In addition to seeing the Broadway musical, Merrily We Roll Along, I have also seen The Music Man. I saw this musical in December 2022. I chose to go see this show for the sole purpose of seeing Hugh Jackman, I had no idea about what the play was about or what character he would play. However, I was blown away by the production of it and the unique story. The Music Man is set in 1912 in River City, Iowa. A man by the name of Harold Hill comes to this small town and promises the locals that by purchasing musical instruments and band uniforms from him, he will teach the town how to make music. However, Harold Hill actually came to River City with the goal of selling items and leaving before anyone notices and without fulfilling his promise.
Unlike Merrily We Roll Along, I did not immediately see a way to connect this plot line to the American Dream. That was until I read Lupsha’s “American Values and Organized Crime.” In the text, organized crime and the crooks who practiced it are discussed. These crooks are dishonest and will even take illegal measures in order to make money and gain power. This is precisely what Harold Hill does, and it is expressed in the first song of the musical, “Rock Island”. Throughout the song, a group of men is discussing Harold Hill and his business. When explaining what he does to make a living, he is described as “a Music Man, and he sells clarinets to the kids in the town”. Another man replies, “you can’t make a livin’ sellin’ big trombones,” while another says, “I don’t know how he does it, but he lives like a king.” These men being confused about how he has so much money demonstrates that they do not know the unethical ways he runs his business, where he convinces everyone to buy something from him and immediately leaves town. As a result, the part of the American Dream demonstrated in Lupsha’s writing is represented, where those who are the wealthiest have also done ethical or illegal things.
In the Musical, Harold Hill ends up falling in love with the local librarian and changing his ways. However, his original way of life represents one idea of the American Dream, where an individual wants to become incredibly wealthy and does not care what competition they must take down or who they have to convince.
Willson, Meredith, and Mac Huff. Till There Was You: From Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man”: SSA and Piano. Frank Music/Meredith Willson/Hal Leonard, 1992.