Page 4 - Demo

MUSIC MAN
Making a musical is difficult but rewarding.
Are friends talking about bizarre things like seventy-six trombones leading the big parade or the Wells Fargo wagon coming down the street? Do they have a dime- store novel hidden in the corn crib? Do they say things like “swell” and “so how’s
your old man?” If so, you got trouble—or they might just be involved with the school musical, The Music Man.
Joining the cast for this show are several non-Edgewood actors. Due to the number of parts for younger people, eleven students from Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary have been rehearsing with the middle and high
school students. Additionally one actor, while not a student himself, is well-known to everyone at this school.
“I always wanted to do something different,” Mr. Pete Tridnivka said. “Everyone’s been working really hard... and I’m just a little
worried that I’m going to remember off the few lines I have in it.” Mr. Tridnivka plays the part of a traveling salesman in this
Tony Award-winning Broadway hit written in 1957 by Meredith Willson. The Music Man is the story of con-artist “Professor” Harold
Hill, and his arrival in the town of River City, Iowa. Hill, portrayed by Christian Hurston, 9, is the titular “music man” of the story, who
purports to sell band instruments and other musical supplies in order to help the local townspeople start a boys’ band. However, it is all a scam. Hill actually knows next to nothing about music,
Story by Rhiannon Drysdale Photos by Johannes Rejim
Zachary Zelechowski, 12, examines the script.
and plans to skip town once he receives the money. Hill’s carefully-laid plans begin to
unravel once he encounters Marian Paroo, played by Kira Kazi, 11, the
local librarian and music teacher.
“I really enjoy the playful
dynamic between the characters, and I’m really trying my best to
capture the lovable charm brought by the original Harold, Robert Preston,” Hurston
said. “Marian is very frank, and no-nonsense. When this confident stranger shows up in her life, she
instantly takes dislike to him, seeing past his suave facade.” During the course of The Music Man, both Marian and Harold
undergo changes in principles and personality, and a significant amount of character development. They are not the only ones. Harold Hill’s arrival sets off a whole series of events, forever changing River City for the better. And to think, what sparked all this was a con man and a music
teacher.
“Marian Paroo is an incredible character. She is very introverted
and bookish, and sometimes may come off as cold or stubborn, but, on the contrary, she really cares a lot for the people closest to her,” Kazi said. “When Harold Hill comes along, she dislikes him, but once she sees the changes in her small town and particularly in her brother, she sees that he brought something new to
River City and falls in love with him.”
Both Hurston and Kazi have a long road ahead of
them, and they aren’t the only ones. Making a musical
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