Well, I've passed 7000, and an easy and non-stressed crossover it was. Charlotte liked the show, but I don't think its magic struck: what in 1964 was magic in a heavy era of kitchen sink acting has become so prevalent that I don't think any of its present5ational staging struck her as unique. She loved the Mute, however.
Of course, I'm 18 again.
After dropping her off, I stopped at Artie's and got a little bit of chopped liver which I am enjoying immensely.
To finish up the "My White Knight" story:
THE MUSIC MAN cast originally included a young man the town shuns because he was spastic, and he is befriended by Harold Hill. This character was dropped after several backer's auditions. I suspect Winthrop's lisp is the last vestige of the original character. This was very important to Willson because he talks about two things during the show's gestation: the spastic and the need to get his mother into the show. Well, one concern was written out, and during the rehearsal period, along with all the casting angst since no star wanted to play Harold Hill, Willson kept stressing about his mother's character being added to the show in some way.
Opening night, New Haven, Barbara cook sang the original version of "My White Knight" - everything in the final version exists in some form in the original sprawling one - and Meredith Willson realized that Marian Paroo, with her dreams and ambitions, was his mother. She'd been in the show all the time. It's a great epiphany in a wonderful book on creating a show.
