PHOTO PROVIDED
“The Music Man” is coming to the Eisenhower Auditorium on April 7 at 7 p.m.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Fast-talking salesman Harold Hill is no match for the likes of River City librarian Marian Paroo in Big League Productions’ national tour of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man.”
UNIVERSITY PARK — Fast-talking salesman Harold Hill is no match for the likes of River City librarian Marian Paroo in Big League Productions’ national tour of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man.” The classic, Broadway-style musical comes to Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7.
Tickets are $89 (orchestra and grand tier) and $74 (balcony) for an adult; $53 and $48 for a University Park student; and $72 and $57 for a person 18 and younger.
Purchase your tickets online or avoid the $4 fee by purchasing over the phone at 814-863-0255 or in person, weekdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Eisenhower Auditorium.
The Center for the Performing Arts and the Arts Ticket Center are parts of the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture.
The six-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy “The Music Man” follows Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a marching band that he vows to organize. This, despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef.
Elizabeth D’Aiuto leads the lesson to not ‘read a book by its cover’
Willson started writing “The Music Man” in 1948, and it finally hit the stage in 1957. The songs to the family-friendly story have been shared with generations since and features notable marching music and patter-style numbers, including “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “Ya Got Trouble,” “Till There Was You,” “Pick-a-Little” and “Gary, Indiana.”
And though Harold Hill is still the face of “The Music Man,” at the center of the traditional production is Marian Paroo, the town’s thoughtful librarian who captures the hearts of the con man and the audience.
“She’s such an independent woman like me, and she is strong. I think back in the day, Marian could be such an in-the-box character and just a typical Golden Age soprano, but she really is so much more than that,” Elizabeth D’Aiuto said in a Center for the Performing Arts interview. “It’s truly a life lesson to not read a book by its cover. I hope people from older generations can see that I’m bringing something different to it, and the younger generation will be like, ‘Yes, I can really resonate.’ ”
Accessibility American Sign Language interpretation will be offered for this performance. Contact the Arts Ticket Center via email or by phone at 814-863-2727, ext. 3, to discuss ASL seating preferences.
Audio description will be offered for this performance. Call the Sight Loss Support Group of Central Pennsylvania at 814-238-0132 to reserve the service.