The Ojai Art Center Theater is proud to present its summer musical, Meredith Willson‘s The Music Man, running five weekends beginning Friday, June 24, through Sunday, July 24.
The Music Man is set in the fictional town of River City, Iowa, where the residents celebrate their Iowa stubbornness and glory in their gossip. When fast-talking salesman, Harold Hill, comes to town, he smooth-talks his way past their defenses and cons these no-nonsense Hawkeyes into believing he can prevent their town from sliding into the depths of degradation by creating a boys band, complete with uniforms and shiny new instruments. This is the show that put “76 Trombones” into every marching band’s repertoire, and started America singing about “Gary, Indiana,” and “The Wells Fargo Wagon.”
The OACT production stars TV host and writer Larry Toffler as the charismatic con man, Harold Hill, and brings back Ojai’s own Darrienne Lissette Caldwell (formerly Darrienne Gross) as Marian, River City’s feisty librarian. Director Tracey Williams Sutton has gathered a large ensemble of community players from ages seven through eighty-five, many of them making their stage debuts in this show. The Music Man features popular Ojai actors Bill Spellman and Marisa Miculian as the pompous Mayor Shin and his wacky-wife, Eulalie, and Laura Ring as the lovable Ma Paroo. Andrew Eiden makes his first appearance at OACT as Harold’s sidekick, Marcellus. Herb Hemming produced the show with musical direction by Emily Redman Hall, and choreography by Holly Irwin.
Performance times for The Music Man are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. starting Friday, June 24. General admission is $30, $25 for students, seniors, and Art Center members. For ticket information and group sales call 805-640-8797.