The New York City Opera production of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” at Lincoln Center’s New York State Theater, is a sad failure. Bob Gunton is a versatile and accomplished actor—I’ve enjoyed watching him in Shakespeare, musical comedy, and contemporary drama. Earlier this season, he even managed to snatch a bit of victory from the jaws of “Roza,” in the unlikely role of a prizefighter turned transvestite. So I had hopes for his performance as Professor Harold Hill; at any rate, there were hopes mixed in with whatever fears I had about seeing anyone other than Robert Preston in the Continue reading

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