There’s trouble in River City — find out why at the Empress Theatre’s spring production of The Music Man.
The Tony Award-winning show is the Empress Theatre Society’s eighth annual spring musical theatre production, running June 13-15 and June 20-22.
The Music Man is a 1957 Broadway musical that follows traveling huckster Harold Hill, who arrives in sleepy River City, Iowa to convince the locals to purchase uniforms and instruments for a boys’ band that Harold vows to organize — though he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef.
His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, the librarian.
“Choosing the play was the hardest part of this whole process,” said Maren Coates, the play’s director and a local drama teacher. “I spent six months exploring shows I knew and shows I didn’t.”
“I looked at small casts and large casts. Shows with children and without. I changed my mind several times. All the while The Music Man sat in the back of my brain. I kept telling myself why it might not work, but finally I thought it’s a show that’s just right for Fort Macleod. And it is.”
The musical became a hit on Broadway in 1957, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances.
Coates said the cast of 45 is huge, but “luckily for me, they are absolute geniuses to work with. From the beginning they’ve been tenaciously happy and optimistic. Their excitement is contagious.”
“Most of our cast and crew are from Fort Macleod, or Macleod alumni with a few borrowed talents from Lethbridge, one from Claresholm, and one from Crowsnest Pass. It makes me so proud to say that. Our town has been fighting hard in recent years to create a healthy theatre community and we’re well on our way. We’ve got a mix of kids, teens, and adults, theatre veterans and newbies alike.”
The Music Man’s cast and crew have dedicated an immense number of hours to the play.
“Our scheduled rehearsal hours are around 150 but that doesn’t include the hours each cast member spends memorizing lines, running over their choreography, or solidifying their harmonies,” Coates said. “It also doesn’t include the many hours spent by our choreographers, musical director, lighting designer, wardrobe crew, or our stage carpenter, nor the months I spent researching and deciding on a show, plus my other director’s duties.”
“I’d be hard-pressed to come up with an accurate number of hours we’ve all invested in this show, but it’s not unreasonable to say we’ve definitely gone over a thousand.”
The annual musical production is a fund-raiser for the Empress.
Performances of this year’s family-friendly show begin at 7 p.m., with a matinée performance on Saturday, June 15 at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are at macleodempress.com or 403-553-4404.
