Meredith Willson's The Music Man (Original Broadway Cast)

The original Broadway cast of Meredith Willson’s most successful musical was headed by Robert Preston, who played the part of Harold Hill, a con man who breezes into an Iowa town and tries to sell the inhabitants on nonexistent boys band equipment. Willson concentrates on percussive effects and rapid-fire spiels for Preston, though the musical standout is Barbara Cook as Marian the Librarian. Highlights of this perennial hit show include “Seventy-Six Trombones” and “Till There Was You.” – William Ruhlmann