Elizabeth D’Aiuto (COURTESY OF ELIZABETH D’AIUTO)
Bickering school board members become a team after a con man turns them into a barbershop quartet. He has a motive. (COURTESY OF MARSHALL MEADOWS)
A national tour of “The Music Man” will be performed at the Scranton Cultural Center. (COURTESY OF MARSHALL MEADOWS)
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Elizabeth D’Aiuto (COURTESY OF ELIZABETH D’AIUTO)
The classic musical “The Music Man” plays in Scranton from Friday, June 12, through Sunday, June 14, as the season finale of the Broadway in Scranton series.
Tickets start at $59, plus online fees. Showtimes are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Producers recently extended the national tour past the end of June and into late December, said actress Elizabeth D’Aiuto. She plays the female lead, Marian, a librarian, music teacher and a bit of an outsider. She suspects there is trouble in River City when a slick traveling instrument salesman charms the small town.
The enemies-to-lovers tale set in the 1910s with big hats and big harmonies still has something to say, D’Aiuto said.
“It’s a love story, but it’s also a love story for the community as well,” she said. “It’s really, really a timeless story. There’s a reason why the musical is still being produced today, after being written in the ’50s. The music is iconic.”
Well-known songs include “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “(Ya Got) Trouble” and “Till There Was You.”
The jokes still land, especially with older audiences and audiences that pay attention, she said. “You need to listen.”
But there is also a lot to see, D’Aiuto said. The cast of about 30 includes dancers who literally throw themselves into the role.
“The dancers are just absolutely incredible,” she said. “They are doing flips and tricks and every single time they do a dance number, the audience just goes absolutely nuts because they’re really, really incredible.”
Ten musicians and a video system that projects backdrops travel with the show.
D’Aiuto was a swing — a backup who understudies several roles— in an international tour of “The Sound of Music.” The Boston Conservatory graduate, 29, is on her first national tour.
“I’m beyond grateful, and it’s a wonderful experience to get to tour. Is touring difficult? Absolutely. It’s not for the weak. You have to be very diligent about your health.”
She prioritizes sleep, lifts weights, packs in protein, stays hydrated and tries to avoid a midnight run to Taco Bell after a show.
There is a paying audience at the end of every long bus ride. ”I always try to remember that,” she said.
D’Aiuto said she is honored to share the role with iconic women. Sutton Foster had two Tony Awards to her credit before playing Marian in a Broadway revival a few years ago. Shirley Jones had already won an Oscar for an earlier role before starring in the 1962 movie. Barbara Cook won a Tony Award for originating the role on Broadway in 1957.
It was one of five Tony wins, including best musical. The cast album won a Grammy Award and was a bestseller.
Tickets are sold at broadwayinscranton.com, at the Scranton Cultural Center, 420 N. Washington Ave. or by calling 570-344-1111. Online fees can add $13 to the ticket.
If you go
What: A national tour of “The Music Man,” part of the Broadway in Scranton season.
When: June 12-14, with showtimes Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Where: The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave.
Tickets: Begin at $59. Sales at broadwayinscranton.com, the theater box office and by calling 570-344-1111.