The Music Man Debuts Friday at Scottish Rite

This weekend, Collingswood Community Theatre (CCT) will revive the best-attended show in its nine-year history with the premiere of The Music Man at the Scottish Rite Theatre.

CCT hopes this run will generate as much interest as it did in 2003, when the group set a single-show high-water mark of 800 audience members. Directed by Mary Baldwin, the cast is expansive, and includes more than 80 local performers of varying ages and theatrical experience.

The plot centers on Harold Hill (played by Denny Matousch): a grifter who promises the residents of River City, Iowa that he can put them on the map by teaching their children music in just a few weeks. He intends for the con to run long just enough for him to collect the money and leave—but doesn’t count on falling in love with Marian, a local piano teacher (Nicole Snodgrass).

Set in 1914, The Music Man is well-known for its small-town nostalgia, and has been an old standby for community theater groups for decades. In its 1957 Broadway debut, the show beat out West Side Story to land the Tony Award for Best Musical. Popular numbers include “76 Trombones,” “(Ya Got) Trouble,” and “Till There Was You,” which was famously covered by The Beatles on both their U.K. and U.S. debut albums.

The influence of the show is far-reaching: it has been filmed twice, in 1962 and 2003, and inspired the popular Conan O’Brien-penned Simpsons episode, “Marge vs. the Monorail.”

The Music Man debuts at 7:30 tonight at the Scottish Rite Theatre, with additional evening performances February 18, 24, and 25, and 1 pm matinees February 18 and 26. Adult tickets are $17; seniors and students can get in for $12.

Buy an adult ticket for the February 24 and 25 shows and get a child’s ticket free. For group rates, call 609-217-4691.