Hugh Jackman And Sutton Foster To Star Broadway Revival Of ‘The Music Man’
New York City unfortunately had to close down Broadway and the rest of its cultural institutions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, however, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still planning for the future of theater and entertainment in the city that never sleeps.
Most recently, Broadway made the announcement that come May 2021, audiences would be able to relive the classic Broadway musicals in history, Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man. Beyond just that, they also announced that the show would be starring none other than Tony, Grammy, and Emmy award-winner Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill. Jackman will be joined on stage by two-time Tony award-winning actress Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo in the musical that initially premiered in 1957.
Broadway producers Scott Rudin, Barry Diller, and David Geffen made the announcement this past Tuesday regarding the revival. The goal is to have show previews begin on April 7th, 2021, and open on May 20th, 2021 at the Winter Garden Theater. Rehearsals are also meant to begin on February 8th if all goes to plan.
“Performing on Broadway is a great honor for an actor; in fact, one of the greatest. No two shows are exactly alike, in large part due to the audience,” Jackman said.
Jackman continued to reflect on his past experiences on Broadway and how excited he was to return to the stage. He’s mainly looking forward to opening night, describing the sensation of being filled with “anticipation, fear and excitement. The energy in the theater is palpable.” Jackman claims that the change in dates and planning for the musicals revival due to Covid-19 may be disappointing, but in the long run it shouldn’t change much in regard to the production and work that needs to be done before the show makes its debut.
The show will be directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Other notable individuals that will be starring in the production include Tony-award winning actors Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo, and Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn.
“We’re obviously profoundly disappointed to be unable to start rehearsals for The Music Man as scheduled. But safety is safety, and it has to take precedence over every other consideration — for both our audience and for our company,” Rudin said.
Rudin continued to say that despite the show being postponed the entire team and company working behind-the-scenes will be sticking together through it all and will continue to make adjustments as our world attempts to recover from this deadly pandemic.
As previously mentioned, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down all Broadway Theaters back in the beginning of March when the virus initially infiltrated New York City. Initially, when the city shut down the plan was to remain closed for one month; which has now obviously been extended to Labor Day, prompting many Broadway producers to offer refunds for any shows that were meant to take place before September 6th.Tickets for The Music Man are currently available on Telecharge.com for the April 7th date, and fans will also be able to sign up to be alerted when more tickets go on sale through Broadway.com.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.