leah Lyons Alma Hix: Rachel O'Keefe Maud Dunlop: Marianne Nevitt Ethel Toffelmier: Katie Wilson Mrs. Squires: Julie Kenyon Teenager: Shawn Burgess Teenager: Sean Calavan Boy: Jordan Gray Director: Lewis Wilkenfeld Choreographer: John Charron Stage Manager: Jennifer Edwards Set Design: Mike Buckley Lighting Design: Jennifer Edwards Costume Design: Ambra Wakefield and Lisa Johnson |
Leading the band is Harold Hill veteran Michael G.
Hawkins as the cocky, slippery salesman. He is joined by Jill Van Velzer
as Marian Paroo. Jill offers a good and quite different interpretation of
Marian the Librarian, with a sadder and more melancholy demeanor than usual,
which makes her eventual happiness that much more dramatic a transformation.
Her gorgeous operatic voice makes for an astounding rendition of the ballad Till
There Was You.