Classic American Musical Comedy Coming to New Brunswick

Magic 98.3 is the official radio sponsor of State Theatre New Jersey's Broadway Series in New Brunswick.

Coming to the theatre on Livingston Avenue as a part of their Broadway Series from May 8^th through the 10^th is “Meredith Willson’s The Music Man.”

Playing the lead role of Harold Hill is Elliot Andrews. Harold is a fast-talking salesman who gets his heart stolen by the town librarian.

Meredith Willson's six-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy, The Music Man, is about Harold, a fast-talking traveling salesman. Harold cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band that he says he is organizing.  

Some of the classic show tunes featured in the production are "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Trouble," "'Til There Was You," "Pickalittle," and "Gary, Indiana."

I had the opportunity to speak with the star of the show, Elliot Andrews. When we spoke, Elliot was performing the show in Naples, Florida. He was with his wife and dog and was preparing for their trip to New Jersey to get ready for his performance at State Theatre.

Elliot has never performed at State Theatre New Jersey before, but said he was excited about it because he’s “got a bunch of friends coming to that Jersey show.” He’s heard all the great stories about the legendary theatre since he’s lived in New York for over a decade.

Elliot while speaking about his character, Harold Hill, said “everybody says scammer or con man and that’s not true. He doesn’t go about it in maybe the best way, but the results of a lot of his work is this beautiful inspiration to this community. It really gets people loving life in a way that maybe they weren’t before. He is conning and scamming people, but by the end, there’s some beautiful community love that is inspired. Maybe not in the best of intentions originally, but it’s good in the end.”

“Meredith Willson’s The Music Man” is true to the movie. This is a classic American Musical. Not many would argue the fact that “if you name five pillars of American Musical Theatre, this is definitely one of them.” The show is a legendary old-school musical comedy.

Oddly enough, Elliot was not a huge musical fan growing up, and they were not big on musicals in his family; he was an athlete before finding his path in the theatre. However, his dad would sing all the songs from “The Music Man.” Most would be surprised by how many of the songs they probably already know. Elliot’s favorite is “Sadder but Wiser Girl.”

He also answered the question, “Why is this old school comedy show still being produced?” He explained, “It just persists. These jokes are so good. You will leave the theatre tapping your toes and humming these songs. It’s really an honor to be a part of this grand American musical tradition.

“Meredith Willson’s The Music Man” is coming to State Theatre New Jersey for four shows the weekend of May 8^th, with two shows on Saturday.

Go to STNJ.org for tickets and information

Check out the interview here: