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Photos by Marisol Díaz
THOMAS GRANT, 11, as Professor Hill, takes center stage at the Riverdale Junior Rising Stars’ Jan. 12 production of ‘The Music Man Jr.’ at the Riverdale YM-YWHA.
It’s Riverdale, not River City, but Junior Rising Stars have the music, man By Maya Rajamani mrajamani@riverdalepress.com
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arold Hill and his band have marched their 76 trombones from River City to Riverdale. The Riverdale Junior Rising Stars donned 1912 fashions in their recent production of The Music Man Jr. at the Riverdale YM/ YWHA, singing such classics as “Seventy-Six Trombones,” and “Ya Got Trouble,” under the direction of Julian Rozzell Jr. and musical director Justin Fischer. The Music Man Jr. is an abridged version of the Tony Award-winning musical written by Iowa-born composer and playwright Robert Meredith Wilson. Fifth-grade student Thomas Grant performed the title role of Professor Harold Hill, a con man who travels from town-to-town selling band instruments and uniforms to the locals, promising to teach their children to play in a band before skipping town once he has fleeced them. But when Professor Hill falls in love with River City librarian Marian Paroo, played by Leila Haller, he finds it difficult to carry out his scheme. The cast, comprised of 31 students between the ages of 7 and 11, practiced every Sunday for 10 weeks leading up to the show. Thomas, age 11, said preparation for the lead role was intense, but he enjoyed becoming a temporary citizen of River City, Iowa. “It was sort of a big character — I got to do a lot of big movements and actions,” he said. Dressed in a white suit and pink bowtie with his signature baton, Thomas made a funny and char-
LEILA HALLER, 11, as Marian Paroo and Enza Jonas-Giugni, 11, as her mother Mrs. Paroo. ismatic Hill. He won the heart of Leila’s prim and proper Marian as he taught her younger brother Winthrop, played by an endearing Avery Haller, to overcome his shyness by learning to play the cornet, a trumpet-like instrument. Some of the show’s most comedic moments came from the conflict between Professor Hill and River City’s Mayor Shinn, who rightfully doubts the profes-
sor’s credentials. As the Mayor, played by Jacob Schorsch, swept around the stage in a long tuxedo coat, his infectious energy radiated throughout the rest of the cast. “He’s slipperier than a Mississippi sturgeon,” Jacob’s Mayor Shinn said of Professor Hill, drawing laughs from audience members, who filled the Y’s theater at Sunday’s performance. Choreographed by the Y’s Di-
rector of Performing Arts Laurie Walton, the song and dance numbers were elaborate for a group of young actors, but the students performed their roles with enthusiasm and precocious charm. A beautifully painted backdrop created a small town atmosphere on stage, a perfect setting for the local gossips, who sang the classic “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little” in which they speculate on the relationship
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between Marian and Professor Hill. Costumer Penny Margeotes provided period piece costumes for the cast that lent a sense of authenticity to the production. Ms. Walton said she tries to choose musicals for a large ensemble cast to get as many children as possible involved. She said the genre as well as the cast size of The Music Man Jr. was a good match for a Riverdale Rising Stars performance. “It’s a charming, old fashioned musical and I thought they’d enjoy that,” Ms. Walton said. At the cast’s first performance, director Julian Rozzell Jr. said the actors missed a few cues, but their co-actors were quick to improvise, hiding the fact that anything had gone amiss. “In those moments, I realize they’re very aware of what they’re doing,” Mr. Rozzell said. Mr. Rozzell also praised the Y’s theater for providing a creative outlet for children that they might not experience otherwise. “It’s something that can easily be taken for granted,” he said of the facillity. Sunday’s show concluded with Professor Hill keeping his promise to the town. “In the end, we see a man who becomes more responsible with his power,” Mr. Rozzell wrote in his director’s note for the program. As the cast sang a reprisal of “Seventy-Six Trombones,” the newly formed band’s members ran down the theater’s aisles in their red, white and gold uniforms as Harold Hill conducted, choosing to stay in River City. The Rising Stars plan to stage a multigenerational performance of The Diary of Anne Frank at the end of April.
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