Jones, according to Variety, will play Marian's mother in the April 22-27 concerts at Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by The Boy From Oz's Philip William McKinley, the production will also boast Jones' son, Patrick Cassidy, as con man Harold Hill. Members of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra will also be featured onstage.
In June 2007 Jones and Cassidy shared the stage in a concert production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel at the Historic Paramount Theater in Austin, TX. The duo were also part of the Broadway revival of 42nd Street.
The Music Man, according to press notes, "follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band he vows to organize - despite the fact he doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef! His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian. . . who transforms him into a respectable citizen."
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 TV version featured Tony Award winners Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.
Shirley Jones appeared in the Broadway productions of South Pacific, Maggie Flynn and 42nd Street, but is best known for her work on the small and silver screens. She was the matriarch of "The Partridge Family" and also starred in the films of "Oklahoma," "Carousel" and "The Music Man." Jones won an Academy Award for her performance in "Elmer Gantry." Patrick Cassidy's Broadway credits include 42nd Street, Aida, Annie Get Your Gun, Leader of the Pack and The Pirates of Penzance. He also played Joseph in a tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
For ticket information visit www.bushnell.org.