Castaic High School’s theater production of “The Music Man” debuted on May 8, 2024. This play is about a con artist named Harold Hill that acts as a salesman to fool the people of River City into buying musical instruments and uniforms for a non-existent band. Chandon Moon (12)  stars in this production as the sneaky salesman, as well as Sadie Han (12) playing Marian Paroo, the town librarian and piano teacher. 

Throughout Act I, the townspeople fall for the tricks of Mr. Hill because of his charming and upbeat personality that was portrayed by Moon. Marian Paroo on the contrary was not falling for Mr. Hill’s charm, and was reluctant to trust him from the beginning. By the end of the final act, the citizens of River City discover that Harold is a traveling con man with the intentions of taking their money and

ditching town, but an unexpected twist occurs when Mr. Hill starts to fall for the town librarian, and begins to wonder if he should really leave. By the end of the play Ms. Paroo and Mr. Hill declare their love for each other in a song titled, “Till There Was You”. The townspeople forgive Harold for his crimes, and Mr. Hill starts a real band with the school children of River City. 

This production was funny, interesting, and overall entertaining with all of the vocal talent and acting. Angelic would be an understatement when describing Sadie Han’s voice. Every time Han sang, the crowd went silent, eager to hear more from her. One audience member “could’ve mistaken her for a broadway singer if [they] weren’t at a highschool”. Her voice is powerful, yet vulnerable, and she hits every note so effortlessly that you have no choice but to be amazed.

Chandon Moon also took on a challenging role as the fast-talking con man, which cannot be portrayed by the average person. Moon demands the audience’s attention with his exceptional acting, and commanding voice. His stage presence is larger-than-life which makes the audience even further invested in the play.  This production has several catchy songs including “Gary, Indiana” and “Till There Was You”, but Chandon’s favorite song to perform is “Ya Got Trouble” because it really pushed [him] and allowed [him] to grow as an actor” he continues “It’s super tiring but a blast to perform”. 

So much work goes on behind the scenes to prepare for opening night such as costuming, lighting, sound design, prop design, set design and so much more. A member of the lighting and sound crew, Peyton Bigelow, states that the main way the tech crew “prepares for opening night is definitely tech week, which is a week before the first show, and it helps us get any finishing touches in.”  It’s clear that every member of the crew and cast was dedicated to this production and did everything they could to make opening night go as smoothly as possible.

CHS students adored this play, and when asked if they would recommend it to a friend, 9 out of 10 students said they would. Every minute that was spent thinking about, and preparing for this play was one hundred percent worth it. Our CHS theater students, from actors to prop designers are talented, and incredibly gifted with their creative abilities. Overall “The Music Man” was a hit, and really goes to show that hard work pays off.