playbill vip

Synopsis

The year is 1912 and "Professor" Harold Hill is a traveling salesman with a bad reputation! Finding himself in rural Iowa, he tries to sell the no-nonsense Iowans a "Boy's Band" to combat the presence of a new pool table in town. He unexpectedly finds an old accomplice, Marcellus Washburn, and the two agree to run their old scam in River City. The intention is to sell musical instruments and uniforms to the townspeople and escape town with the money. The truth is, Harold doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef! While dodging the town's mayor and school board, who are after his educational credentials, he becomes interested in River City's misunderstood librarian and piano teacher, Marian Paroo. Marian, who doesn't trust Harold, finds proof of his scam, but is hesitant to reveal it when she sees how excited her troubled, speech impediment suffering brother Winthrop is at the prospects of the Boy's Band and his shiny new coronet! As she watches the townspeople transform from dull, lifeless people into fun-loving folks, she sees the value that music has in a community, and destroys her evidence against Harold. After Harold and Marian realize their feelings for each other, the truth about Harold comes out and the townspeople scour the town to find him. Little Winthrop confronts Harold, who admits to everything. Winthrop urges him to escape, but Harold says he can't because, for the first time in his life, he "Got his foot caught in the door." Harold is captured and confronted by the mayor. "Where's the band?" Mayor Shinn shouts! As the show ends, River City finally has a Boy's Band!