I agree.
Pert Kelton (born 1907) was 50 when she played Mrs. Paroo, with Cook 30. But in fairness, 50 in 1957 was viewed as a much older, particularly for a woman (and Music Man was a decade plus before a play called Forty Carats painted women ten years younger as potentially past-it, romance-wise). It's always made sense for these roles to be cast older in our era.
I'm more interested in how much agency Marian has always had, the smartest person in town who doesn't give a damn about her reputation, who keeps the big secret to save her brother and community, and doesn't sell out helping a conman find unexpected redemption. It's one reason the show still works: the women in it aren't objectified or only a reflection of male needs. Marian is a remarkably dimensional female character, and in light of her life experiences, in 2021 it makes reasonable sense to see her closer to Foster's age. And Foster decidedly reads far younger anyway. |
