"The Music Man" - Vallejo Music Theatre

Above: Final bows. At center, Barbara Pond as Marian Paroo and Donald Atwater as Harold Hill.


Above: Ella Pennington as Zaneeta Shinn and Kiernan Morgan as Tommy Djilas.


Above: The Davisville Junction Barbershop Quartet (Wayne Raymond, Andy Hyun, William Alterton, and Rick Price).


Opening night for "The Music Man" at the Fetterly Playhouse in Vallejo!

I liked Barbara Pond's acting abilities, at their voluble and expressive best when she was alone onstage. In Act II, she fairly glowed with newfound love. Nevertheless, her singing seemed a bit sharp to me.

Donald Atwater sang well, but his Harold Hill was more Matthew Broderick and less Robert Preston - the raffishness tended to get lost.

Ella Pennington was great as Zaneeta Shinn and Kiernan Morgan was excellent as Tommy Djilas (particularly the unexpected Irish step-dancing interlude). Certain players stood out for their fine portrayals (Michael Mautner as Charlie Cowell and John Chapin as Mayor Shinn). In addition, the teenage girl dancers seemed quite strong (Elizabeth Fernandi, Viviana Diaz, Elizabeth Fernandez, and Sabrina Fernandez).

The Davisville Junction Barbershop Quartet have such heavenly voices (but that's what they do best in Davis)!

There were some costume issues that seemed bothersome: too many bowlers and not enough boaters on the salesmen, for example. Certain elements like the leopard skin collar on Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn were out of place. The lovely paisley lavender and powder blue jackets on the barbershop quartet were less 1912 Iowa and more 1975 Tijuana: certainly nice to look at, but not period.

Recorded music was used (for me, live is preferred). Amaryllis (Bunny Nash) played a real piano, though, and that was welcome.

It was fun to see Linnea vonAhn onstage again (I enjoyed her Larry in VMT's "A Chorus Line" in 2004).

Altogether a pleasant evening of entertainment!