The Music Man took the stage for a combined Chamber Night and Student/Press Night on Thursday, August 1st. Local critic Ben Sharp penned a review jut in time for Opening Night:

From stirring vocals to exquisite costumes to extraordinary dance numbers, it’s hard to know where to start when it comes to The Plaza Theatre’s The Music Man. The show is a veritable smorgasbord of excitement and spectacle, standing as one of the most professional productions I have seen in a long time.

Set to run from Aug. 2 through Aug. 18 with shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays, The Music Man is based on Meredith Willson’s classic and can be considered as “a love-letter to 20th Century Americana,” according to director Janice McDonald. The show follows the exploits of conman Harold Hill as he descends upon River City, Iowa, in 1912 to dupe unsuspecting townsfolk of their hard-earned cash.

McDonald, no stranger to the Plaza stage, does an incredible job as director, guiding a massive cast that includes 22 principal actors, an eight-member ensemble, a five-person kids’ band and a six-member dance group. How anyone could manage that size of a cast – and all the moving parts of the story – is difficult to ponder, and one can only imagine how many hours of rehearsal to took to bring it all together. McDonald is assisted in these daunting duties by Joanna Hickey.

Set design is ingenious, with moveable set pieces and a projected backdrop allowing for quick, seamless scene changes. McDonald, Burke Wilkins and Sarah Wilkins deserve special recognition for utilizing every inch of the available space, including the aisles and the floor in front of the stage. Their efforts convincingly recreate small town life in the early 20th Century.

Sheila Taylor serves as dance choreographer and manages to turn an enormous group of performers into one cohesive unit. Her efforts on The Music Man rival what she has previously done for the Plaza, including her unforgettable work on Honky Tonk Angels. Brooke Taylor Brune serves as assistant choreographer and the pair teams up to present a dazzling display of movement, color and rhythm that captivates and tantalizes. Although most of the cast shares some role in the dance numbers, it’s the team of Julie Aaronson, Morgan Kielman, Lily Gremminger and Brenna Hodges that sets the stage on fire.

The scene in the town library is particularly memorable, and it showcases the collaborative quality of the show. Music, dance, set construction and the utilization of props all come together brilliantly, and the artistic value is difficult to express in words. It’s a scene that is truly unforgettable – my favorite of the production.

Debra Lemson is the musical director for the show and knocks the ball out of the park. Songs are dynamic, unique and uncharacteristically demanding as many include rapid-fire sequences of spoken vocals more closely resembling something on a rap album than in a musical. The opening scene, for example, was absolutely mesmerizing as a half dozen actors fired out song snippets in a dizzying fashion, their staccato beat mimicking the rhythm of a moving train.

Part of McDonald’s magic as a director is in finding cast members who can both act and sing so admirably. The lead role of Harold Hill, for instance, is played by Plaza veteran Jon Blouin, who simply steals the show with his remarkable abilities. Blouin’s prowess as both an actor and a
singer is incredible, and to see that level of talent on a small-town stage is particularly gratifying. He is charismatic, dynamic, and skillful, nearly flawless in shouldering an amount of work that would cripple a professional Hollywood performer.

Serving as the perfect counterpart to Blouin is Rachel Helmick, who plays town librarian Marian Paroo. The pair’s chemistry is believable and balanced, from earlier scenes where Blouin is rebuffed to later scenes where Helmick begins to soften. Helmick possesses a magnetic stage presence, and her vocals are unquestionably the best of the show, which is saying a lot considering the depth of the other performances.

Other standouts include Aidan Meek and Lily Gremminger, who portray the quintessential young lovers rebelling against parental oversight. They bring a dynamic energy to the show and a maturity that exceeds their age and years of experience. Another notable performance was provided by Alanna Huggins, who is wonderfully hilarious as the wife of the bungling town mayor, played perfectly by Plaza veteran Reagan Wrench.

Others rounding out the primary cast include Mark Szafarz, Neil McDonald, Jon Hodges, Sammuel Robinson, Michael Harbaugh, Joshua Hughes, Kayla Kramr, Sophia Perez, Merrily Bieltz, Brenna Hodges, Rossi Uresti, Jeffrey Davang and the always-delightful Jami Hughes.

Special recognition must be given to young performers Isabella Almendarez and Jack Helmick. Almendarez is articulate and confident in her role as Amaryllis, and Helmick is delightful as the young Winthrop Paroo. His solo was absolutely precious, and it brought the house down.

Ensemble members include Catherine Genzer, Tiffany Almendarez, Makaya Brown, Julie Aaronson, Morgan Kielman and Erick Whitley. All play an intricate supportive role in the production, their facial expressions and side commentary (Whitley’s outbursts are especially memorable) functioning as the icing on the cake. Kids Band members Abigail Szafarz, Tommy Szafarz, Maci Bolletino and Ximena Alvarado also performed admirably.

Despite a few hiccups on the microphones, a few bungled lines here and there and a couple of instances of out-of-synch choreography (especially with the younger performers), the performance was nearly flawless. One area that could use some fine tuning, however, was the opening scene in the railcar. The pre-recorded sounds of the train were too loud, drowning out the performers, an unfortunate situation considering how much time it likely took to get that difficult song and dialogue perfected.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the costumes, which were some of the best I’ve seen. They served as a punctuation mark to the performance, completing the illusion of small-town Midwestern life in the early 20th Century setting. McDonald, Jordan Kubicek and Cassidy McDonald did a stellar job in this regard.

Production credits include Quinn Wrench as stage manager; crew members Sara Berrett, Cade Gavranovic and Bryce Kopecky; Reagan Wrench and Burke Wilkins handling artistic design; Kenneth Socha on lighting design; Leeanna Shimek on sound design, sound board and projections; Roxy Gilley on sound board and microphones; Joanna Hickey, Al Folmar and Cassidy McDonald on props; Janice McDonald on hair; Brenna Hodges and Jordan Kubicek on makeup; Jami Hughes on box office and house management; Jazlyn Rutherford on concessions management; Russell Kacer on communications; and Sharon Joines on photography.

The show is presented by the Brandon & Rachel Cutrer Family.

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ABOUT BEN SHARP: Ben Sharp is is Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Wharton County Junior College and spends his days writing press releases, photographing a wide variety of college activities and publishing the college’s e-Newsletter. He previously spent 14 years as a reporter at the Wharton Journal-Spectator and also operated a photography business. He holds an English degree from the University of Houston. He lives in Wharton with his wife, Kristen, and their three kids, Madalyn, Andrew and Matthew.