| Watching Music Man on TCM, inspired checking out the original data | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 08:55 pm EST 02/13/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:46 pm EST 02/13/22 | |
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| Preston played it over two full years on B'way, from December of 1957 until January 9, 1960. A remarkable run, by any standards. Though he was followed by Eddie Albert and famously Bert Parks, it's no surprise that some still argue* that "there was only one Hill," Preston. The OBC album was a hit, a big seller back in the day, not a small factor, and of course the film sealed the deal. I have always had a special place for the show because the first national was only the 2nd show I saw as a child (age 8), with Forrest Tucker. *Reading the comments on the WaPo website under Peter Marks's savvy review (good thread elsewhere on this site). The bizarre obsession -- that only Preston can be Hill -- is woven through much debate. I supposed the Rex Harrison Higgins is comparable in B'way lore, with a similar run (and subsequent duplication with Andrews) in London. But the Preston Hill "brand" seems an indelible image in the minds of some, boomer demographic understood. I argued that Craig Bierko certainly reminted the role, Bierko nevertheless unafraid to use Preston readings and even an uncannily similar vocal quality in that superb millennial revival. What's discussed somewhat less: the fact that the last big revival didn't build the show around a star. The 36ish Bierko was unknown to almost everyone, and scored. We got to know him as Hill, and by the end by end of the first act, the Bierko Hill had seduced the audience as much as the town. Perhaps that shrewd, if dangerous decision, would never work today. But we keep reading that Jackman is mostly Jackman in many reviews, and it's impossible not to remember that the last production aimed to place the show in the spotlight first. |
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| Previous: | re: NEW "BAROCOCO" Talkin' Broadway Off-Broadway Review - seenenuf 10:01 pm EST 02/13/22 |
| Next: | was Bierko "unknown to almost everyone"? And did he score? - Chazwaza 05:56 pm EST 02/14/22 |
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