`THE MUSIC MAN' ARRIVES; A MUSICAL, ACT OF COLLABORATION

With building a performing arts center and establishing a musical theater major at Southeast becoming more than talk, "The Music Man" makes a timely arrival Friday night on the Forrest H. Rose Theatre stage.

Bringing 1912 River City, Iowa, to life requires an agile collaboration between theater, music and dance departments that would only be enhanced by a state-of-the-art performance center and state-of-the-art performers. Dennis C. Seyer, who is directing "The Music Man," views the Meredith Willson musical as an advancement along the road toward the musical theater major.

"We have moved one step closer every time we collaborate," he says.

The theme of working together extended back to the days after the musical was chosen, and included the decision to expand the cast to 51 because so many people -- 88 -- tried out.

Seyer, who is the production's set designer, pointed out that eight students gave up a week of Christmas vacation to work on scenery and costumes. "I couldn't have done it without them giving up their vacation," he said.

Dr. Elizabeth James-Gallagher and Dr. Christopher Goeke have overseen the musical's vocal performances. James-Gallagher says the performers -- especially the principals -- have grown into their roles.

"It happens by living with a character," she says. "You are looking for more and more points where you understand the character."

It also happens through hard work. "Simply by going over it every night and singing it into your voice," James-Gallagher says.

Working together with people in other disciplines has been instructive, she said. "There is a fascination, sort of, from an outsider's point of view."

At the same time, she said. "There's a point at which we all have a basic core that's the same. We do the exact same thing in our discipline but we have a different name for it."

As a high school student in Keokuk, Iowa, Goeke himself played the role of Professor Harold Hill. Though that was a while ago, knowing the music and score so well ahead of time helped with preparation, Goeke said.

"I could anticipate the tough spots."

The music and close harmonies in "The Music Man" pose some of the problems. "It's a tough show. Orchestrally tough and very aggressive writing," Goeke said.

Collaboration is the only way to pull off a musical or opera, Goeke said. "It's so hard to give detail and attention to every aspect of a production with just one person."

Dr. Marc Strauss, who heads Southeast's dance program and choreographed "The Music Man," says the cast has worked just as hard on dancing as on the singing and acting.

He has been working primarily with inexperienced dancers on "The Music Man"

"People who haven't had dance in the past don't know what they're in for," Strauss says.

In choreographing the dances, Strauss was striving for movement that not only fits into the story but propels it. Audiences will see versions of square dancing and even the Charleston, which in 1912 had just become popular.

One step in the song "Shipoopi" was taken directly from the film version of "The Music Man" starring Robert Preston.

The collaborative experience for him is "a situation a choreographer like myself looks for, working with people who are experts in their field, who bring the same dedication I do with the dance."

The students in Strauss's aesthetics of movement class have been studying the dances in "The Music Man" during rehearsals.

Another example of the possibilities presented by collaboration is a class that members of the pit orchestra are taking this semester. The subject is the music of "the Music Man." Dr. Sterling Cossaboom, who will conduct the "The Music Man" orchestra during some of the performances, is the professor.

"THE MUSIC MAN"

What: "The Music Man"

When: at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, March 6, 7 and 8; at 2 p.m. Sunday and March 9.

Where: Forrest H. Rose Theatre