Amaaazing! The buzz in the auditorium for opening night of ‘The Music Man!’ was one of an easy expectation of a good show.  Many hair colours were a variant of white or grey, some pinks and reds, and most of the audience were comparatively sedate in their allocated seats, though some like me, may have been dancing along and drumming on their knees, with their hands throughout.  Although it was a long show and I was intrepid, bringing an amateur appreciation rather than an authority to American musical theatre, I absolutely loved it. So there you go, I have a spark for the showtime precision of a musical, a theatre ensemble working to the max bringing  energy to the stage, (and as it happens, I once at school briefly enjoyed the role of percussionist and drums in what was once the largest all girls brass band in the country), so to be honest, I was in my element with all of these factors. This show did not disappoint! I had moments of hilarity, good old-fashioned fun, and even astonishment, Though some who are more used to being audience to musical shows may have been less astonished, I found myself astonishing myself with the grin across my dial, and losing any inhibitions about wiggling in my seat. Some of these classic songs might be a familiar refrain to you as was the case for me, and while antiquated in some ways which I feel I must comment on in due course, I felt strangely comforted with what I knew as old piano tunes revived and given their rightful place in history. 

So first of all, accolades must go to Nic Kyle, playing the swindler and hero Harold Hill with wings on his feet …  very fast wings on very nimble feet. Kyle is a graceful and astute performer with an uncanny capacity to hold full autonomy over several different kinds of performance at the same time. His enjoyment of the role is very apparent, he gives the impression that he is conducting a whole town in historical Iowa, everyone on stage; the band and the audience too. The fast moving and sweet-talking hypnotism of the maître d’ is a dimension that suits him extremely well.

Highlights for me? It’s a matter of preference, like choosing cakes from a tray, but the opening overture, and the barbershop quartet were outstanding, Theresa Wells leads the ladies, several times bringing great mirth. (Did I see one actress corpsing while making a certain entrance, – ha! It’s forgivable).  Jess Rogers as Marian the librarian, Seventy-six trombones. . .  wow you know they really knew how to make a show in those days. I found myself feeling a great sense of joy watching this show and actually, – missing my grandparents a little.

The songs offer something for everyone, don’t they? All performers in supporting roles have moments in which they shine. Even then, I can’t help but feel that the show reserves its best tunes for the blokes and the entourage, and that is partly because of the way that they serve the narrative. There is no doubt that thematically as well as in style, it is old-fashioned, meaning the strident and feisty librarian heroine has a frail upper-hand on the swindling and manipulative Hill, until she hooks him in by out-swindling the swindler, as the very necessary marriage union and harmony is paramount.  Thanks to the help of . . . books.  (I’m rather partial to this part of the story).  Jess Rogers upholds the role of our mid-century heroine with aplomb. Her singing of these wistful starry eyed and dreamy classics is essentially beautiful, and suitably robust to meet the performance requirements of being whisked around the stage by what is a consistently delightful choreography.

Now, I said I’d do this, an analytical section here. But look, in 1957 talking candidly about anyone getting ‘tarr’d and feather’d was not unusual. Obviously in a contemporary context, we as audience bring a different mindset to what Andrew Grainger as Mayor Shinn will call “your phraseology” (with great bombastic bluster). I heard a very harshly pronounced ‘Ha-ha’ in the seat behind me indicating that a joke was to fall as flat as possible on this basis.  And let’s be clear, this show is 1957 Broadway reflecting on 1912 Iowa, but presented in 2023 New Zealand. In stark contrast, the theatre foyer hosts Lisa Reihana’s beautiful video installation of very different representations of bodies in the space. An indigenous reckoning. Even aside from this entrance piece to the Kiri Te Kanawa theatre, our minds can’t help but pull out the ‘other’ from this presentation. My mind hovered for example over the silhouetted choir and their microphones amongst the lighting display, for me, reminiscent of a cotton field, or some agricultural scene. The choice must be made in production as to how to manage that element, whether to adapt the play, or to amplify these facets and allow them to sit in contrast to the wider world, and its echoes of redemption, colonization, emancipation that we know more intimately these days. Gender and racial sterotypes of 1957, do hold a hopeful determination towards reconciliation of prior imbalances, but they had a way to go, and in many ways you could suggest that we as a more global community now, still do have a way to go. Without wanting to make too big a deal of it, I think the right choices were made in these regards, to keep the show true to genre, and allow for the unspoken to exist in the mind of the viewer. As essentially a pronged fork of transgression and (arguably) female power in the stolid patriarchal world of a colonial America outpost, the main gist of the story can be enjoyed with a simple current application, and a few leading analogies in our immediate environment. Again, Nic Kyle, does a great job as a counterpoint protagonist to that world.

The tiered age groups in this production should be mentioned, it’s a tribute to all the young performers on stage that I could only discern age differences by height and capacity to jump quite high in the air at times. They are sharp, slick and buoyant. Kudos to the working machine of the theatre ensemble, understudies and all the backstage management, truly impressive. The energy of a full cast on stage is a thrill, and you can’t help but be transported into the hosted world created by it, especially as in lieu of complex set construction this show is all about performance.  I will leave the many special moments for you to notice and match with names in the lengthy cast list.  The Royal New Zealand Navy Band were excellent, (I may’ve missed my calling).

Costumes were the focus of a simple set design that hosts so many people onstage at most times. The costumes are simply delightful. Just a little caricatured and cleverly referencing both the 1950s as well as the time frame of the story, (1912). The harmonious lighting design had its moments too, I’ll leave you to discover them otherwise it would be like turning a page too soon.  The sound design is magnificent. Go and see it. Enjoy! It will leave you humming. 

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