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Catty Broadway

 Sondheim respected Meredith Willson, particularly his work on "Rock Island," the opening from "The Music Man." (Famously, "The Music Man" won the Tony over "West Side Story." And "The Music Man" was the correct choice.)


Sondheim did fight with Willson in the pages of the Herald Tribune. Willson had complained about "declining taste" and dirty words on Broadway. Sondheim said (accurately), "People are staying home not because of dirty words. People are staying home because The Unsinkable Molly Brown is boring." (Score one for Sondheim.)

My favorite scene from "The Music Man" is "Piano Lesson." Marian is arguing with her mother; both women are wrong. Marian is complaining that the women of River City do not read Balzac; her complaint is insufferable. Mrs. Paroo suggests that Marian is powerless *because* she has not found a husband; Mrs. Paroo is tiresome and small-minded. This argument occurs while Marian is also halfheartedly teaching a piano lesson; we sense that the argument happens *every* afternoon. The women allow their voices to blend with the piano's melody. No one could say that Marian is not teaching her lesson. She is (sort of) doing her job--she has a certain plausible deniability.

Mrs. Paroo is not among the major characters in this show. It's a tribute to the writing that so many characters--Marian, Harold, Marcellus, Winthrop, Eulalie, Mayor Sinn--have inspired performances that have generated awards recognition. "The Music Man" is such an achievement, even a role as small as that of Mrs. Paroo becomes "starry." In the most recent Broadway revival, the role attracted a Tony Award winner--Marie Mullen.

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