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Study Guide
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Introduction
Welcome to the study guide
for the Arizona Repertory
Theatre‘s (ART) production
of The Music Man by
Meredith Willson. ART is an
educational and professional
training company based in
the UA School of Theatre
Arts. The school provides
academic and professional
training to undergraduates
and graduates. Classroom
study, research,
Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………... 2
Play Synopsis…………………………………………………….3
Director‘s Concept…………………………………………..4
The Characters……………………………………………….5
Meet the Playwright………………………………………..6-7
A Child‘s Life in Iowa…………………………………….8-10
An Adult‘s Life in Iowa……………………………….…11-13
studio/laboratory training
Music in 1912…………………………………………….…14-15
and production serve the
Glossary……………………………………………………..16-21
students in their degree
Classroom Activities……………………………………..22-23
pursuit. The school is
For Further Information………………………………….24
committed to the highest
academic standards and
performance excellence.
This study guide has information and activities that can be done with your students before and after
attending the live stage production. Please feel free to make copies for your students and colleagues.
Also, please visit our website at http://www.cfa.arizona.edu/theatreartsoutreach/ for even more
educational materials and interactive resources for students and teachers!
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Play Synopsis
The Music Man begins in River City, Iowa on July 4th, 1912. Several
salesmen are passing through town on a train, spending their time
arguing about the ins and outs of the business. As the train pulls into
the station our hero, Harold Hill, leaves the group in order to ―give Iowa
a try.‖
The citizens of River City come into the Town Square and sing about
their stubborn Iowan ways. This sets the temperament of the town
giving Harold a big obstacle to overcome. Realizing that he won‘t be able
to use his regular routine on these people, Harold decides to use one of
their own activities against them… pool. The city‘s Mayor has just
opened up a new pool parlor and Harold captures the town‘s attention
by telling them they‘ve ―got trouble… right here in River City! With a
capital ‗T‘ and that rhymes with ‗P‘ and that stands for Pool.‖ The stage
is set for Harold to reveal his ―sales pitch.‖
The replacement for pool is to be the creation of an all boys‘ band.
Harold‘s scam is to sell the instruments and band uniforms and skip
town. Only one person in the town seems to know what he‘s up to and
it‘s the person he desires to convince the most… Marian the librarian.
With Harold‘s visit in town everything begins to change. Through music
he breaths new light and excitement into a town that was once dull and
drab.
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Aston/Aston.shtml
http://pages.suddenlink.net/tjohnston7/ww1hist/poolhall.jpg
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Director’s Concept
Director Andrew F. Holtz has brought the down-to-earth Iowa culture of the early
twentieth century to Arizona Repertory Theatre‘s production of The Music Man. In his earliest
meetings with the production committee, Holtz encouraged everyone to ―focus on the realities
of life in small-town, rural Iowa in the early twentieth century—life for the most part without
telephones, automobiles, radio, cinema and other modern conveniences and entertainments.‖ His
inspiration has its roots in his own childhood: he grew up in the Midwest and often reflects upon
his grandmother‘s homespun Iowa upbringing at the turn of the century. With this Midwest
sensibility as his touchstone, Holtz sought a more naturalistic approach to The Music Man.
Rather than recreate the showy glamour of the original 1950s production, Holtz hopes to rekindle
a sense of nostalgia with muted colors ―like a sepia-toned photo.‖
With this sense of nostalgia, the focus turns toward the characters, and their sense of
community. The folk dancing and character relationships embody the shifts in the stubborn Iowa
nature. ―Shipoopi‖ and ―Iowa Stubborn,‖ become not only lively dance numbers showing the
performers‘ skills, but also give the audience a sense of the community context so important in
early twentieth century rural life.
-Michelle Miller (Assistant Dramaturg)
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Characters
Harold Hill: A dynamic con-man who comes
to River City, Iowa with the intention of
deceiving the town and getting rich from
the profits.
Marian Paroo: The local librarian who
is skeptical of Harold Hill‘s scheme.
Winthrop Paroo: The younger brother of
Marian and afflicted with a lisp. He
develops a friendship with Harold who
helps him to overcome his father‘s death.
Marcellus: A former con-man
who now lives in River City. He
is Harold‘s friend from years
past.
Mrs. Paroo: Marian and
Winthrop‘s mother. A caring
and devoted Irish mother
who wants nothing but the
best for her children.
Mayor Shinn: A blustery
politician whose business is
being ruined by Harold Hill.
Eulalie Shinn: The Mayor‘s wife and chief
gossip in the town.
Tommy: The boy from
the wrong side of the
tracks. He is secretly
dating the Mayor‘s
daughter, Zaneetha.
The Barbershop
Quartet: A group of
four school board
members, who until
Harold Hill taught
them how to sing,
were the worst of
enemies.
Amaryllis: A young piano
student of Marian‘s.
The Pick-a-little
Ladies: Eulalie‘s
friends who join
gossip with her.
Charlie Cowell: A rival
salesman who is on a mission
to expose Harold Hill‘s
scheme.
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Meet the Playwright
www.iowahistory.org
1902- Meredith Willson was born as Robert Meredith Reiniger in Mason City, Iowa.
His family name was changed in his early childhood. He grew up taking piano,
piccolo and flute lessons from an early age. He said in his autobiography Once
upon a Piccolo, ―Like any Iowa child, I loved to play circus and hated to play
piano.‖ Apparently his dislike for piano lessons dissipated later in life. One summer
and after hearing ―Custer‘s Last Stand‖ performed by a traveling bandstand he
decided that he wanted to be in a band. His first musical job was as a piccolo
player in a local band and all of his wages went to pay for the instrument. During
the job he sat on the piccolo and bent it, although he still had to pay it all off.
Below are some highlights from Willson‘s life and work
1920- He left home at the age of 18 to pursue music in New York City. Willson
studied at the Damrosch Institute of Musical Art which is now called Julliard
School of Music.
1921- Joined John Philip Sousa‘s band as the principle flute and piccolo player and
continued with them until 1923.
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1924- Joined the New York Philharmonic where he sat as first flute and continued
with them until 1929.
1933- Moved to California and began to work on the radio program Carefree
Carnival. He continued with the show until 1936.
1940- Began work on the radio program Maxwell House Coffee Time. He wrote
―You and I‖ the theme song for the show, which became a bestseller. The song is
actually just one elongated sentence. Willson continued on the program until 1949.
1940- Worked coordinating music for the Chaplin Film The Great Dictator. He
received an Academy Award nomination for best original score.
1942- Became a major in the United States Army and the head of the Music
Division of Armed Forces Radio Service.
1950- Worked on the radio program The Big Show until 1953. He wrote the closing
number for the program ―May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You.‖
December 19, 1957- The Music Man hit Broadway. The show ran for 1,375
performances (almost four years) and won eight Tony Awards (including Best
Musical and Best Actor). He won two Antoinette Perry Awards (Tony award) for
Best Musical and Best Author of a Musical. The New York Drama Critics Circle
Award was given to him for Best New Musical. He also received a Grammy Award
for Composer of Best Original Cast Album for Broadway or Television.
1962- The Music Man became a movie. In 2003 a made for television version came
out.
June 15, 1984- Died of heart failure at the age of 84.
―I‘m still trying to write something by way of music that might have a chance of lasting longer
than I do.‖
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A Child’s Life in Iowa
In the early 1900s, out of 122 families in Cerro Gordo County (where Mason City
is located) 111 were farmers. Farming was hard work, with long days and little money.
Every member of the family had responsibilities. Children started working on the farm
when they were about six or seven years old. Before
walking or riding horseback to school each day,
children had to get up early and do their chores-milking cows, harnessing horses, gathering eggs,
cleaning the outhouse, washing clothes, and more.
http://www.kapiticoastlibraries.govt.nz
Days could start as early as 3:00 or 4:00am and end after dark. Work and play revolved
around the seasons. Springtime meant additional chores like feeding newborn calves,
piglets, and lambs.
Meredith Willson‘s autobiography And There I Stood with My Piccolo describes
what farm life sounded like in Mason City growing up. These are some of the
descriptions that he gave:
Mamma scraping burnt toast, the front door opening in the winter and the screen door
slamming in the summer, The Derby hitting the newel post (tall post at the head or foot of a
stair, supporting the handrail), “Toreador Song from Carmen” on the music box, walking horses
on the street, Mamma playing the piano on Sundays (usually “Jesus wants for me a Sunbeam”
or “The Church in the Wildwood”), snow being shoveled off the walk-way by a big tinny snowshovel, lawn mowers that were with or without canvas bags, autumn sounded like the coal
going down the chute into the coal-bin, spring sounded like the click of a peewee dropped into
the marble box, summer mornings sounded like the beating of rugs and washtub handles
hitting the sides of a tub filled with ice and covered with an old carpet and summer evenings
sounded like coleslaw chopping in a wooden bowl and a wooden potato masher pounding beef,
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smooth roller skates on new concrete and rough roller skates where the cement was old and
coarse, the soft-water pump in the cellar pumping its hundred strokes, the milk wagon, after
school it school it was sounds of erasers being banged together and the “squish” of a soundless
door to the public library, there were gloomy sounds also like the shaking down of ashes out of
the grate down to the cellar and of course the school bell, you could also always here the 6 o’
clock train whistle.
Education
Due to the new ease of access to goods and services, education became more
important for the students living in rural areas.
Many times schoolhouses were far away and
nearly impossible to reach on foot. Also, most of
the country schools only went up to the eighth
grade and the high schools were located within
the towns. The automobile made it simple for
children to get to school and receive a higher education.
https://www.playle.com/pictures/WHIMZY1334.jpg
The schools that many children attended were one room school houses. Before
the Model T Ford it was important to many parents that schoolhouses were close to
their homes; when they were too far they would arrive in a horse and buggy. By the
time autos arrived many of the schoolhouses were consolidating, leaving them more
spaced out and harder to access without an automobile. The first teachers in Iowa
were men, but during the Civil War they were needed for military duty and thus women
became commonplace in the schools. The Women teachers usually stayed at a nearby
farm and would move from house to house throughout the school year. They would
usually teach before they were married, and retire from teaching after. Teachers were
responsible for maintaining the schoolhouses with daily chores. In the winter the
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teacher would have to arrive early in order to start a fire in the stove to heat the
classroom.
Schools were fairly simple: desks were made from logs and they used whatever
books were available. The children most often ended up learning to read from the
bible since textbooks were scarce. Books were passed around between family members,
allowing everyone the opportunity to learn.
Since there was no indoor plumbing, restrooms were outside and usually there
was one for the boys and another for the girls. Boys were usually less educated than
the girls because they needed to help out
more on the farm. Sometimes they were only
able to attend in the winter when there was
less farm work to be done at home. The
classes included reading, writing, spelling,
http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/Museum/classroom2_lg.jpg
geography, elocution and arithmetic. A day in
a one room school house would involve many short periods. In order to keep the
students occupied a teacher would create assignments, having the students come to
the desk to recite what they had learned that day.
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An Adult’s Life in Iowa
When Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846 people began to immigrate
from the eastern United States in an effort to create new lives. Almost every new
settler that arrived became a farmer as there were few factories in Iowa beyond some
small mills that ground flour, milled lumber or wove fabric. Living on a farm in the early
fields and women would be responsible for cooking meals, making and washing
clothing, maintaining gardens, tending to
chicken, churning butter and preserving
food for the harsh winter months. Men,
women and children all had
responsibilities on the family farm.
http://oakwood-acres.com/
Entertainment was an important
part of life in small town Iowa. By Saturday night the family was ready to go out on the
town. The farm families finished all of their chores early in order to come to town to
do their weekly shopping. They would stroll outside and catch up with friends and
neighbors after placing orders with local merchants. Men met each other at the
Although most of rural Iowa was occupied by farmers, many people lived in small towns
and cities. This meant jobs operating small shops that sold items such as shoes,
tinware, buckets, harnesses, wagons and furniture. Most of these jobs were occupied
by men since it was thought improper for a woman to work outside of the home. Even
when women did work outside of the home it was customary to pay them a third to
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half of what a man would make performing the same job. This encouraged many women
to earn extra money through their regular farm chores and to sell homemade items,
food and produce to bring in money to the farmstead. Going out and selling farm
goods also afforded them some time to socialize with neighbors and friends.
When women did work outside of the home they tended to be unmarried or
widows. The jobs available to them were usually making hats and selling gloves or
making clothing. Some women moved into town and taught school for a few years
before they were married, as town schools paid better
wages than those in the country. Other times young
women were hired to cook, clean and care for children.
Though there were a lot of responsibilities on the farm for
women, they were not as isolated as many people have
come to believe. Women would watch each other‘s
children, sew for one another and visit town in order to
sell their food and produce. In addition, once the
telephone came to the farm women were able to connect with one
http://pro.corbis.com/images
another and eavesdropping even became a favorite past time.
Entertainment was an important part of life in small town Iowa. By Saturday
night the family was ready to go out on the town. The farm families finished their
responsibilities of the day early in order to come to town and do their weekly shopping.
Women would stroll outside and catch up with friend and neighbors after placing
orders with local merchant.
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Men met each other barbershop, the blacksmith‘s shop or the tavern; women met at
the milliner‘s or the general store. Children usually tagged along with their parents, but
on occasion families would leave their sleeping children with the storekeepers and pick
them up later. Many of the stores stayed open past midnight in order to accommodate
all of the families. Before there were automobiles, radio, movies or television, people
went to the center of the town to find their amusement. Sporting events such as
baseball and football were commonplace, with local teams playing their neighboring
towns. Schools and churches brought in large crowds with concerts, potlucks and ice
cream socials and sometimes a merchant would sponsor a local band to promote their
store.
Main Street festivals were also commonplace. It was an event that showcased
the town. There would be fairs and art displays and when a major show came to town,
life stood still. Many times there were circus parades and everyone was excited to see
elephants, tigers, acrobats and clowns. Patriotic holidays were also largely celebrated
by the whole town. On Memorial Day, which was first observed in 1868, Main Street
became crowded with bands and military companies, while veterans and citizens alike
went to local cemeteries to
decorate graves. July fourth was
another huge event in towns
throughout Iowa. Streets were
packed for parades and fireworks.
http://www.anthoniowa.com
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Music in 1912
The two music forms most popular in the early part of the 20th century were
ragtime and blues. By 1910 sheet music was a popular commodity and Tin Pan Alley was
raking in all the profits from the sales. Tin Pan Alley was a group of New York City
music publishers and songwriters that distributed music in the late 19th and early 20th
century. They were the leaders in the field, selling $2 billion in sheet music alone in
1910. Ragtime became a big seller, becoming even more popular than the ballad. By 1912
Tin Pan Alley had released three popular blues tunes; ―Baby Seals‘ Blues‖ by ―Baby‖ F.
Seals, ―Dallas Blues‖ by Hart Wand and ―The Memphis Blues‖ by W.C. Handy. These
two styles of music would prove to influence even today‘s modern bands.
Ragtime is thought to be the first real American music genre, even predating
jazz which did not hit its stride until the 1920s. The music was being developed in New
Orleans and St. Louis and then streaming across the country. It is a modification of
the march that was made popular by the John Philip Sousa band, but it had additional
polyrhythms that came from African music. The song "Maple Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin
became a major influence for all subsequent Ragtime composers. With James Scott
and Joseph Lamb they became ―the big three‖ of Ragtime.
Several different styles or ―fads‖ of Ragtime
became popular at different times. The Cakewalk,
The Two-Step, The Slow Drag, The Coon Song (A
http://keepswinging.blogspot.com/2008/10/whistling-rufus-cakewalk_08.html
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song with crude, racist lyrics often sung by white performers in blackface.), Folk
Ragtime (ragtime that originated from small towns or assembled from folk strains),
Classic Rag (Missouri-style ragtime popularized by Scott Joplin, James Scott, and
others), The Fox-Trot and Novelty Piano (A piano composition emphasizing speed and
complexity , primarily white composters) were all popular at their own time. Until about
1911 the most popular dance style was The Two-Step. A large number of rags are twosteps and it was a highly popular dance form. Beginning in 1913 Ragtime shifted to The
Fox-Trot. A fox-trot contains a dotted-note rhythm that is different from most
Ragtime, but still found its way into the later rags. Ragtime remained popular until the
start of World War I when the time for dancing was over for many people.
Blues music hit its popularity later than Ragtime and is responsible for
influencing most modern rock music. Blues music is called as such due to blue notes.
These are notes that are sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major
scale. Blues music originally developed in African-American communities and came
from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants. Most had a call and
response pattern and the early music was really only one line repeated over again. This
early form was called ―functional expression‖ and was a style that needed no
accompaniment or harmony.
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Glossary
These are words and phrases that you will
hear throughout the musical that may be
unfamiliar to modern day audiences.
Bach's conception of the Well-Tempered Clavichord: A clavichord is a stringed
musical instrument with keyboard; similar to a harpsichord. The Well-Tempered Clavier
or Clavichord is a musical composition by Bach. It is a set of preludes and fugues, or
musical exercises that uses all the major and minor keys of the keyboard. The
popularity of this system, used to show off the way a particular 'clavier' was tuned,
resulted in pianos and clavichords being tuned the way they are today. In Bach's time
the word 'clavier' did not denote any keyboard instrument in particular but meant,
harpsichord, clavichord, spinet, virginal, or even the organ. ―Tempered Clavier, Book I,
Prelude 1 in C‖
Balkline: A group of billiard games played with three balls (red, white, and white with a
spot) on a table without pockets, upon which lines are drawn parallel to all cushions
and usually either 14 or 18 in (36 or 46 cm) away from them. The object of the games is
to score caroms by driving a cue ball against both object balls.
Balzac: 1799-1850. French writer and a founder of the realist school of fiction. He is
among the great masters of the novel. Half-starving in a Paris garret, he began his
career by writing sensational novels under a pseudonym. His great work, called The
Human Comedy, written over a 20-year period, is a collection of novels and stories
recreating French society of the time, picturing in precise detail individuals of every
class and profession. Balzac, The Human Comedy
Be-gob: "By God" - A corrupted form of begorra which means "by God" or "by Jesus".
Be-jabbers: "By Jesus" – Also a corrupted form of begorra.
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Bevo: A non-alcoholic drink that tasted like beer, introduced in
1916 and made by Anheuser-Busch.
Billiards vs. Pool
http://blog.oregonlive.com
/
Billiards: A game played with three balls (one cue ball and
two object balls) on a pocketless table.
Pool: Developed much later than billiards, it is also known
as pocket billiards. A cue ball is used along with 15 object
balls on a table with six pockets.
Buster Brown: Buster Brown the comic strip,
first appeared in color in 1902. Buster Brown
was "an incorrigible scamp‖. Each Sunday the
page ended with a promise to mend his
mischievous manners. He "dressed like a sissy,
but was a rough and tumble kid at heart."
Buster and his dog, Tige, remained a popular
comic and soon became even more famous as
the emblem for a shoe company, a textile firm,
and others.
http://jroosevelt.featuredblog.com/
The strip was discontinued in 1920.
Captain Billy‘s Whiz Bang: Started in 1919, it was a comic that
represented the decline of morality and the flaunting of immodesty; to
others it signified an increase in openness. For much of the 1920‘s,
Captain Billy‘s was the most prominent comic magazine in America
with its mix of racy poetry and naughty jokes and puns. It aimed at a
http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2008/10/capt-billys-whiz-bang-oct-1922-magazine.html
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small-town audience with pretensions of ‗sophistication‘". They quit publishing
sometime from 1932-36.
Carrion: Flesh unfit for food.
Cote a‘ Shropshyre sheep: Cote is a small shed or shelter for sheep or birds, so the
reference is to a shed full of sheep. Shropshire is a large, hornless, black-faced sheep
of a breed developed in Shropshire England, and raised
for meat and wool.
Dan Patch: (1897-1916). The most famous trotting horse
ever, Dan Patch was from Indiana. Dan Patch had his
own private railway car to travel in, and at home he lived
in a huge barn that was so grand it was called the "Taj
Mahal."
deckernet.com/minn/DanPatch/
Del Sarte: (1811–71). Francois Del Sarte was a French
teacher of acting and singing. He studied singing (1825–29)
at the Paris Conservatoire and appeared as a tenor at the Opéra-Comique, but faulty
training had damaged his voice. Delsarte formulated certain principles of aesthetics
that he applied to the teaching of dramatic expression. He set up rules coordinating
the voice with the gestures of all parts of the body. In 1839 he opened his first cours
d‘esthétique appliqué, and his advice was sought by many famous artists, e.g., Rachel,
Henriette Sontag, and W. C. Macready. Steele MacKaye studied with him in Delsarte‘s
last years and brought to the United States the Delsarte system, to which he had
added many of his own ideas, including elements of gymnastics. Some of Delsarte‘s
writings are included in the compilation Delsarte System of Oratory (1893). "An Hour
With Delsarte"
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Demijohn: A large, narrow-necked bottle made of glass or earthenware, usually
encased in wickerwork.
Doxy: A disreputable sweetheart.
Fancy goods: Fabrics of various colors, patterns, etc., as ribbons, silks, laces, etc., in
distinction from those of a simple or plain color or make. Adapted to please the fancy
or taste; ornamental.
Firkin: A small wooden vessel or cask.
Fiz gig: A gadding, flirting girl. From gig- a playful or wanton girl, this is from the Old
English term giglot - A light, giddy girl.
The Great Creatore: (1871-1952). Giuseppe C. Creatore directed the Naples Municipal
Band in Naples Italy. He came to the U.S. in 1899 where he organized his own band,
Creatore‘s Orchestra, which toured and performed around the U.S. at the same time
as Sousa‘s band, and continued performing until 1947.
Hard goods: Products that aren't consumed or quickly disposed of, and can be used
for several years. Cast iron, metal or ceramic are all hard
goods. Also called durable goods.
Hod-carrying: A kind of wooden tray with a handle, borne on
the shoulder, for carrying mortar, brick, etc.
www.heyokamagazine.com
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Hogshead: A large cask or barrel, of indefinite contents, ranging from 63 to 140
gallons, especially a unit of capacity used in liquid measure in the United States, equal
to 63 gallons.
Jews-Harp: A small lyre-shaped instrument that when held
between
the teeth. It gives tones from a metal tongue struck
www.heyokamagazine.com
by the finger.
http://www.jewsharpguild.org/images/howharp1.jpg
John Philip Sousa: (1854-1932) American bandmaster and composer; he improved the
instrumentation and quality of band music. From 1880 to 1892 he led the U.S. Marine
Band and in 1892 formed his own band and successfully toured the world. He wrote
some 100 marches, many immensely popular, such as ―Stars and Stripes Forever‖.
Meredith Willson became part of his band in 1921. ―Amoureuse Waltz‖
Knickerbockers: Full breeches gathered and banded just below the knee (which is why
moving them above the knee is such a shocking thing to do).
Mail Pouch cut plug: A popular brand of chewing tobacco, sold in hard plugs that
would be cut with a knife. The grocery store owner would use a mechanical device to
cut the plug into flakes to sell or make handmade cigarettes to sell.
Mavorneen-pinchin‘: Ma·vour·neen also ma·vour·nin, meaning My darling; an Irish term
of endearment for a girl or woman.
O‘Clark, O‘Mendez and O‘Klein: These three famous musicians were not Irish, though
their names appear that way. Clark was Canadian, Mendez was Mexican, and Klein was
Jewish. Harold is just adding an O‘ in front of their names to make them sound Irish so
he can make the sale.
Herbert L. Clarke- (1867-1945). Herbert Lincoln Clarke, acknowledged to be the
greatest cornetist of his time, was certainly the most celebrated.
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Rafael Méndez- (1906-1981). A famed Hollywood trumpet soloist and composer.
Mannie Klein- A trumpet player who was comfortable playing both jazz and
classical music.
http://www.craftantiques.com/piggin.jpg
Piggin: A small wooden pail with one stave extended upward as a
handle.
Pinch-back suit: An imitation or substitute.
The Redpath Circuit:
The purpose of the lyceum movement (started in Massachusetts as
early as 1826) was self-improvement by lectures and discussions on literary, scientific,
and moral topics. After the Civil War, commercial lecture bureaus
were founded, among them the Redpath Lyceum Bureau of James C.
Redpath in 1868. In the next ten years such famous names as Susan B.
Anthony, P. T. Barnum, Henry Ward Beecher, James G. Blaine, Wilkie
Collins, Mark Twain, and Ralph Waldo Emerson were represented by
the Redpath Bureau. Lyceums continued to exist into the twentieth
century, although by 1925 they were found for the most part only in
small towns, often in combination with musical programs.
Sen Sen: Sen-Sen was to the 19th century what breath mints are to our
time.
http://www.victoryseeds.com
/
Stereopticon: A projector usually consisting of two complete lanterns arranged so
that one picture appears to dissolve while the next is forming.
Tailor Mades: A tailor-made cigarette referred to any cigarette made in a factory or a
cigarette making machine.
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Classroom Activities
―What if…‖
What is Your System?
Create and answer ―what if‖
questions. What if Harold sold
After Harold delivers the instruments to the boys of
jackets instead of musical
River City he explains to them the ―think system‖. They
instruments and uniforms?
are told that if they think ―The Minuet in G‖ then they
What tactics would he use to
will be able to play it. Take one of the subjects you‘re
get the town to buy his
studying and create a new system of learning. Everyone
merchandise? What if it wasn‘t
shares with the class and picks one to explore in more
Marian who fell in love with
depth. Together, come up with a lesson plan for one
Harold, but one of the other
day in class using the new system.
townswomen? Have the class
write down their own ―what if‖
questions and share them with
the class. Choose 3-5 of them
to act out as new scenes for
the show.
Hill on Trial
Hold a mock trial with Harold Hill as the defendant
and Marian as the chief accuser. Decide who is going
to play all the parts; who will be on Harold‘s defense
team, the prosecution, jury or judge? Will he go to jail
or be set free?
23
“Rock Island”
―Rock Island‖ Rap
The Music Man opens with
several salesmen on a train.
The opening musical
number ―Rock Island‖ is
structured in a similar
fashion to modern day rap.
Get into small groups and
create your own ―Rock
Island‖ rap.
Cash for the merchandiseCash for the button-hooksCash for the cotton goodsCash for the hard goodsCash for the noggins and the piggins and the firkins
Cash for the hogshead, cask and demijohn.
Cash for the crackers and the pickles
And the fly-paper.
Look Whadayatalk, Whadayatalk
Whadayatalk, Whadayatalk, Whadayatalk.
Whered aya gitit?
Whadayatalk?
Ya can talk, ya can talk,
Ya can bicker, ya can talk,
Ya can bicker, bicker, bicker,
Ya can talk, ya can talk,
Ya can talk, talk, talk, talk,
Bicker, bicker, bicker,
Ya can talk all ya wanna
But it‘s differ‘nt than it was.
No it ain‘t, no it ain‘t,
But ya gotta know the territory.
Chi, chi, chi, chi, chi, chi, chi
Why it‘s the Model T Ford
Made the trouble,
Made the people want to go
Wanna git wanna git
Wanna git up and go
7,8,9,10,12,14,22,23
Miles to the county seatYes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Who‘s gonna patronize
A little bitty two-by-four
Kinda store anymore?
Whadayatalk, Whadayatalk.
Whered aya gitit?
Not the Model T at all,
Take a gander at the store,
At the modern store,
At the present day store
At the present day
Modern departmentalized groc‘ry store
24
For Further
Information
Electronic Resources:
Iowa Census Records http://www.censusfinder.com/iowa2.htm
"People of Mason City"
Fulton Theatre http://www.atthefulton.org
Iowa Pathways ―Farm Chores‖
Iowa Digital Library "Diary of young Iowa girl"
Youtube Videos:
―Joseph Lamb meets Scott Joplin‖
―Two-Step Dance‖
―Coon Song‖
―Cakewalk Dance‖
―Sunflower Slow Drag‖
―James Scott's "Grace and Beauty"
Inda Good Old Somerstein (Part 1 of 2)
Inda Good Old Somerstein (Part 2 of 2)
Books:
And There I Stood with my Piccolo by Meredith Willson
Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America by Walter A. Friedman
Rural America reads; a study of rural library service by Marion Humble
No portion of this Study Guide may be reproduced without written permission from the University Of Arizona
School Of Theatre Arts. Composed by Erin Berman, Dramaturg meberman@email.arizona.edu