‘Music Man’ on Stage in Beijing

“The Music Man,” the first American musical ever staged in China, opened today with an old-fashioned production of the 1957 Broadway show about swindler-salesman Harold Hill and his escapades in River City.

“Seventy-Six Trombones” rang through Beijing’s Tianchao Theater as the all-Chinese cast of 60, many of them in blond, red and light brown wigs, danced and sang to Meredith Willson’s score. The lyrics were translated into Chinese, and the audience applauded loudly.