What: “The Music Man”
When: 7:30 p.m. March 27-29 and April 1-5, and 2:30 p.m. March 30
Where: University Theatre
Cost: General Public, $18; Faculty/Staff, $17; Senior Citizens, $14; and Students, $12
In a show emphasizing the importance of keeping an open mind for the arts, the Department of Theatre and Dance is presenting its rendition of “The Music Man.”
Con man and “Professor” Harold Hill, played by senior musical theatre major Nick Abbott, makes a living by traveling to towns and selling various marching band equipment — uniforms, instruments and instruction booklets — and skips town after bleeding the residents dry.
“I think there’s a part of him that wishes he could actually be a good guy and lead a kids’ band,” Abbott said.
Harold comes to River City, Iowa, in 1912, planning to conduct the same scheme.
However, he encounters the town’s library, Marian Paroo, played by senior musical theatre major Mary Kate Young, who could change his life forever.
“Pretty much everyone in the town is charmed by Harold Hill and believes him blindly, except for [Marian Paroo],” Abbott said. “She sees through him right away. She’s different than the other women he’s encountered, and she throws him off a little. He views her as both a challenge and an obstacle he has to face if he is to be successful.”
Marian is a woman who struggles to break free from many of the social constraints women faced during the early 1900s.
“Marian loves books, education and learning, and she is very realistic but also a dreamer,” Young said. “Others in the town either don’t see it or they see it, but they don’t understand. Harold understands it and helps open her up to the possibilities.”
Throughout the course of the story, Harold brings the closed-minded town to a friendlier way of thinking through their experiences with art.
Abbott said this has always been one of his dream roles and that he can relate to Harold’s sense of adventure and his fun-loving attitude.
“Harold Hill is a classic piece that many people know,” Abbott said. “Coming into it, it was hard to be true to the original version while also trying to put my own spin on the role. He’s much different than the other roles I’ve played and this role has been both challenging and rewarding.”
One of the ways Abbott works to get into character is by maintaining a specific ritual that gets him ready to perform.
“I actually have a pre-show ritual that I must complete before I go on stage,” he said. “Before every show that I am in, I always get dinner at Taco Bell. It really has a funny way of calming my nerves.”
Director Karen Kessler, an associate professor of theatre, said a challenge she faced throughout this process was bringing modern students into the world of the early 20th century.
“We had to bring students from a modern age into a world that doesn’t exist for them,” she said.
Kessler worked to create an atmosphere where the students could experience what that world feels like and how it feels to break out of that world.
“I’m an artist and the message of this show is very near and dear to my heart,” she said. “This is a show about how happy the arts can make your life, and any artist loves that. You can’t be an artist without being open-minded.”
An earlier version of this article included an anecdote from Abbott and Young, stating the two had been in a relationship for two years and broke up before the musical. The two admitted to giving false information to The Daily News.
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