July 21-23 and 28-30, 2006
Walther Lutheran High School
Melrose Park, IL

THE MUSIC MAN - SYNOPSIS

'Professor' Harold Hill is a con man, who sells musical instruments, pretending that he will teach youngsters to play them and form a town band. His plan to carry out the scam in River City, a small town in Iowa, is thwarted when he becomes attracted to Marian Paroo, the local librarian and piano teacher, who immediately suspects that he is a fraud. But he soon makes a mistake by criticizing the new pool hall which happens to be owned by the town's mayor. When Mayor Shinn directs some of the town officials to discredit Hill, he forms them into a barbershop quartet, hoping they will be so involved in practice that they will forget to investigate his credentials. He also gets around the ladies of the town, inluding the mayor's wife, by encouraging them to form a dance troupe, again hoping to distract their suspicions. Finally, he wins Marian over by his kindness towards her younger brother, Winthrop, who is shy and withdrawn because of his lisp, a defect that causes other kids in the town to make fun of him. Although she recognises his scheme, Marian falls in love with Harold and helps him to escape detection. Although Hill is eventually found out, he decides to stay in town and face the music. Finally, the townspeople realize that, even though he lied about the band, he did so much for the town (including the city officials, the ladies of the town and Winthrop), that they forgive him and, as the curtain closes, the new band plays and Harold and Marian find love.

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