Lumbard portrays Harold Hill and Michelle Dawson is Marian the Librarian in the production at the Nyack theatre, which runs through Dec. 28. Directed by Richard Sabellico, the remainder of the company features Cleve Asbury, Richard Bell, Susan Bigelow, Venny Carranza, Brian Collier, Leslie Feagan, Jason Fleck, Kristen Hafford, Hillary Hight Daw, Meaghan Kyle, Peter Lescowicz, William Mulligan, McGee O'Kelley, Terry Palasz, Patti Perkins, Gina Philistine, Lyn Philistine, Jason Robinson, Jason Robinson, Michael Roth, Jeannette Sellick-Moreno and Autumn Weidman.
Dirk Lumbard was most recently on Broadway as Frankie Fact in Nora Ephron's Imaginary Friends. He also stoodby for the role of Harold Hill in the recent Music Man revival. Lumbard's other Broadway credits include On Your Toes, Barnum and Sugar Babies. Off-Broadway the actor has been seen in Flora, the Red Menace; Dames at Sea; and She Loves Me.
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Michelle Dawson starred as Evelyn Nesbit in the Chicago production of Ragtime. She made her Broadway debut in Show Boat, and her other theatrical credits include The Secret Garden; Hello, Dolly!; West Side Story; Carousel; Man of La Mancha; and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The Music Man opened on Broadway in 1957 starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook. Both actors won Tony Awards for their work (the musical also nabbed the Tony for Best Musical, beating West Side Story; New Girl in Town; Oh, Captain!; and Jamaica), and Preston repeated his role in the 1962 film opposite Shirley Jones. The classic score includes such tunes as "My White Knight," "Goodnight My Someone," "Lida Rose," "Till There Was You," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary, Indiana," "Marian the Librarian," "The Wells Fargo Wagon," "Trouble" and "The Sadder But Wiser Girl." A recent TV version featured Matthew Broderick and current Wicked star Kristin Chenoweth.
The Helen Hayes Theatre Company is located at 117 Main Street in Nyack, NY; call (845) 358-6333 for tickets. For more information, go to www.hhtco.org.
