Matthew, with a capital M, and that stands for ...
Can Matthew Broderick take the place of Robert Preston as “The Music Man”?
That’s the most pressing question regarding the new television version of Meredith Willson’s evergreen musical about a charming con artist in small-town Iowa. The show airs Sunday night on ABC.
On the face of it, quite literally, Broderick looks more guileless than Preston. He hardly resembles a tough guy. His eyes aren’t shifty. He still looks relatively boyish and transparent.
Of course, any swindler should be so lucky. A choirboy appearance can help a man pull the wool over his targets’ eyes. Besides, some of the other characters Broderick has played weren’t untutored in deception. He wasn’t the biggest rascal in “The Producers,” but he wasn’t blameless either. Ferris Bueller wasn’t following the rules when he took his day off.
No, Broderick isn’t Preston, but he’s a debonair song-and-dance man, and his take on the role is equally valid. Better to see a fresh interpretation than a would-be clone.
This “Music Man” comes from producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, currently riding high with their harvest of 13 Oscar nominations for “Chicago.” But they and director Jeff Bleckner don’t try to reinterpret “The Music Man” as they and director Rob Marshall did with “Chicago.”
We’re talking Iowa values here. This is straightforward musical storytelling, on a small-town canvas that looks more pristine than any small town ever was -- even in 1912.
After all, despite Willson’s satire of provincialism, the larger point of the story is the value of illusions. No, Harold Hill doesn’t know the difference between a quarter note and a quarter, yet he infuses River City with joie de vivre. His “Think” system of teaching kids how to play instruments may be bunk, but getting them to think about something new has its own value.
Actually, it’s obvious that Hill made a giant strategic error. Instead of offering to teach residents of River City how to play instruments, he should have offered to teach them how to sing and dance. He succeeds magnificently in those areas, teaching the school board how to harmonize and luring everyone into romping through the streets.
Kathleen Marshall’s high-spirited musical staging is in the style of the 1962 movie. There are a few minor differences. This time around, Harold actually enters the pool hall during “Trouble.” And Harold and Marian briefly take part in a blue-lighted romance novel fantasy in their library seduction scene. Still, this version’s structure and look don’t significantly depart from the 1962 version.
Kristin Chenoweth turns up her nose and stiffens her posture to emphasize Marian’s initial highhandedness, but she can’t disguise her irrevocable cuteness, which surfaces in the ringlets outlining her face. Her transition scene, when her heart begins to melt after her little brother becomes so excited by Harold’s cornet, is better edited in this version so as to seem less sudden. Chenoweth’s singing is golden throughout.
Molly Shannon is almost as inspired as the mayor’s wife as was Hermione Gingold, and Victor Garber blusters beautifully as the mayor. Debra Monk is hale and hearty as Marian’s mom, but David Aaron Baker lacks the distinctive comic stamp that Buddy Hackett brought to the role of Hill’s sidekick.
*
‘The Music Man’
What: “The Music Man”
When and Where: Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC
Rating: The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages)