While “Hamilton” has been hailed for its use of rap in its showtunes, it wasn’t the first musical to do so.
Traits of rap music include spoken rhythms, and the Augusta Players upcoming production is filled with songs that fit that bill.
“It could be the first rap musical,” said Scott Seidl, who is directing The Music Man, which is scheduled for Sept. 23-25 at the Imperial Theatre.
The show opens on a train as the actors present “Rock Island,” the lyrics of which are spoken without supporting instrumentation and in rhythm of the train on which they travel.
Rap music usually has rhyming words. The songs of The Music Man don’t rhyme, but they do have distinct rhythms and flows.
“Pick a Little, Talk a Little” is another song that relies heavily on rhythms with lines spoken through it.
Written by Meredith Wilson, The Music Man is about a traveling salesman/conman who rolls into River City, Iowa in 1912 with his scheme to build a boys’ band to keep them out of “Trouble with a capital ‘T,’ that rhymes with ‘P,’ that stands for ‘pool.’”
However, things get complicated when the conman falls in love with the town’s librarian.
It first appeared on Broadway in 1957 winning five Tony Awards. It was later made into a 1962 film with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. A revival of “The Music Man” with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster closes on Broadway Jan. 1, 2023.
Although it’s made a revival, Seidl said it’s not been produced often in the Augusta area. The last time he was involved with a production was in the late 1980s, he said.
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Two of the main characters have never been involved with it, they said. Both Marian played by Ashley Rivera and Harold Hill played by Sol Baird are new to the show.
“It’s a show I’ve always been told I’d be great for,” said Ashley Rivera who plays Marian. “It’s never come across my radar until now, but I’m glad it did. I’m loving this unexpected gem.”
Baird said the role is quite different from his most recent ones which have included Nick Bottom in Something’s Rotten in February and Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein in September 2021.
“This one is a lot less physical to play,” he said.
The other roles relied on physical comedy to bring the characters into full view
The cast of The Music Man rehearses “Ya Got Trouble.”
Physical comedy isn’t at the forefront of this musical, which incorporates many moving parts with its cast of close to 50. It requires a barbershop quartet, a women’s ensemble, a teen group and a children’s section to create the mechanism the Players will bring to the stage.
The different groups held their own mini rehearsals separately.
“It was exciting when we put it altogether,” he said.
“The Music Man” opens the family fun season. All of the shows are geared toward families, he said.
“The Music Man” will be at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Imperial Theatre. Tickets are $23-$50 and are available at augustaplayers.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor of The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
