Meredith Wilson's play The Music Man is a musical comedy filled with a lightheartedness that draws the audience's attention. The subject is purely for entertainment that all ages can watch. The dialogue and timeless musical score provide laughter at all of the outlandish situations. The play does have life lessons mixed in throughout the play. The play is flows seamlessly because of the actions that characters take, and the behaviors of each character are well developed by Meredith Wilson. Harold Hill is the protagonist of the show, but some audience members could make an argument that Marion could be the main character. Ultimately the argument for Professor Hill is that if it was not for his decisions and antics the supporting characters …show more content…
The exposition happens after the initial opening scene when Harold Hill runs into an old acquaintance, Marcellus Washburn, who knows of his devious intentions to swindle the towns people out of their hard earned money. The complication that stood in Hill's way was Marion Paroo the towns librarian and part-time piano instructor. Marion planned on outing Professor Hill as a fraud to the mayor who also shared the young librarian's suspensions. However, the wise Mr. Hill was nice to her younger brother so she did not turn over the evidence she had obtained. The more Professor Hill and Marion became acquainted the more they started to have feelings for one another. A crisis arises when the Mayor had tracked down another travelling salesman that knew Hill was a conman. The climax of the play happens at the local town function the mayor exposes Professor Hill calls for his arrest. Harold Hill is arrested and the townspeople call for action against the swindler. However, before any thing happens to Hill the librarian steps in and explains that the town has changed for the better since the Professor had been in their small Iowa town. The parents of the children that Harold sold the instruments and uniforms demanded to hear the children. When the children arrived they began to play the song Professor Hill had instructed them to learn. Once their parents were ecstatic with the outcome even though the band was …show more content…
The theater that the play was preformed in proscenium theater. The audience was only able to sit on one side of the stage make it look like the production had a frame. The scene design was very complex for such a small local production this allowed the audience to feel as if the show was being preformed at a more lavish venue. The lighting provided select visibility at times when the audience was to be focused on a specific individual. The lighting also provided rhythm and structure allowing the light to make changes so the scenes flowed smoothly. The mood was also set by lighting when the characters were in a calm state the lights were low and focused only on the person who's emotions the audience was suppose to connect with. Most importantly the illusion and motivation was set my the lighting this is what allowed the audience to feel as if time was really passing. The lighting allowed for the audience to feel connected to daylight conversations, moonlight walks, and indoor functions. The costumes reflected the time period of the early 1900's that the play was set in. This allowed the audience feel as if they are able to be part of the past. The women had simple long skirts and blouse with floral patterns. Hairstyles were neat and tidy like the time period they were portraying. The men wore three piece suits and hats that appeared to be fitting of the 1900's. The costumes
This play was set in the 1890s, meaning it is very important to have correlating costumes so the audience can be aware of what time period there in. Of course Dolly who had a few costume changes looked stunning in everything she wore. My one small critique was with her last outfit that she wore during the finale. The jewels on the red dress were awkwardly placed it was almost like a diamond belt but, it fell on her in the wrong area making it not as flattering to her body as it could have been. However, her feather headset and the glistening diamond reflections in the spotlight made up for it. Also Claire Dicorte, an ensemble member, had a perfectly fitting outfit that fit her in all the right places she looked like an everyday woman in that time. Of course Emily Mouton looked hilarious in her big obnoxious orange dress too, if anyone can pull that off it was her character Ernestina. Finally, all the waiters and waitresses correlating colors looked fantastic, especially when they were dancing, no distractions because they were all the same color! My OCD was not bugging me on that because believe me if they had a shade off I would have noticed. I could tell the hard work that was put into those costumes so I congratulate Michelle Tinker for all of her hard
However, the clever and deliberate use of props, costumes, and the stage helps it establish its themes and context and set it apart from other plays. In the beginning, the props are set to evoke the setting of a slave ship. The chains surrounding the pedestal in the middle of the stage invoke the idea of being imprisoned, the images on the side depict slaves being shackled, and the basic idea how the living conditions were on the boat. In addition, the screens often depict vivid imagery of the time period, or historical figures of the time. The images along with the sound effects add to the atmosphere, as it makes a stronger statement than words alone. The costume choice is well-done, and they serve well to differentiate the actors from each other or the different characters. The man in shackles that was hidden underneath the cloth in the moving dolly gives off the appearance of the stereotypical slave. Considering Malik Proctor also portrayed the kid, the waiter, and Flo’rance, the audience does not focus on the actor but the character he is playing. The characters portrayed are differentiable as the costumes set them apart, aided by the tone and inflection in the way the characters speak and act. Having the characters being able to be told apart gives the play immersion, as it allows the audience to focus on what is happening, not why the actors are playing
The play I went to see was The Music Man performed by the Mesa Encore Theatre at the Mesa Community College. I saw this performance on November 20th. The main performers in this play were Zac Bushman as Harold Hill and Lauren Koeritzer as Marian Paroo. Alongside them, a mix of both adults and children as young as 8 acted in this production. The cast and crew used appropriate clothing to match the time and place. Lights were utilized scarcely, with not much more than spotlights or front and back lights. The set was extravagant, cute, and fitting for the setting and time. Overall, this musical was vibrantly performed and left me with positive impressions regarding presentation and production.
From the scene set up to the clothes each actor wore it was all very impressing. The scene set up was a beauty shop and was extremely accurate and realistic. The play had four scenes and each scene was a different season. For each season the “beauty shop” was filled with props. In December it was filled with Christmas trees and ornaments. The clothes each actor wore fit each character’s personality. For example, Annelle was seen as very quirky and always would wear “dorky” clothes. The use of spectacle in this play left no room for imagination because they had everything layer out for
The plot, Jackie navigates the life of a preteen in New York during the 1960s. This plot begins late in Jackie’s life since her story begins 12 years prior which is when she was born but begins at the most present moment in the play which is the now. Although all of the characters are being depicted through one phenomenal actress, the characters are limited to her parents, Perespone and her family, and the friends she makes along the way. As well as the scenes and locales are fairly limited all of the scenes take place on a geographic scale in New York, and on Erickson Street or Manhattan at her private school. This shown the privileges of a small set reaffirms the focus and tightness of the
The play consisted of five characters: Marty, James, Schultz, Theresa, and Lauren. Marty and James are a couple; they knew each other through a wedding, Theresa is a former actress who ran away from the competitive New York, Schultz is an awkward carpenter who just got divorced, and Lauren is a sixteen year old girl who dreamed of becoming an actress. Marty who is the teacher started the class, but the students participated in the class’s activities
Throughout the play, there is a level of intensity that can be seen. Sound effects, lighting and props help make the story seem intensely realistic. It helped engage the audience's attention and emotions throughout the entire play. It is as though we are living vicariously through these characters. With these characters, there is a life lesson to be learned.
In Act 1, Willy Russell introduces the main characters, Rita and Frank; and provides crucial background information about the characters and their relationship with each other. Russell introduces some of the main themes of the play such as; journey of discovery and class clash. He also informs the audience when and where the play is set- time and site.
The lighting in the performance was fairly basic, for the large majority of the play the lighting was constant. It’s primary use was for functionality purposes, such as to light up the stage so the audience could see, and not to convey any special meaning or set any kind of mood. There were two different types of instances were the lighting would change, too show a passage of ti...
It was a flat stage in front with one chair on both sides of it. A chandelier hanging above the chairs, made the setting more intimate. The back of the stage consisted of different heights that served as the scientist's lab and a bridge. The eerie lighting above the lab added to the effect that this was a mad scientist's lab. The lighting and projections perfectly accompanied the story. Each time a character has an important line or dialogue, the spotlight hits them with a color that set the tone, making their importance known. In moments of despair or suspense, blue lighting reflects the characters’ feelings. Blue lighting also gives the sense of cold weather, the nighttime, and the amber. Yellow light gives the sense of warmth. Flashing lights mimicked a storm. The red lighting gave the impression of a hot, destructive fire, or danger. The clothing in this play is that from the 18th century, with women wearing high-waisted empire dresses. Coat dresses were worn to keep warm. The men wore Waistcoats (vests), trousers, button shirts with a tailcoat. A great coat was worn to keep warm. Leather shoes and top hats completed the look. The look the writer was trying to convey is a gothic regency style, undermining the cool classic style from the middle
In the written play the audience is forced to imagine the surroundings and outfits these characters wore during that time period. The film is well spoken of and one top critic states “ Arthur Miller's screenplay keeps everything nice and faithful to the period, and the actors have the dirt on their hands to prove it. The movie lacks polish as well, and that's to everyone's benefit”. The film gets every dramatical event, acting, and scenery that the written play failed to
I have never once been to a show where a change in lighting made me gasp in surprise; but at the beginning of Act Three, when the lights changed from a soft warm light to a harsh fluorescent truly blew me away. It sets the tone for the entire second half of the play, and I thought the way they went about utilizing the lighting was truly brilliant. I also found the dripping water in the Proctor’s home to be very impressive. It made the entire universe that much more realistic. As I watched the real drops of water drip from the ceiling and into the bucket, I was mesmerized and 100% engaged in the story that was happening. I have seen lots of great productions, with tons of brilliant actors, but I find that the little things, like special effects, and lighting is really what impress me when I go to see a show. The technical aspects of theater are truly what made a fine production great, and I like to pay complement where complement is
Although, there are quite a few inherent challenges in directing a show like the one I saw. Those include having actors who can get comfortable and confident with whatever role they are playing. Most of the time in acting it is required for you to get out of your comfort zone and go beyond boundaries to stay and play in different character. The director took a specific style and or approach with this production and it was a unique one that took the audience back to a different era. The tones and ways of speaking, dressing, and interaction of the small town was something common back in those years. I completely made sense of the production. The theme of this play was mainly dealing with integrity and reputation. Some characters were in a complicated situation, while some only protected their reputation, other major characters like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse chose to protect their integral values. The director’s interpretation of the theme was obvious in the play, this was seen in various roles and I quickly noted who was the type of character to have high credibility
The theatres were either public or private so people could choose where they wanted to watch the plays from. The plays were mostly performed one each day as compared to these days where a play can go up to a month. The players wore costumes that were expensive and they had bright colors t...
The open-air theaters may have consisted of an orchestra - a flat circular area used for choral dances-a raised stage behind it for actors, and a roughly semicircular seating area built into a hillside around the orchestra, although modern scholars debate the layout of particular theaters. These theaters held 15,000 to 20,000 spectators. As the importance of actors grew and that of the chorus diminished, the stage became higher and encroached on the orchestra space.The actors - all men - wore theatricalized versions of everyday dress, but, most important, they wore larger-...