100 years ago, 1912 in River City, Iowa, confidence man Harold Hill (played by Matthew Kenagy) arrives at staid River City, Iowa, convinced he can make a sale in this stubborn small town. His pitch: offering to equip and train a boy's marching band, all the while planning to skip town with the money since he has no music skills of his own. When he meets up with his former partner in cons, Marcellus Washburn (portrayed by Matthew Hatzenbihler) he thinks the job is going to be a cinch. Things go horribly awry when he falls for a librarian, Marian Paroo (played by Lindsay McWilliams). Marian is the local piano teacher and can spot a con when she sees it, but somehow Harold surprises Marian as well as himself when he inadvertently enriches the town with a love of music, and alters the way this little insulated town operates.
This classic of flag-waving, feel-good, musical comedic Americana, was a 1964 hit Broadway show, with a refreshingly jaundiced subtext: Footloose con man sets out to fleece a repressed Midwestern community but instead learns a lesson in moral responsibility and love from the town's comely librarian.
This cast of 50, stars talent from Sprague High, as well as Judson Middle School, Howard Street Charter, Lee, Rosedale and Englewood Elementary schools.
Show runs Feb. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11th at 7 pm @ Sprague’s Pantheon
Ticket prices:
- Adults $8.00
- Children under 12: $6
- Senior Citizens: $6