Editing The Music Man (section)

===Act II===
The ladies rehearse their classical dance in the school gym while the school board practices their quartet ("It's You") for the [[ice cream social]]. Marcellus and the town's teenagers interrupt the ladies' practice, taking over the gym as they dance ("[[Shipoopi]]"). Harold grabs Marian to dance with her, and all the teenagers join in.  At the end of the dance, the Mayor angrily denounces Tommy's relationship with his daughter. Regarding Winthrop's cornet, Marian later questions Harold about his claim that "you don't have to bother with the [[Musical note|note]]s". He explains that this is what he calls "The Think System", and he arranges to call on Marian to discuss it. The town ladies ask Marian to join their dance committee, since she was "so dear dancing the Shipoopi" with Professor Hill ("Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" [Reprise]). They have reversed their opinions about her books, and they eagerly tell her that "the Professor told us to read those books, and we simply adored them all!"

That night, the school board tries to collect Harold's credentials again, but he gets them to sing again and slips away ("Lida Rose"). Marian, meanwhile, is sitting on her front porch thinking of Harold ("Will I Ever Tell You?"). Winthrop returns home after spending time with Harold and tells Marian and Mrs. Paroo about Harold's hometown ("Gary, Indiana"). As Marian waits alone for Harold, traveling salesman Charlie Cowell enters with evidence against Harold, hoping to tell Mayor Shinn. He only has a few minutes before his train leaves, but stops to flirt with Marian. She delays him so he won't have time to deliver the evidence, eventually kissing him. As the train whistle blows, she pushes him away. Charlie angrily tells Marian that Harold has a girl in "every county in Illinois, and he's taken it from every one of them&nbsp;&ndash; and that's [[List of counties in Illinois|102 counties]]!"

Harold arrives, and after he reminds her of the untrue rumors he's heard about her, she convinces herself that Charlie invented everything he told her. They agree to meet at the footbridge, where Marian tells him the difference he's made in her life ("[[Till There Was You]]"). Marcellus interrupts and tells Harold that the uniforms have arrived. He urges Harold to take the money and run, but Harold refuses to leave, insisting, "I've come up through the ranks... and I'm not resigning without my commission". He returns to Marian, who tells him that she has known that he is a fraud since the third day after he arrived. (Harold earlier claimed to have graduated from the Gary Conservatory in 1905, but Gary, Indiana, was not founded until 1906.) Because she loves him, she gives him the incriminating page out of the ''Indiana State Educational Journal''. She leaves, promising to see him later at the Sociable. With his schemes for the boys' band and Marian proceeding even better than planned, Harold confidently sings "Seventy-Six Trombones". As he overhears Marian singing "Goodnight My Someone", Harold suddenly realizes that he is in love with Marian; he and Marian sing a snatch of each other's songs.

Meanwhile, Charlie Cowell, who has missed his train, arrives at the ice cream social and denounces Harold as a fraud. The townspeople begin an agitated search for Harold. Winthrop is heartbroken and tells Harold that he wishes Harold had never come to River City. But Marian tells Winthrop that she believes everything Harold ever said, for it did come true in the way every kid in town talked and acted that summer. She and Winthrop urge Harold to get away. He chooses to stay and tells Marian that he never really fell in love until he met her ("Till There Was You" [Reprise]). The constable then handcuffs Harold and leads him away.

Mayor Shinn leads a meeting in the high school gym to decide what to do with Harold, asking, "Where's the band? ''Where's the band?''"  Marian defends Harold. Tommy enters as a drum major, followed by the boys in uniform with their instruments. Marian urges Harold to lead the River City Boys' Band in [[Beethoven]]'s [[Minuet WoO 10, No. 2 (Beethoven)|Minuet in G]]. Despite the boys' limited musical ability, the parents in the audience are nonetheless enraptured by the sight of their children playing music. Even Mayor Shinn is won over, and, as the townspeople cheer, Harold is released into Marian's arms ("Finale").