50 years ago: The Music Man opened on Broadway

The Music Man Meredith Willson (music & lyrics)

The Musical

Opened on Broadway: December 19, 1957 Number of Performances: 1375 Opened at London’s West End: March 16, 1961 Number of Performances: 395

Cast Album

Charted: February 24, 1958 Peak: 112 US Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Genre: show tunes

Soundtrack

Charted: August 11, 1962 Peak: 2 US, 14 UK Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: show tunes

Songs on Cast Album: Main Title/ Rock Island Iowa Stubborn Ya Got Trouble Piano Lesson If You Don’t Mind My Saying So s Goodnight, My Someone Ya Got Trouble s Seventy Six Trombones Sincere The Sadder But Wiser Girl for Me Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little Goodnight Ladies c Marian the Librarian My White Knight c Being in Love s Gary, Indiana s The Wells Fargo Wagon It’s You c Shipoopi * Lida Rose/ Will I Ever Tell You? Gary, Indiana Till There Was You Goodnight, My Someone s Seventy Six Trombones s Finale c * Track comes right before “Till There Was You” on soundtrack. c indicates song that appears only on cast album. s indicates song that appears only on soundtrack. Singles/Hit Songs: As was common in the pre-rock era and early days of rock and roll, songs from musicals were often recorded by artists not associated with the musical and released as singles. Here are some of the most notable hit singles resulting from the show: “Till There Was You” – Anita Bryant (#30, 1959), Valjean (#100, 1962)

Rating: 4.478 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined) Awards (Cast Album and Soundtrack): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Show: “The original Broadway cast of Meredith Willson’s most successful musical was headed by Robert Preston, who played the part of Harold Hill, a conman” R-C “intent on swindling the good people of River City, IA, by selling them on a fictitious boys' band.” R-S “Willson concentrates on percussive effects and rapid-fire spiels for Preston, though the musical standout is Barbara Cook as Marian the Librarian. Highlights of this perennial hit show include Seventy-Six Trombones and Till There Was You.” R-S “Coming along in the summer of 1962, four and a half years after the Broadway opening, the film version of The Music Man appeared in an era when Hollywood was more likely to be faithful to stage musicals, rather than dramatically altering them, as had been the practice in the past. R-S The movie version “found Robert Preston re-creating his starring role as conman Professor Harold Hill…and some minor roles were also filled by the Broadway originals. More important, Meredith Willson’s score was rendered intact, the only change being a revision of the song My White Knight into Being in Love.” R-S “The major casting change was the substitution of Shirley Jones, who had a box-office track record, for Barbara Cook, who did not, in the role of Marian the librarian. Cook may have been preferable, but Jones handled the part well, too.” R-S “Musically, the big change had to do with scale; the Broadway pit orchestra and original cast were replaced by a vast Hollywood orchestra and chorus, and musical director Ray Heindorf made the most of the larger effects on songs like ‘Seventy Six Trombones’.” R-S “Still, the music fan who already owned a copy of the original Broadway cast recording didn’t really need to plump for the original motion picture soundtrack, which didn’t keep the album from racing up the charts…as the film became one of the year’s top grossers. But it remains true; unless you are a Shirley Jones fan or want to hear future Andy Griffith Show co-star and film director Ronnie Howard sing Gary, Indiana with a lisp, stick to the Broadway version.” R-S

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Meredith Willson R-C William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide (cast album) R-S William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide (soundtrack) First posted 5/19/2011; last updated 12/23/2021.