Davis Gaines (center with baton) stars as Professor Harold Hill (with the company) in Musical Theatre West’s production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. Photos by Caught in the Moment Photography.

Any way you slice it, The Music Man is a classic American musical. Your feelings in relation to that sentence are likely all you need to know in regard to whether or not it is for you; however, there is no denying the staying power of this show. There are so few musicals that you can take almost anyone to see—and this is one of them.

In venues ranging from professional houses to high school auditoriums, Man remains one of the few musicals that will likely be produced continually. Meredith Wilson wrote both the music and the lyrics, but more amazingly, he wrote the book as well—something very few people have ever done. His resulting creation is a picture postcard of nostalgic and lighthearted Americana, with songs that have become classics—”Till There Was You” was the only show tune ever covered by The Beatles—and just enough irony and wit to keep a modern audience entertained.

When it premiered on Broadway in 1957, Man swept the Tony awards and left West Side Story, the other big musical of that year (and a masterpiece ahead of its time), in the dust. While a conversation about trailblazing theater verses crowd-pleasing theater is something to be saved for another time, examining The Music Man after spending some time away from it is something I always welcome. Luckily, a new production mounted by Musical Theater West (MTW) opened this week at the Carpenter Center on CSULB’s campus, and it is the fifth time in the company’s 60 years (!) that they have produced it. This alone speaks greatly to its staying power.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, the action is set in River City, Iowa, in the year of 1912. “Professor” Harold Hill (played by Broadway and MTW veteran Davis Gaines) is a traveling salesmen from out of town who has just arrived and is looking to set himself up with a place to stay. He runs into an old friend of his, Marcellus Washburn (an agile Matt Walker), and we quickly learn that Harold Hill is actually a con man. Apparently, Hill goes from town to town selling people on the idea of a boys’ marching band.

After collecting money for instruments, uniforms and instruction books, Hill skips town and is never heard from again. Using a new pool table at the billiard hall as a catalyst, he rouses up a fear of corruption in the souls of River City’s conservative residents and sets out as the leader who will “keep the young ones’ moral after school.” The only monkey wrench in his plan is the music teacher and librarian of River City, a bookish and strong willed young woman named Marian Paroo (the golden voiced Gail Bennett) who sees through the “Professor” and tries her hardest to expose him as a phony.

As the town starts to awaken from its routine small-mindedness and her reclusive little brother begins to gain courage and confidence, the librarian’s anger softens and her feelings towards the wooing Mr. Hill become challenged and more ambiguous. Conflicts arise and hilarity ensues with, in the classic musical-comedy style, all things happily and niftily tied up with perfection.

Gail Bennett (right) as Marian and Davis Gaines (left) as Professor Harold Hill.

More than any other asset, the current production of The Music Man at MTW sounds amazing. This is not only due to a cast that sing the pants off the material, but also to a gorgeous full orchestra (strangely not listed by name or instrument in the program) conducted by music director Corey Hirsch. The orchestrations and the tempos are spot on, with every song provided the pep or dreaminess it deserves. When coupled with John Todd’s athletic and high-energy choreography, some true magic that is made. The ensemble is practically pitch perfect (with special mention to one of the better barbershop quartets I’ve ever seen in a production) and it is a pleasure to hear this score performed so beautifully. For that, MTW gets a great many kudos.

The two leads of this production, Davis Gains—who gets star billing and played the title roll in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway over 2,000 times—and Gail Bennett—who toured with Mary Poppins and performed in the Vegas and Hollywood Bowl companies of The Producers—are both incredible vocal talents. They sing the hell out of their songs and possess great stage presence and charisma in their roles. If this were enough to carry both Marian and Harold’s parts, this production would be flawless.

Unfortunately though, to really make The Music Man soar, you have to believe in the chemistry between these two; a fact which sadly, for me at least, never came to be. While the rest of the characters in the show have cartoonish and archetypal qualities, Harold Hill and Marian Paroo are three-dimensional people. They have arcs to their characters’ progressions and end up in entirely different places both mentally and emotionally at the play’s end, something that is due to the two of them finding each other.

While both actors offer up more than serviceable performances, the nuances of their characters are somewhat lost to the song and dance. Gain’s Hill is showy to the point of obscuring his character’s heart and Bennett’s Marian seems to lack the deep romantic longing for love and culture that makes the character so romantic and beautiful. I want to see why Harold Hill falls in love with Marian and why she ultimately gives him her heart when she initially is so against it. I truly believe that it is possible for Marian’s character to transcend the dated chauvinistic trappings of the second act, and I likewise believe it is possible to see Harold Hill’s transformation as the story progresses and not just as the play ends. For these wishes to be fulfilled, I will unfortunately have to wait a little longer.

Luckily, what Jeff Maynard’s production lacks in subtlety, it makes up for with comedy and exuberance. The Music Man is a far more comedic and entertaining show than it is a subtle one. This is one of the keys to its success. This is likely why it took all those Tonys and audiences’ hearts back in 1957, and also why it is still mounted as often as it is today. What this says about the theater-going audiences of America, I will leave for you to judge. For now, we have The Music Man yet again. Take the children, take the grandparents, take anyone who doesn’t roll their eyes at the idea of seeing a great American Musical. It is satirical, light-hearted and tuneful all at once and it deserves to be cherished.

Always.