2. Music, Lyrics, & Book by Meredith Willson was an American musician, composer, and radio show director that lived 1902-1984. He played the flute in John Phillip Sousa’s band and in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Out of the four Broadway musicals he wrote, The Music Man is the most popular. In 1987 President Reagan posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2005, Julliard named their only residence hall after him.

3. About the Musical In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for "Best Original Cast Album" and spent 245 weeks on the Billboard charts. The show's success led to revivals and a popular 1962 film adaptation and a 2003 television remake. It is frequently produced by both professional and amateur theater companies.

4. Plot Harold Hill, a travelling salesman comes to River City, Iowa to start a boys band. What the people of River City don’t know is that Harold is really a conman who comes to cities and sells instruments, instruction books and uniforms to the families and then skips town. In fact, he doesn’t even have any musical talent at all. Harold plans to do the same thing in River City and successfully charms the people and distracts the people who could expose him. Until he falls in love with the town piano teacher/librarian and her family. As the townspeople discover his shady history, Harold finds himself in a sticky situation.

5. “76 Trombones” Harold Hill has stirred up some trouble in town by suggesting that the new pool table will corrupt the children. The Mayor (who actually owns that new pool table) is very suspicious of Harold, but he manages to mesmerize everyone else. Suspension of Disbelief: Things like breaking into song and dance are not supposed to be like real life. Instead of being critical about how unreal they are, you have to let it go and try to understand what real-life events or emotions they symbolize. http://youtu.be/YUI7K6w_iWw or DVD 25:00-38:00 http://youtu.be/YUI7K6w_iWw