‘Music Man’ A Success

By Shannon Solheim

“It was a 10, it was wonderful, and it was glowing” were just some of the praises the Newtown High School production of The Music Man received during intermission of opening night last Thursday, April 13. The success of the opening show overflowed into the last three performances as well. Each time the cast seemed to connect more and more with the audience and the results were outstanding.

Before the start of the production, cast members scurried around backstage completing before show rituals and having the finishing touches put on their make-up. While a few of the actors and actresses suffered from the pre-show jitters, most were amazingly confidant in themselves and their preparation as a whole. Tracy Mulholland, a senior and one of the main characters, Marian Paroo the librarian, wasn’t at all apprehensive. “I’m excited. This year we have a single cast and we have also had a lot of practices. I’m not nervous because I’ve been waiting for a lead part forever and being nervous wouldn’t help my performance.”

Andrea Marciano, also a senior who played Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, agreed. “Everything’s really solid and we’ve worked so much. The play is very upbeat and no one will leave crying.” Before long the cast crowded together for one last group hug and shuffled to take their places for the first act.

As the lights flickered to warn the audience of the impending beginning, the chatter died out and the transformation began. The spectators were no longer a part of the quick paced year 2000, but in the somewhat calmer and less advanced time period of the early 1900s. Lights appeared in the front right corner of the auditorium and a railway coach on July 4, 1912, became the center of attention. Traveling salesmen adorned in plaid polyester suits sat in their seats reading newspapers and waiting for the train to start moving. All of a sudden, a whistle was heard in the distance and the men began to bounce in perfect simultaneous motion with each other, signifying the advancement of the train. They then broke into a quick paced rap-like song that stunned the audience.

Jason LaForte, a senior and man on the train scene as well as a dancer, said, “It took about six or seven rehearsals together of fumbling over lines before everyone began to learn each other’s style. It was one of the hardest things I have had to do in acting; trying to stay in sync with a group of five guys to a beat faster than I’ve ever experienced before.”

This is only one example of the detail that students took the time to incorporate into the play to add to the authenticity. Throughout the play, there were a total of three scene changes and an additional two scenes on the left and right of the stage. These included the train scene and the family room of the Paroos’ house. Ms Mary Speer, a spectator, exclaimed, “It looks like there are only two sides but that can’t be because there are just so many sets. It’s amazing.”

Ms Ann McNulty Ferraro, director, said, “The cast couldn’t have had a warmer audience.” This was evident by their involvement with the familiar tunes sung in The Music Man. They clapped along to 76 Trombones and a few could be heard quietly humming or singing as well. Winthrop, played by freshman Brett Boes, stole the hearts of the audience with his rendition of Gary, Indiana and Tracy Mulholland wooed the crowd the Goodnight My Someone.

Not only was the cast to thank for the ballads but the orchestra accompaniment directed by Mr James Dumas, band director at the high school, added to the overall effect as well.

The pickalittle ladies made the audience laugh and the children looked adorable in their matching band uniforms. All in all, the production was a success. The countless hours of preparation and hard work finally paid off and the seniors participated in a production to remember.

At the conclusion of Thursday night’s performance, Ms McNulty Ferraro, almost speechless, simply exclaimed, “It was electric.”

(Shannon Solheim is a junior at Newtown High School and the editor for the school’s newspaper, The Hawkeye. This article was intended to run in last week’s edition of The Bee, but was delayed a week when it was lost in an  e-mail server crash.)