TONY AWARD WINNER
JAYNE HOUDYSHELL
TONY AWARD WINNER JEFFERSON MAYS
TONY AWARD WINNER MARIE MULLEN
TONY AWARD WINNER SHULER HENSLEY
IN
MEREDITH WILLSON’S
QUINTESSENTIAL BROADWAY MUSICAL COMEDY
“ THE M U S I C M A N ”
New York, NY – Producers Scott Rudin / Barry Diller / David Geffen announced the additional cast for the highly anticipated revival of Meredith Willson’s beloved classic, The Music Man starring two-time Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Emmy Award-winning star Hugh Jackman as Harold Hill and two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo. The production, directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, will also star Tony Award winner Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Tony Award winner Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo, and Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn. Performances begin on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 and officially opens on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at a Shubert Theatre to be announced.
One of the most universally cherished treasures of the American musical theater, The Music Man was an instant smash hit when it premiered on Broadway on December 19, 1957. It went on to win five Tony Awards, including the prize for Best Musical, and ran for 1,375 performances. The original cast album held the number one position on the Billboard charts and stayed on the album charts for 245 weeks. The recording won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album. In 1962, the show was adapted into a hugely successful movie, which has remained a classic for over 60 years. The Smithsonian Institution ranks The Music Man as one of the “great glories of American popular culture.”
The Music Man reunites the creative team of the Tony Award-winning and record- breaking revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler, including (in addition to Rudin, Zaks, and Carlyle), four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto (Scenic & Costume Design), six-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), and David Chase (Dance Arrangements). Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick will create Orchestrations, and Patrick Vaccariello joins the team as The Music Man’s Musical Director.
Ms. Mullen is appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance to this production.
B I O G R A P H I E S
Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Shinn) has previously starred on Broadway in King Lear; A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Tony Award nomination); The Humans (Tony Award); Fish in the Dark; Romeo and Juliet; Follies (Tony nomination); The Importance of Being Earnest; Dead Accounts; Bye Bye Birdie; Wicked; and Well (Tony nomination, Theatre World Award). Her Off-Broadway credits include Relevance; The Humans (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble); Harrison,TX; Coraline; The Receptionist; The New Century; The Pain and The Itch; Much Ado About Nothing; Well (Obie). She is the recipient of a 2013 Special Drama Desk Award “for her artistry as an exceptionally versatile and distinctive Broadway and Off- Broadway performer.” Her film credits include Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, Lucky Stiff, Everybody’s Fine, Garden State, Trust the Man, and Bounty Hunter. Television: “The Good Fight," “Quantico,” “American Odyssey,” “Elementary,” “Blue Bloods,” and “Law & Order: SVU.”
Jefferson Mays (Mayor Shinn) recently completed his one-man rendition of A Christmas Carol at the Geffen Playhouse for which he received rave reviews. He was nominated for a 2017 Tony Award for originating the role of Terje Rød-Larsen in the Tony award winning play, Oslo. Mays was also Tony-nominated for his multiple character performance in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, as well as his Tony Award-winning performance in I am My Own Wife, where he played over 40 different roles. He also recently starred as George Hodel in the TNT miniseries “I Am the Night,” directed by Patty Jenkins, and recently had a featured role in the Coen Brothers anthology series, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” Jefferson’s television credits include recurring arcs on FX’s “The Americans;” Cinemax’s “The Knick,” directed by Steven Soderbergh; NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU;” as well as a guest role in the Netflix hit “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
Marie Mullen (Mrs. Paroo) is a multi-award-winning actress who has worked on all four corners of the globe, in many of the world’s most reputable theatres. A founding member of the internationally renowned Druid Theatre Company, she has played a panoply of roles for the company over the past 40 years. Most notably Marie received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the role of Maureen in the Druid production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Other work includes the world premiere of Colm Toibin's monologue Testament for Landmark Productions, Queen Margaret in Richard III, Mommo in Bailegangaire and multiple roles in the DruidSynge, DruidMurphy, and DruidShakespeare cycles all of which received high praise while touring internationally. She has just completed playing the role of Morkan in Druid's production of Epiphany by Brian Watkins and will reprise her role in Richard III at the Lincoln Center White Light Festival later this year. Marie has worked with highly respected directors in tv and film and theatre, notably Charlie Kaufman, Neil Jordan and Garry Hynes.
Shuler Hensley (Marcellus Washburn) is ecstatic to be back on Broadway in a Musical! Most recently appeared in Tony Award-winning The Ferryman at the Jacobs. Other Broadway credits include No Man’s Land (also Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and Waiting For Godot, in repertory, opposite Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Billy Crudup; The Monster in Young Frankenstein (also the U.S. National Tour); Kerchak in Tarzan; Jud Fry in Oklahoma! opposite Hugh Jackman (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Olivier Awards); and Javert in Les Misérables. Recently seen in the musical adaptation of Twelfth Night (The Public Theatre), the Monster in the London premiere of Young Frankenstein, the U.K. Premiere of Sam Hunter’s The Whale (Theatre Royal Bath), and the New Group’s production of Sweet Charity opposite Sutton Foster. Off-Broadway: Assassins (NY City Center Encores!), How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Madison Square Garden), Carousel (Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic), The Most Happy Fella, and Fiorello! (NY City Center Encores!), The Whale (Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards; Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk nominations), Sweet And Sad (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble), That Hopey Changey Thing, and The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Additional credits include the Kennedy Center’s production of The Guardsman, directed by Gregory Mosher; Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County (Alliance Theatre), The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera (Hamburg). Opera appearances include Wozzeck (Curtis Institute Of Music) and Regina (Kennedy Center). Shuler has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony Orchestra. Television credits include: “Murder of a President”, “Shades of Blue,” “Elementary”, “Banshee”, “The Americans,” “Ed,” “Deadline,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Film credits include: The Greatest Showman, After.Life, The Legend of Zorro, and Van Helsing. Proud Equity member. Shuler is also the namesake of the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards and is Associate Artistic Director of City Springs Theatre Company in Atlanta.