Editing The Music Man (section)

==Setting and popular culture references==
The ''Music Man'' is set in the fictional town of River City, Iowa, in 1912. The town is based in large part on Willson's birthplace, [[Mason City, Iowa]], and many of the musical's characters are based on people that Willson observed in the town.<ref>"[https://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/about/news.php?id=244#: Join the Big Parade with THE MUSIC MAN!]" Walnut Street Theatre, October 3, 2012; accessed 2022.01.31.</ref> The "river" in River City is probably the [[Mississippi River]] near [[Davenport, Iowa]]: the Rock Island conductor's announcing "River City, Iowa! Cigarettes illegal in this state" implies crossing the Mississippi from [[Rock Island, Illinois]], into Iowa. The year 1912 was a time of relative innocence, as recalled in 1957 after two world wars, the [[Great Depression]] and the arrival of [[atomic weapons]].{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

The musical includes numerous references to popular culture of the time. For example, in making his pitch, Harold Hill lists popular musicians and composers: [[Patrick Gilmore|Gilmore]], [[Patrick Conway|Pat Conway]], [[Giuseppe Creatore]], [[W.C. Handy]] and [[John Philip Sousa]].<ref>[http://www.doggedresearch.com/wilson/glossary.htm Wilson]. Doggedresearch.com</ref> Some of the cultural references are anachronistic: "Trouble" contains references to both ''[[Captain Billy's Whiz Bang]]'', a monthly humor magazine that did not begin publication until October 1919, and the nonalcoholic "[[near-beer]]" [[Bevo (beverage)|Bevo]], which was first brewed in 1916.<ref>[http://www.compedit.com/whiz_bang.htm "From Scatology to Sociology: Captain Billy's Whiz Bang"]. ''Studies in American Humor'', accessed May 18, 2010</ref><ref>Axelrod, Karen and Bruce Brumberg. [http://www.factorytour.com/tours/anheuser-busch-st-louis.cfm "Anheuser-Busch Factory Tour in St. Louis, MO"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506214918/http://www.factorytour.com/tours/anheuser-busch-st-louis.cfm |date=2022-05-06 }}. ''Watch it Made in the U.S.A.: Your Guide to Factory Tours'', Avalon Travel Publishing, Fourth Edition, {{ISBN|1-59880-000-0}}, accessed May 18, 2010</ref> In addition, [[Rafael Méndez]] (referred to by Hill as "O'Mendez," a great "Irish" trumpeter) was six years old in 1912.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/19/obituaries/rafael-mendez-75-musician-performed-for-heads-of-state.html "Rafael Mendez, 75; Musician Performed for Heads of State"], ''The New York Times'', September 19, 1981, p. 21</ref>