Los Angeles hasn’t had a big-house production of The Music Man in 46 years, and that ends on October 27. Center Theatre Group is hosting Big League Productions’ touring production of the musical at the Ahmanson Theatre from October 27 to November 8, 2026—a total of 16 shows.
A Con Man In Middle America
Elliott Andrews plays Harold Hill, the drifter who sells River City on a children’s band he has no idea how to lead, and Elizabeth D’Aiuto plays Marian Paroo, the librarian who sees through his con. The national tour launched in January 2026. I caught up with Andrews the morning after the first of two shows in Athens, Georgia, at the Classic Center Theatre.
“Music Man is so inherently Americana, but also Midwestern Americana,” says Andrews, explaining why the touring schedule is packed with middle America states: Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio, and others. He says Iowa audiences enjoy it precisely “because it kind of makes fun of Iowa a little bit.”
The company has performed in Mason City, which he called “effectively River City,” given that it was the boyhood home of Meredith Willson and the inspiration for the musical. Willson wrote the book, music, and lyrics, and shares credit for the story with Franklin Lacey.
The Music Man‘s Iowa Roots
Archivists at the University of Iowa say Willson drew on his own recollections and local stories to put his hometown on the map. The impetus came from producers Ernest H. Martin and Cy Feuer, who approached Willson in 1951 about turning his Iowa childhood into a musical. Willson spent years writing the story, completed thirty revisions, and wrote dozens of songs.
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1957 and stayed for 1,375 performances. It won five Tony Awards in 1958 (beating out West Side Story for Best Musical), and was nominated for nine. The show’s original cast recording won a Grammy and charted for 245 weeks.
Robert Preston starred in the 1962 film of the musical, and Dick Van Dyke, Craig Bierko and Hugh Jackman have also played Harold Hill. Andrews says he doesn’t try to imitate his predecessors, especially Preston and Jackman. “I say the words as honestly as I can.”
A Musical Score Packed With Tongue-Twisters
Those words can be a mouthful. The musical’s language is packed with puns, double meanings, and intricate wordplay demanding skilled verbal dexterity. After about 250 performances, Andrews still rehearses his two showstopper numbers, “(Ya Got) Trouble” and “Seventy-Six Trombones,” at five-minute calls.
A packed schedule has produced predictable surprises, which require good catches by actors. During one performance, a baton toss went astray. Andrews knew if it hit the ground, the audience would know it was a mistake. He leaped from a platform, snagged the baton, and turned around “like I’m dribbling a basketball,” he says. He passed the baton between his legs twice and picked the lyric back up, making it all appear part of the act.
No doubt the show’s choreographer, Joshua Bergasse, took note, but apparently didn’t incorporate the move into the show. “Josh is a killer—the respect everybody has for him walking into the room is unbelievable,” says Andrews. “Everyone is flying. The dancers are unbelievable in this show.”
He also credits Bergasse with working closely with the music team. “This person’s doing a toe touch here, let’s add a crash on the drums,” says Andrews, referring to Bergasse. “Let’s add all these musical emphases.”
Andrews says the collaborative nature of the show has been especially enjoyable—a production that involves dozens of crew, dancers and other production staff. Director Matt Lenz has repeatedly stressed the community love the show inspires, Andrews notes. He and Lenz have talked about how Hill’s joy in bringing people together can be real, whatever his motives, and certainly, in spite of them.
Plumbing the Musical’s Deeper Meaning
“The easy version of the show is that Harold Hill is a crook, he walks in and tricks everybody, and oh, isn’t that crazy?” says Andrews. “But the more interesting version is that Hill genuinely does make these people’s lives better. The end of the show is so bizarre: the band plays, very poorly, but everybody’s so proud and so happy about it anyway.”
The Los Angeles stop is a personal one for Andrews. His brother and brother’s husband live here so the opening night on October 27 will be “a family show,” Andrews says.
Tickets are available at CenterTheatreGroup.org.