Editing The Music Man (section)

==Background==
[[Meredith Willson]] was inspired by his boyhood in [[Mason City, Iowa]], to write and compose his first musical, ''The Music Man''.<ref>Original 1962 Movie Soundtrack CD booklet</ref> Willson began developing this theme in his 1948 memoir, ''And There I Stood With My Piccolo.''<ref name=Suskin>Suskin, Steven. ''Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre'', pp. 460-64. Schirmer Books, New York, 1990. {{ISBN|0-02-872625-1}}</ref> He first approached producers [[Cy Feuer]] and Ernest Martin for a television special, and then [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] producer [[Jesse L. Lasky]]. After these and other unsuccessful attempts, Willson invited [[Franklin Lacey]] to help him edit and simplify the libretto. At this time, Willson considered eliminating a long piece of dialogue about the serious trouble facing River City parents, but 
realizing that it sounded like a lyric he transformed it into the [[patter song]] "[[Ya Got Trouble]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Ken |title=Broadway musicals: the 101 greatest shows of all time |last2=Vlastnik |first2=Frank |date=2004 |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |isbn=978-1-57912-390-1 |location=New York |pages=215–6}}</ref> Willson wrote about his trials and tribulations in getting the show to Broadway in his book ''But He Doesn't Know the Territory''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Filichia |first=Peter |date=1999-02-17 |title=Stagestruck by Peter Filichia: But He Did Know the Territory? Willson & The Music Man |url=https://playbill.com/article/stagestruck-by-peter-filichia-but-he-did-know-the-territory-willson-the-music-man-com-80116 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125052540/https://playbill.com/article/stagestruck-by-peter-filichia-but-he-did-know-the-territory-willson-the-music-man-com-80116 |archive-date=2023-01-25 |access-date=2024-11-18 |work=[[Playbill]]}}</ref>

The character Marian Paroo was inspired by Marian Seeley of [[Provo, Utah]], who met Willson during [[World War II]], when Seeley was a medical records librarian.<ref>"A Pair of Marians". ''[[American Libraries]]'', the journal of the [[American Library Association]], March 2005 issue, p. 12</ref> In the original production (and the film), the School Board was played by the 1950 International Quartet Champions of the [[Barbershop Harmony Society|Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America]] (SPEBSQSA),{{efn|Although SPEBSQSA retains its full name for legal purposes, it is now known by its decades-old official alternate name, [[Barbershop Harmony Society]].|}} the [[Buffalo Bills (quartet)|Buffalo Bills]]. [[Robert Preston (actor)|Robert Preston]] claimed that he got the role of Harold Hill despite his limited singing range because, when he went to audition, they were having the men sing "Trouble". The producers felt it would be the most difficult song to sing, but with his acting background, it was the easiest for Preston.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

Originally titled ''The Silver Triangle'', early versions of the story focused on a partially paralyzed boy, Jim Paroo, whom the townspeople wanted to consign to an institution for children with disabilities.<ref name=Morris>{{Cite news|last=Morris|first=Amanda|date=December 15, 2021|title=''The Music Man'' Once Had a Disabled Character. Then He Was Erased.|work=[[The New York Times]]| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/theater/music-man-disability-meredith-willson.html |access-date=December 24, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The plot revolved around Harold Hill finding a musical instrument that the boy could play: a [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]]. In some drafts, Jim was also [[Muteness|nonverbal]].<ref name=Morris/> Willson had an epiphany while reflecting on the "Wells Fargo Wagon" song, in which a lisping youngster sang one of the verses. "Here's this kid who isn't even identified," recalled Willson in his 1957 memoir. "Just a lisping kid but you get hit with some magic anyhow. Imagine if the lisping kid were somebody we know – some character in the story."<ref name=Territory>Willson (1957).</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2022}} Willson suddenly realized that this youngster could be the child with the disability. In the finished book, Winthrop Paroo is almost silent and hesitates to speak because of a lisp, but unexpectedly bursts into song when the Wells Fargo wagon arrives with his new cornet.<ref name=Territory/>