Music Man to hit river city

WESTFALL - Seventy-six trombones will lead the big parade into Milford as members of the Delaware Valley High School’s Drama Club present “The Music Man”, Meredith Willson’s tuneful look at small-town America. Written in 1957, the play is entertaining and heartwarming, thanks to its quirky characters and nostalgic score of rousing marches, barbershop quartets and sentimental ballads which have become popular standards. “Ya Got Trouble”, “Lida Rose”, and “Goodnight My Someone” are just a few of the memorable tunes written for the show. The plot follows a fast-talking traveling salesman as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize -- this despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall. By turns wicked, funny, warm, romantic and touching, “The Music Man” is family entertainment at its best. John Pinto is featured as the irrepressibly lovable con-man Harold Hill, and Kelsey Stalter appears as his nemesis and eventual love interest, Marian the librarian. Other featured performers are Marc Coda, Julia Merchant, Philip Andujar, Sara Shatt, Megan Carroll, Hunter Hoeper, Brian Yakaboski, Dan Davis, Adam Blackman and Mike Tschop. “I saw the movie of “The Music Man” when I was just a kid,” says vocal director Sandy Stalter. “It made a huge impression on me, especially when I realized that the Beatles had recorded one of the songs, “Till There Was You”. So I was very surprised to find that most of our students weren’t familiar with the show. But now they love it as much as I do.” Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 20, 21, & 22, and 2 p.m. on Sunday April 23. All seats are reserved, and can be purchased by calling: 570 296-1850 ext. 7373. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and students. Shows are expected to sell out, so advance reservations are strongly recommended. Further information and photos can be found on the Web site: DRAMAatDV.org.