Bringing “The Music Man” To Asolo Rep

By Ryan G. Van Cleave | Photo by john revisky

The beloved musical The Music Man was a Broadway sensation when it opened in 1957 and a hit movie starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones in 1962. Tony Award-nominated director Jeff Calhoun returns to Asolo Rep to direct his version of this treasured American classic and award-winning actor, dancer and choreographer Noah Racey entertains as Harold Hill.

Jeff Calhoun is a huge fan of Asolo Repertory Theatre, which is enjoying its 60th anniversary season this year. “It’s the perfect theater (Asolo Rep),” he says about the venue where he’s already done two wildly successful shows—the pre-Broadway tryout of Bonnie & Clyde in 2010 and the world premiere of Noah Racey’s Pulse in 2012. “The geographic location? You can’t beat it. Plus the people—the audiences—are so incredibly theater savvy and cultured. If you want to put on a show, why WOULDN’T you do it there?”

So, of course, Calhoun pitched Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards the idea of letting him direct a new musical, yet Edwards reluctantly had to pass. The new musical slot in the season wasn’t available. But Edwards said there WAS room for a classic. “I couldn’t think of any classic that I was interested in reviving,” Calhoun said, “but then I took it back—there was one that I’ve always wanted to do: The Music Man. As a child, I wanted to be Harold Hill.”

From the first time Calhoun saw The Music Man, he became a huge fan of Robert Preston, who played the role of Harold Hill in both the 1957 musical on Broadway and the 1962 film adaptation. As a child, Calhoun found himself attracted to larger-than-life singing and dancing roles, and this led him to pursue a career as a dancer, director and choreographer on Broadway.

But directing one of the most beloved musicals of all time comes with challenges. “It’s a classic for a reason,” says Calhoun. “And we don’t want to change the music—it’s such a beloved score. So how do we tell this same story with 21st century sensibilities?”

Calhoun faced a similar challenge with his Tony-nominated work on Newsies. When dealing with a turn-of-the-century story like that, he explains, it’s easy to make a production feel like an old-fashioned revival. The same issue exists with The Music Man, set in the fictional town of River City, Iowa in 1912. But thanks to the many conversations and strategy sessions with Edwards and the design team, Asolo Rep’s version of The Music Man will feel fresh, current, and relevant. Part of how this will happen is Calhoun’s commitment to make the piece live sculpturally on the stage. That type of cinematic three-dimensionality will strike home more powerfully than any painted porches and flat scenery that’s pushed in from the wings.

Calhoun explains that “I try very hard not to come into a production with preconceived ideas. I don’t have a particular style that I try to impose on every show. I try to let each story lead me to its own DNA—that’s why I hope that I’ve never had two shows that look the same.” Without giving any real spoilers, he admits that choreography is going to be a special component this time around. Instead of having everything stop as the audience waits for the start of a new scene, he’s going to continue the narrative in and out of scenes through dance. “Harold Hill’s narrative will never stop.”

And to make that happen, Calhoun has an ace in the hole—the dynamic actor playing Harold Hill. “Noah Racey is one of the foremost dance men in the country, and that’s exactly what Harold Hill was. Noah’s spectacular dancing and musical theater skills become a metaphor for the fast-talking shyster that is Harold Hill.”

Racey couldn’t be more excited about taking on this massive role. “Harold is an awesome, flawed character. He keeps moving. He doesn’t stop. He just keeps working his magic, doing his snake oil salesman bit, and he’s so, so good at it. Then something in town trips him up and his heart bursts wide open. He suddenly sees life as he’s never seen it before.” And Racey thinks it’s the perfect story for this point in history where cynicism and pessimism can be countered with a Hill-like opening up. Moving from being completely me-centered to us-centered is Hill’s saving grace. That same story of redemption can be ours, too, thanks to the power of love and its ability to make us better people.

“It’s truly one of the best pieces in the canon of musical theater history,” Racey says. “It’s bold, crass, and shot out of a canon. It’s completely relentless in its tempo, how the story unfolds. It’ll be such a fun evening. I’m so excited to perform this in front of the Sarasota audience. They’re so discerning—they love good theater.”

The success of Racey’s previous work with Calhoun is part of the secret sauce that’s making everyone so excited about The Music Man launching Asolo Rep’s 60th anniversary season. “Jeff’s playful. He’s passionate and considerate. I love working with him,” Racey admits. And he’s equally taken by Edwards, explaining that “he’s such a steady, supportive person. Yet there’s this wonderful mischievousness about Michael. He knows the craziness at the root of making believe—the grand ruse that we all do.”

Calhoun adds that Michael Donald Edwards is “one of the most intelligent, impressive producing artistic directors in the country. He’s one of my favorite people in the world. And Asolo Rep is one of my two favorite theaters.” With that type of respect, chemistry, and creativity, the result is sure to be wondrous. So come see what type of “trouble” Edwards, Calhoun, and Racey bring to River City, Iowa in Asolo Rep’s production of The Music Man, running November 13 – December 29. From all accounts, it’s going to be fun, wild ride.

For more information on Asolo Rep or to order tickets for The Music Man, please visit www.asolorep.org or call 941.351.8000.