‘The Music Man’ Revival Adds Four Tony Winners to Broadway Cast

By Mackenzie Nichols

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Tony Award-winners Jayne Houdyshell, Jefferson Mays, Marie Mullen and Shuler Hensley will join stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in the upcoming Broadway revival of “The Music Man.”

In “The Music Man,” Jackman will play con-man Harold Hill, who arrives in a small, fictional Iowa town called River City and urges the townsfolk to start a band. Though he plans to retreat once he receives the profits, Hill soon starts to fall in love with a librarian named Marian Paroo (Foster).

Four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks will direct. Scott Rudin, Barry Diller and David Geffen are producing. “The Music Man” will begin previews on Sept. 9, 2020 before it opens on Oct. 15.

The musical first debuted in 1957 and won five Tony Awards, including best musical and best actor in a musical for Robert Preston’s portrayal of Hill. The show was later turned in to a feature film, which scored six Oscar nominations and one win.

Houdyshell starred on Broadway in productions such as “King Lear”, “A Doll’s House”, “Part 2” and “The Humans.” She will also appear in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of “Little Women.” Mays recently led a one-man portrayal of “A Christmas Carol” and appeared in the Netflix film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” Mullen earned a Tony award for best actress in a leading role for “The Beauty Queen of Leenane.” Hensley recently completed his run in “The Ferryman.”