Theater review: March yourself over for a jubilant 'Music Man'

The rousing performance of “The Music Man” at McIntyre Hall Saturday night trumpeted the talents of Diane Johnson, the production’s music director and music department chair at Skagit Valley College.

From “76 Trombones” to “Till There was You” – popularized by The Beatles – Johnson, with only her white hair and conductor’s baton visible above the blue-curtained orchestral pit – magically led the packed house into believing the cast of 40-plus actors on stage were actually playing the trombones and trumpets they were dancing with and not her fine musicians in the pit.

“The Music Man,” set in 1912, follows conman Harold Hill (Brett Madden) as he convinces small-town River City, Iowa townsfolk he can save their children from folly (the song, “Trouble,” warning against the dangers of playing pool and the need for uplifting alternatives) by selling them musical instruments and teaching them to play in a band through the magic of the “Think Method.”

While the townsfolk fall under Hill’s spell, it is the librarian – and music teacher – Marian (Emily Abbott-Brown), who does not buy into his story and researches his credentials to prove he is a charlatan. Abbott-Brown’s powerful and beautiful soprano voice and performance is worth the price of admission.

Throughout the fantastical story (“Think Method?”) young girls and women of all ages in be-ribboned bonnets and hair-dos sing and dance across the stage to Johnson’s fine orchestra, men wear straw boater hats, older couples dance the polka and young teens perform acrobatic dancing.

Hill knows that “Marian the Librarian” – yes, that’s a song– is a major obstacle to his filching the town’s revenue for non-existent uniforms and to pay him for teaching the “Think Method.” So, he sets out to woo her.

Marian, no dummy, spurns his advances – after which her mother criticizes her for having such high standards. How does Marian go from learned librarian to swooning over a conman? You’ll just have to see for yourself Here’s a hint, “There were birds, on hill, but I never saw them winging.”

The music, the costumes, the stage props, the fine cast, the long labor that went into this show pulls it all off and you just want to fall in love and start singing.

Special mention is needed for the quarreling school board members who join in sweet harmony as a quartet singing a cappella, (Chayton Engelson, Dale Langford, Ray Riches and Teddy Shipley). Also: Amaryllis (Avery Hulbert), Winthrop (Gabriel Hanson), as a young boy who struggled with a lisp and ends up singing like an angel and the mayor, (Mike Jenkins), a talented actor who has performed in “The Wizard of Oz” and many other local productions.

Thank you Director Damond Morris. Great job Choreographer Jana Goetsch, Stage Manager Eden White, Costumer Cally Holden, Set Designer Steve Craig and Technical Director Abraham Nurkiewicz. The show is a production of the College’s music department.

Opening on Broadway in 1957, “The Music Man” won six 1958 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, beating out “West Side Story.”

Final performances are this weekend. Tickets and times: mcintyrehall.org. But hurry before shows sell out.