Exploring River City: Dramaturgy for The Music Man

by Amrita Ramanan, Literary Manager and Production Dramaturg for The Music Man

When a musical is as rooted in cultural references and ephemera from America's past as Meredith Willson's The Music Man, compiling research for the cast and creative team is quite a daunting task. At its most useful, the research should serve as a jumping off point for the actors and creative team to provide a spark that can help mold a character or inform an aesthetic. In addition, the research should illuminate the director's vision for the production and the contemporary and thematic resonances they want to draw focus to. To best accommodate this, my assistant dramaturgs and I divided our research into five categories - Meredith Willson, Iowa history and culture, the life of the traveling salesman in the early 20th Century, cultural references from America's past, and the history of Arts Education in America -   and began unpacking each topic by reviewing a variety of source material from the Archives Centers at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Library of Congress, books and websites. I've listed the table of contents for our research packet below, and where possible, link to the websites and the books on Amazon.com or the D.C. Public Library. Happy reading!

I. The Original “Iowa Stubborn”: Meredith Willson

• “Meredith Willson” from Encyclopedia Britannica
• “He Knew the Territory” and “The First Step Has Been Taken” from The Music Man
  Square Informational Pamphlet by the Mason City Foundation
• Image of Meredith Willson’s Childhood Home (1910) from the Archives at the Mason City Public Library
• Excerpts from Meredith Willson’s But He Doesn’t Know the Territory
  • Foreword Two – Chapter 1
  • Marian the Librarian and Barbershop Quartets

II. “Dubuque, Des Moines, Davenport, Marshaltown, Mason City”: Iowa History and Culture

• Iowa History from the Iowa Quick Fact Guide Book by Michele Webb
• “Estimate 10,000 Present at July 5^th Celebration” from Adams County Free Press (1937)
• “The Northern Iowa Band Festival” by John Skipper, Band Festival Grand Marshal
• “Mason City” from Encyclopedia Britannica
• Images of Mason City (1935) and the Mason City Band (circa early 1900s) from the Archives at the Mason City Public Library

 III. “Cash for the Merchandise, Cash for the Button-Hooks”: The Life of the Traveling Salesman in the Early 20^th Century

• “A Rare Bird of Passage” from 100 Years on the Road: The Traveling Salesman in
  American Culture by Timothy Spears
• Learning the Trade
  • “Why He Buys No. 9” by the Stevens-Davis Company (1927)
  • “Sales Talk”  and “Rules for Success” from the National Salesmen’s Training Association (1928)
  • “You Are a Salesman” (circa 1920s)
  • “Sales Ginger No. 2” by W.C. Holman from Salesmanship: The Magazine for Business Getters (1905)
  •  “How I Became a Salesman” (1906)
  • Advertisements and Ephemera
    • Advertisement for Marching Band Uniforms from Jos. E. Hess’ Star Clothing House (1915)
    • Image of Salesman Receipt Book from the Boston Store (1927)
    • Image of Salesman Receipt (1878) and Advertisement for Dry Goods (circa early 1900s)
    • Travelling Salesman Job Listing from The Sample Case: A Monthly Magazine for Commercial Travelers (1920)
    • Transportation
      • Maps of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad Co. (1870 – 1960)
      • Train Schedule for the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad Co. (circa 1920s)
      • “Train Travel” from The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life in America
      • Images of Trains (1930s)

IV. An America of the Past

• The Music Man Dictionary: Slang and Turn of the Century References
• Librarians and Library Culture in the Early 20^th Century
  • “No Bark, Very Little Bite” from Censorship and the American Library: The American Library Association’s Response to Theatre to Intellectual Freedom
  • Images of Librarians (1920s – 1940s)
  • Family Consumerism
    • Excerpts from Ward’s Little Catalogue (1931)
    • Manners and Etiquette
      • “The Midwest: Domestic Life” from The Emergence of Modern America, World War I, and the Great Depression, 1900-1940
      • “Youth, Dating and Sex” from American Decades: 1930 – 1939
      • “Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home” by Emily Post (1922)
      • “Into the Land of Talk” from American Decades Primary Sources, 1920 – 1929
      • Fourth of July
        • “Mt. Etna, Bixler Park Will Attract Crowds July 4^th” from the Adams County Free Press (1930)
        • Images of Fourth of July Activities (1920s – 1940s)
        • Pool and Billiards
          • “Things a Beginning Billiard Player Should Know”  and “Pocket and Three Cushion Billiard Leagues Enjoying Huge Success” from the Official Billiard Reporter (1928)
          • “Burrowes Billiard and Pool Table: Rules for Thirty
            Games”
          • The Wells Fargo Wagon
            • “The Wells Fargo Wagon” from the Wells Fargo Website
            • Ephemera
              • Excerpts from Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang (1922)

V. “And There Was Music”: The Arts in America

• Music Education
  • “Music Education in the United States” from Wikipedia