Till There Was You – The Music Man

I must have been one of about 3 people on the planet who had never seen the movie of this show before, or been in an amateur production, and so I didn’t really know what the show was about, other than a very basic plot outline. However, I’d heard really wonderful things about this revival, and the thing that convinced me I needed to see it was when Eric McCormack came in to replace Craig Bierko as Harold Hill.

Eric was excellent!! Not only does he sing beautifully, but I believed him as Harold Hill – meaning that I didn’t see him as Will. Oh, there were certain gestures and stuff that were Will-esque, but overall he overcame that sticking point that everybody would have had, of associating him with his character on TV, which I think takes a lot of talent.

The sets and costumes were perfect, and the whole cast was very strong. The opening might have been one of my favourite parts of the whole show. All the ensemble numbers were wonderful as well. Forbidden Broadway has forever ruined the song “Trouble” for me – when he was singing it, I just kept thinking, “Those aren’t the words!” 🙂 Rebecca Luker was fantastic, she just has such a pure, beautiful voice. And the dancing was, as you might expect, really amazing. Eric is a great dancer as well! 🙂 I felt the show drags a bit in Act Two, but overall I enjoyed it very much!