Just watched the movie for the xxth time—it has gotten to be a 4th of July tradition. I was first exposed to this musical when my older sisters were cast in a high school theatrical version back before this movie was released.
What's not to like? Preston is brilliant. Jones is the perfect example of how the perfection of human beauty is enhanced with a beautiful voice. It's romantic and nostalgic and wonderful.
But what makes Music Man so special is that it is based on a cultural reality. Iowa (like the rest of the Big Ten turf) is awash in an incredible band music tradition. Those amazing bands that play halftime music at Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State don't fall out of thin air—they are supported by a feeder system. Music Man was supposedly about Mason City and I would be shocked if they don't have a first-rate high school band to this day.
But all these bands had to start somewhere. Someone had to convince folks that they should spend money to teach their children to make music. Now it is unlikely that someone as smooth-talking as Hill ever existed, but someone had to perform the job he did. And anyone who was promoting a band was very likely to be something of a showman—it comes with the territory. So while Hill was an exaggeration, real Hills existed.
Note here, this isn't a story of a con-man who got away with one. Because it doesn't matter if Hill knew a note of music. If this had really happened, there would be no downside. Suddenly, the town would have a bunch of new instruments and in love with the idea their town could make it's own music. The town probably had enough Marions so they could get basic instruction started. Besides, it would take at least five years before the town band could make music anyway, so no one could have expected Hill to actually form a boy's band during the summer. Guys like Hill were important but hardly sufficient. The great youth bands in Iowa would wait until her universities started cranking out qualified music teachers.
The idea that Iowa could have developed from virgin grassland to a society with roads, schools, and a successful export economy in only 60 years (1850 to 1910 when this musical was supposedly set) implies a LOT of plain hard work. It is also implies promoters. And the guys who brought music to the Midwest were the sort of people who didn't wait for permission to get something started. It's why the sensible librarian / piano teacher Marion recognized the promoter's value to the community.
There's a lot of truth in this wonderful, silly, beautiful movie.
What's not to like? Preston is brilliant. Jones is the perfect example of how the perfection of human beauty is enhanced with a beautiful voice. It's romantic and nostalgic and wonderful.
But what makes Music Man so special is that it is based on a cultural reality. Iowa (like the rest of the Big Ten turf) is awash in an incredible band music tradition. Those amazing bands that play halftime music at Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State don't fall out of thin air—they are supported by a feeder system. Music Man was supposedly about Mason City and I would be shocked if they don't have a first-rate high school band to this day.
But all these bands had to start somewhere. Someone had to convince folks that they should spend money to teach their children to make music. Now it is unlikely that someone as smooth-talking as Hill ever existed, but someone had to perform the job he did. And anyone who was promoting a band was very likely to be something of a showman—it comes with the territory. So while Hill was an exaggeration, real Hills existed.
Note here, this isn't a story of a con-man who got away with one. Because it doesn't matter if Hill knew a note of music. If this had really happened, there would be no downside. Suddenly, the town would have a bunch of new instruments and in love with the idea their town could make it's own music. The town probably had enough Marions so they could get basic instruction started. Besides, it would take at least five years before the town band could make music anyway, so no one could have expected Hill to actually form a boy's band during the summer. Guys like Hill were important but hardly sufficient. The great youth bands in Iowa would wait until her universities started cranking out qualified music teachers.
The idea that Iowa could have developed from virgin grassland to a society with roads, schools, and a successful export economy in only 60 years (1850 to 1910 when this musical was supposedly set) implies a LOT of plain hard work. It is also implies promoters. And the guys who brought music to the Midwest were the sort of people who didn't wait for permission to get something started. It's why the sensible librarian / piano teacher Marion recognized the promoter's value to the community.
There's a lot of truth in this wonderful, silly, beautiful movie.