Over the phone, Jay Hindle chuckles at being called the “scourge of River City” but quickly warms up to the fact that the role he plays as Harold Hill ultimately manages to overcome his rogue-like, con-man nature and win the favour of the town’s folk in the classic musical The Music Man.
It’s a fitting, feel-good choice for Gateway Theatre’s marquee, holiday production that runs Dec. 8-31.
“I guess you can call me a ‘scourge’ or one who rejuvenates the city,” Hindle said last week as the cast and crew prepared to move into the theatre from their rehearsal space. “Harold Hill definitely comes to town with an agenda and that’s to make as much profit off the backs of these stubborn Iowans as possible.”
As goes the story — which rose to fame on Broadway in 1957 and on screen with the Robert Preston film in 1962 — the fast-talking Hill, who claims to be a professor of music, promises to start a marching band to help organize the city’s young folk and pocket a sizable fee in the process.
But along the way, the inherent good nature of the residents brings about a transformation in Hill — a redemptive one that helps unite a community and heal its own problems.
Hindle said he had quite a lot of research to do about the show he admits wasn’t on his radar.
“I’ve been in a lot of musicals, but this one slipped through the cracks,” he said. “But I am so happy to be introduced to it at the ripe old age of 40.”
He also appreciates the scope of the production that is in keeping with the holiday spectacle Gateway usually creates.
“It’s a big cast, great costumes and a heart-warming love story with a wonderful twist and turn at the end,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest story arcs for a male musical lead.”
Asked what part of his own character he brings to Hill, Hindle said it was his sense of play he shares with his own children, who are aged 18 months and seven years.
“They’ve re-ignited my sense of play and discovery,” he said, adding he also likes to employ his charm and admits to being a bit of a flirt.
“I think Harold Hill uses that to get people on his side — his charisma and humour. I also like to have a good time and let that out on stage, as well.”
It’s a side the production’s director, Barbara Tomasic, said lends itself well to the part.
“Jay is very handsome and charming and he’s wonderful with the kids in the show,” she said. “That’s where his ‘dad-ness’ shines through. He’s truly a kind and generous soul.”
What also gives the show additional glamour is the fact it employs the talents of a full, 10-person orchestra, said Tomasic, who is no stranger to Gateway’s holiday run. In 2003, she played Maria in The Sound of Music.
“When I heard the orchestra, I immediately, I had chills,” she said. “I love the Christmas musical because it really is Gateway’s big, Broadway moment.”
Tomasic said The Music Man is a classic story and it, “doesn’t deserve to be messed with very much.
“It’s a beautiful story and I didn’t want to go too far away from that.”
For more information and tickets for The Music Man, visit online at GatewayTheatre.com.
