If you go
The National Symphony Orchestra Pops presents “The Music of The Music Man”
Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW
When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Info: $20 to $85; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
Marvin Hamlisch is a man who knows Broadway musicals inside and out, and as Principal Pops Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra, particular favorites always work their way into his performance repertoire. This Thanksgiving weekend in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Hamlisch and the Orchestra, along with headliners Shirley Jones and Patrick Cassidy will present “The Music of the Music Man”, a tribute to the composer himself, Meredith Willson.
“We are actually doing a concert version of “The Music Man” with dialogue, actors, singers — the whole thing,” Hamlisch said. “It’s a shorter version, but I think the actual essence of the show is not lost al all.”
The conductor noted the performance will begin with a few songs sung by Jones, then immediately segue into “The Music Man”, which will be in two acts.
Patrick Cassidy, the son of Shirley Jones [who is taking the role of Mrs. Paroo] will vocalize as the character Harold Hill. Like his famous mother, Cassidy is no stranger to Broadway, having performed in such hits as “42nd Street,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and in Elton John’s “Aida,” for which he won a 2002 National Broadway Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Touring Musical.
Tony Award-winner Rebecca Luker [currently starring on Broadway as Mary Poppins] will take the vocal role of Marion [the librarian] Paroo. Other performers include Todd A. Horman, Joseph Serafini and the City Choir of Washington under the direction of Robert Shafer.
Hamlisch doesn’t mask his admiration of “The Music Man” composer, Meredith Willson and songs as near and dear to the heart as “Seventy-six Trombones” and “Gary, Indiana.”
“There are certain shows that have a life of their own, no matter who wrote them,” he said. “But when it comes to “The Music Man” and that real middle of the country Americana, that wonderful feeling that comes from there, only one man could have written that — Meredith Willson.
“Willson was smart enough to pick subjects that were a part of his life [in] Iowa, and what makes it so great is that [they are] really human stories and it’s just beautiful.”
Americana, like the Fourth of July?
“You got it!” he said.
