About 70 students bring River City to the Wylie Performing Arts Center for three performances Nov. 12, 14 and 15.
By Greg Jaklewicz
Ryan Trahan has a favorite moment in The Music Man. It comes late in the show, when he gets to dance with his longtime friend Alex Gonzales. By the time they get to Sunday’s matinee, the two seniors will be performing the number together for the last time.
“It’ll hit a little harder when we get to Sunday because this will be our last fall musical together,” Trahan said. “I look forward to that moment.”
Trahan plays Professor Harold Hill in Wylie High School Theatre’s production, which opens Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Wylie Performing Arts Center. The show returns Saturday at 7 p.m. and closes Sunday at 2 p.m. Wylie’s home playoff football game is Friday across the parking lot at Sandifer Stadium.
In the 1957 Broadway musical, Hill arrives in River City with a plan to sell the town on a boys’ band and leave with the money. Marian, the town librarian, sees through him. When Hill helps her younger brother, she begins to see him differently.
A first trip to River City
Director Caitlyn Savari remembers the puzzled looks when students heard which show they’d be doing. She and theatre department head Chris Shoemake wanted a musical from Broadway’s Golden Age. For Savari, who grew up watching musicals in Malaysia, The Music Man was an easy choice.
“It stood out to me because I pictured America looked just like that,” she said.
She laughed. “Not as dramatic,” she added.
Savari came to Wylie High School from East Junior High, where she directed the choir. One of her favorite numbers is “Rock Island,” in which the performers have to move as if they’re riding a train. She found a way to explain the rhythm that clicked with the cast.
“You’re rapping. And this is 1912!”
She also likes watching the students put their own spin on “Marian the Librarian,” a number that makes room for comedy, choreography and a lot of books.
Making the roles their own
Trahan and senior Paisley Holt, who plays Marian, both said the show was new to them when it was announced. The cast watched the movie together to get a feel for the story and the period. Holt also had a family connection. Her dad, Sam, appeared in the musical when he was in middle school.
“Only musical he was ever in,” she said.
Trahan studied Hill’s mannerisms in the film and found ways to make them his own. He sees something of himself in the way Hill can strike up a conversation with anyone.
“He’s good at bringing people together. I’ll take pride in that,” Trahan said.
Holt leaned into Marian’s sarcasm and humor. Her favorite number is “Shipoopi,” when the town comes together to dance and Marian starts falling for Hill. She wanted to make room for that softer side of the character, too.
“I want to honor those sweet moments in the original,” she said.
For Trahan, one of those moments will come when he and Gonzales, who plays Hill’s old friend Marcellus, share the stage one more time.
See The Music Man
Thursday, Nov. 12 · 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14 · 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15 · 2 p.m.
All performances are in the Wylie Performing Arts Center auditorium. Get tickets through Wylie Theatre’s BookTix page.
Photos from The Music Man
Photos courtesy of TexPix. View the full TexPix photo gallery.
