As Hugh Jackman declared in his 2009 Oscars performance, “The musical is back!” Musicals and movie-musicals have lodged themselves in the mainstream consciousness though film productions like Les Miserables (in which the aforementioned Jackman starred) and Into The Woods (an Oscar-nominated adaptation of the Sondheim classic) and various frequent Broadway touring productions, like those at the Aronoff Center. Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conductor John Morris Russell is giving us another angle through which to experience a classic musical, resurrected this weekend. The Pops’ semi-staged performance of 1957’s The Music Man features Broadway veterans Will Chase and Betsy Wolfe in leading roles, plus hundreds of local artists from Playhouse in the Park, CCM’s musical theater department, May Festival Chorus and more. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $20-$103. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, cincinnatisymphony.org.
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2015.