Line #1 Trivia/TheMusicMan


1	* CaliforniaDoubling:
2	** The 1962 film was shot in Hollywood, California.
3	** UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}, Burlington, Millbrook, Milton and Uxbridge served as the filming locations for the 2003 TV film.
4	* CastTheExpert: The school board members who get turned into a barbershop quartet were played by the ''very'' award-winning professional barbershop quartet The Buffalo Bills, who had also played the roles on Broadway.
5	* DawsonCasting: Harold Hill's actual age is never explicitly stated, but he makes claims to have graduated from Gary Conservatory in 1905, seven years prior to the events of the story. Even though this is a lie, the fact that people believe it provides insight into his actual age. A conservatory graduate would usually be the same age as a college graduate, or about 22, making Hill approximately 29 years old. Robert Preston was 39 when he played the role on Broadway, and 44 in the movie. Matthew Broderick was also 41 when he headlined the 2003 version. In more extreme cases, Creator/DickVanDyke and Creator/JeffGoldblum both played the role when they were in their ''fifties''. Creator/HughJackman also played Hill in his early fifties.
6	* DevelopmentHell: The producers of the live musicals Creator/{{NBC}} started airing during TheNewTens, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, announced ''The Music Man'' as a possible choice for 2015's musical, until they decided to adapt ''Theatre/TheWiz'' instead. However, after ''The Wiz'' aired, the producers did admit the possibility of NBC broadcasting ''The Music Man'' in a different year. Zadan's death in 2018 further complicates ''The Music Man'''s chances of coming to NBC.
7	* ExecutiveMeddling:
8	** Semi-averted. Creator/WarnerBros wanted a new star for the film but Willson refused. Astounding when you consider Preston had already won a Tony for the role. However, the studio did manage to get their way with Buddy Hackett and Shirley Jones.
9	** Played straight in the fact that Meredith Willson wanted the movie to be shot on location in his native Mason City, Iowa, particularly at the library. Due to budget reasons, the film was instead shot in Hollywood and as a consolation, the world premiere was held in Mason City.
10	* FakeAmerican:
11	** In the 1962 film, English actress Hermione Gingold played Eulalie.
12	** In the 2003 film, Canadians Victor Garber (Mayor Shinn), Clyde Alves (Tommy Djilas) and Patrick [=McKenna=] (Charlie Cowell) played Americans.
13	** In the 2021 Broadway revival, Australian actor Hugh Jackman played Harold Hill.
14	* HideYourPregnancy: The movie had to shoot around Shirley Jones' pregnancy, getting as many full-body shots out of the way as quickly as they could before she began to show. When she and Robert Preston filmed "Till There Was You," on one take he accidentally bumped into her... well, bump, asking "What was that?" to which she replied "My son." (An alternate version of the story has her saying, "That's Patrick Cassidy! Say hello.") Years later, Preston was introduced to Jones's then-grown son and joked that they had already met.
15	* ReleaseDateChange: The Broadway revival starring Hugh Jackman was originally supposed to open in 2020 but the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic closed down all Broadway theatres forcing the show to be pushed back, initially to April 2021 and then to February 2022 when cases did not slow down in time.
16	* RemakeCameo: In the first revival (the short-lived 1980 production starring Dick Van Dyke), the role of Mayor Shinn was played by Iggie Wolfington, who had originated the role of Marcellus Washburn in the original production decades before.
17	* RoleReprise:
18	** Robert Preston (Harold Hill), Pert Kelton (Mrs. Paroo) and The Buffalo Bills reprised their roles from the 1957 Broadway production for the 1962 film.
19	** While David Burns originated Mayor Shinn on Broadway, Paul Ford had taken over for him and played the role on Broadway almost as long as Burns had.
20	* StarMakingRole: By the time he got the lead role in the original Broadway production, Robert Preston had spent almost two decades as a second-tier movie actor, usually playing second leads and sidekicks. The show turned him into one of Broadway's top stars and won him the starring role in the movie version.
21	* ThrowItIn: "Rock Island" was not originally conceived as an a capella piece. During rehearsals for the original production, the accompanist was late one day, forcing the actors to sing it as such. Everyone liked it enough to keep it that way.
22	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/WarnerBros didn't want Robert Preston to reprise his role as Harold Hill in the 1962, as he wasn't a box office draw. Creator/BingCrosby was offered the role, but turned it down. Jack L. Warner offered the role to Creator/CaryGrant, but he declined, saying "nobody could do that role as well as Bob Preston". Grant also reportedly told Warner that he would not bother to see the film unless Preston was in it. Warner also wanted Creator/FrankSinatra. Creator/FredAstaire, Creator/DannyKaye and Creator/GeneKelly were also considered.

Context Trivia / TheMusicMan