
‘Music Man’ Arrives at Ashland Kroc
By Hugo Bravo
Modern-day Ashland, Ohio, briefly became Midwestern Iowa in 1912 with The Salvation Army’s production of The Music Man Jr., which had a weekend run at the Ashland Theatre in January.
The Music Man Jr., the fifth production from the Ashland Kroc Youth Theatre program, is a shorter, youth-friendly version of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, the award-winning 1957 Broadway musical. It tells the story of Harold Hill, a smooth-talking traveling salesman who plans to con the residents of River City, Iowa, by selling them instruments with the promise of a youth band — then taking off with their money. But his view of the town and its residents is transformed when he meets Marian Paroo, the local librarian, and her family. A 1962 film adaptation of the play was one of the year’s biggest hits, and songs from The Music Man have been referenced in shows like The Simpsons and movies like The Wedding Singer. In 2022, a Broadway revival starred Hugh Jackman as Harold Hill.
Since arriving at The Salvation Army Ashland Kroc Center in 2018, Majors Annalise and Billy Francis, directors of the production, have made theater arts an important part of their ministry.
“The youth theatre program is one of the many programs and services at the Kroc Center, where our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination,” said the majors in a message from the directors. “We seek to build the God-given capacity of our community members in a Christ-centered environment.
“If you listen carefully, you discover that music is all around us — the rattle of a train, the cackle of town gossips, the clamor of a crowd, the stutter of a boy, family squabbles, thunderstorms. While depicting [Harold Hill’s] transformation, we have all changed and hope [the audience] will too.”