Directed and Choreographed by
JIM HUTCHISON
Musical Direction by
DAREN KIMURA
Set Design by
TOM GIZA
Costume Design by
KATHY KOHL
Lighting Design by
JOHN PARKINSON
CAST (in order of appearance)
Travelling Salesmen - HAROLD MECHIGASHIRA, MITCHELL MORIWAKI, BRAD MEZURASHI,
JEFF MUSE, CHRISTOPHER OBENCHAIN, TIMOTHY YUEN
Charlie Cowell - GENE DE FRANCES
Conductor - LARRY FUKIMOTO
Harold Hill - DENNIS PROULX
Mayor Shinn - STEVE WAGONSELLAR
Ewart Dunlop - JIM GAMMON
Oliver Hix - RALPH BRANDT
Jacey Squires - GEORGE McQAT
Olin Britt - DON RAYMOND
Marcellus Washburn - KEITH LaBRYER
Tommy Djilas - MARK TUCKER
Marian Paroo - NICOLE SULLIVAN
Amaryllis - MAKENA MILLER
Mrs. Paroo - NOLA STABLEY
Winthrop Paroo - MICHAEL YASUNAGA
Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn - TRACY YAMAMOTO
Zaneeta Shinn - MEGAN DeBOARD
Alma Hix - ROBBIE BRANDT
Maud Dunlop - KATHY PETHTEL
Ethel Toffelmier - GHISLAINE SOPHER-PHILLIPS
Mrs. Squires - KATHRYN WATANABE
Constable Locke - HAROLD MECHIGASHIRA
River City Townspeople and Kids - GRACE ANDERSON, CHAD AU, SHERILYN CHO, EMILY DARIGO,
ALYSSA GUTTENDORF, SHANE FISETTE, TRISTAN HIRAISHI, TAYLOR ANN KATASE, JAKARA MATO,
DOROTHY MACHIGASHIRE, CAMILLE MUTH, JEFF MUSE, MELISSA PETHTEL, STEPHANIE PETHTEL,
MARCUS SHINBO, EVAN SUEMORI, RYAN SUEMORI, KARI SWEENEY, KIM TAKINAMI, KALEI TALWAR,
T. J. TARIO, TX TARIO, HEATHER TAYLOR, NOELA VON WIEGANDT, DANIELLE YAMAMOTO, DYLAN
YAMAMOTO, STEPHANIE YASANAGA, PHILIP-ANDREW YUEN
Monday, May 12, 2003
Actors breathe romance
into their well-worn roles
By John Berger
The sense that romantic chemistry is percolating between Dennis Proulx and Nicole Sullivan is the key to Army
Community Theatre's "The Music Man." If this vintage musical is to come across as more than a Broadway
potboiler, the leads must appear to be so in love that they each do the illogical. Proulx and Sullivan -- playing
Harold Hill and Marian Paroo -- make it happen.
Proulx looks like he's having a ball with the role of "Professor" Hill from the first time he opens his mouth, but
the details he adds make his performance worth seeing. He's good enough that he might be able to carry the
show on his own, but with Sullivan as his co-star, he's spared that responsibility.
In a single sentence: Proulx and Sullivan show us rather than tell us what's really going on. Proulx does this
by showing us what traveling con man Hill is experiencing as he finds that his planned scam job on the
citizens of River City is becoming gummed up by his emotional ties to shrewish Marian Paroo. Sullivan
does the same as Marian. The odds of these two characters falling for each other may well seem slim, but
Proulx and Sullivan make it look right on anyway.
Proulx appears to physically expand and shrink as Hill wrestles with his emotions. Sullivan makes Marian's
thawing more than a requirement of the plot -- yes, love does make people do illogical things! These emotional
undercurrents are essential in making their scene on the footbridge the pivotal moment in the show, and "Till
There Was You" more than just another song.
Sullivan sings the song beautifully, and her gorgeous voice adds to the impact of several other musical
numbers.
And now for the back story: The year is 1912. Harold Hill is a con man who fast-talks gullible culture-hungry
citizens of small towns to invest in expensive musical instruments and uniforms for a town band that he
promises to train and lead. The problem is that "Hill" -- we learn that's not his real name -- knows nothing
about music and slips out of town as soon as final payment is made. He finds an ally in River City, a former
partner in crime now gone straight, who fills him in on the local scene and helps set the con in play.
Hill learns that the local music authority is Marian, the fiercely independent unmarried librarian, and starts
pursuing her. It isn't clear whether he sees her as a potential sexual conquest or someone he needs to
either distract or win over.
Marian takes an instant dislike to "Hill" when he arrives but finds herself falling in love with him by the time
she finds the information that could blow his con.
Behind the impressive performances of Proulx and Sullivan is Broadway veteran Jim Hutchison, who displays
his usual fine touch as director and choreographer in restaging this classic. Several ensemble numbers add a
strong satirical edge to playwright Meredith Willson's musical portrait of small-town Iowa and the narrow-
minded townsfolk. Hutchison's staging and choreography of the numbers involving the female townsfolk is
consistently entertaining, but he has considerable depth in the cast as well.
Willson's recurring joke is Hill's ability to distract four of his suspicious adversaries by getting them to
perform as a barbershop quartet. Hutchison cast a real-life barbershop quartet in the roles, and although
the vocals are the main thing, the foursome -- Ralph Brandt (Oliver Hix), Jim Gammon (Ewart Dunlap), George
McOuat (Jacey Squires) and Don Raymond (Olin Britt) -- play the acting side of the roles well, too.
And then there's Nola Stabley (Mrs. Paroo), who adds a nice touch of comedy at a key moment; Mark Tucker
and Megan DeBoard nicely matched as the rebellious teens; Michael Zachery Yasunaga in the small but
important role of introverted Winthrop Paroo; and Gene De Frances (Charlie Cowell), as the designated
villain, who successfully pulls off the task of making the voice of "right" -- Cowell is a legitimate traveling
salesman who tries to warn the town of Hill's plan -- seem wrong.
Set designer Tom Giza wisely relies on stylized representations of the train, town and park, and creates a
series of satisfactory sets and set pieces. Sporadic microphone problems did not detract from the impact
of the two lead performances on opening night, or from the work of musical director Daren Kimura's orchestra.
Kimura and his musicians distinguished themselves with "Seventy-Six Trombones" and the finale as well.