During this revolutionary, immersive production, audiences will be whisked from one city site to the next to witness the witty & whimsical tale as its cast marches through town amongst unsuspecting Barrie residents.
“I never dreamed I would produce The Music Man. I respected its rightfully iconic status – but it was not my favourite show. And I always begrudged it getting the Tony Award over West Side Story in ’57!” laughs Arkady Spivak, TIFT Artistic Producer and originator of The Music Man’s staging concept. “A chance reading of the libretto, however, opened my eyes to what marvelous material it actually was. Composer Meredith Willson’s first & most successful musical, written as an ode to his hometown of Mason City, Iowa, brings audiences back to a simpler, cherished time for small-town America. At its core, this story of romance and redemption is about community transformation; I wanted to stage it in a way that would transform a community.”
The Music Man follows dashing con man “Professor” Harold Hill, who travels from place to place promising to train a marching band of local boys, if the naïve townsfolk purchase his instruments and uniforms. Not an actual music teacher, Hill’s swindle is to skip town as soon as the instruments are paid for. The charismatic hustler gets more than he bargained for in ‘River City’, however, when he finds himself falling for the local librarian. The beloved musical unfolds through a series of rousing marches, barbershop quartets, and heartwarming ballads, including Seventy-Six Trombones, Shipoopi, Ya Got Trouble, and Till There Was You.
In TIFT’s rendition of The Music Man, audiences will journey first via chartered bus and later on foot to locations within a close vicinity throughout Barrie corresponding with settings in the play: the library, city hall, picturesque parks, and more. The promenade’s climax will ultimately lead audiences to Barrie’s own iconic public art piece: Rob Baird’s The Spirit Catcher sculpture.
