Flanked by Emily Zawodny (left) and Rowan Creps (right) Christopher Smith (middle, as Marcellus) performs the Shipoopi in a rehearsal of Perrysburg Musical Theater’s production of The Music Man. (Photos: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune)

PERRYSBURG – River City is still under construction on the stage of Perrysburg High School.
When leading lady Sarah Keune sits on a bench, someone calls from the pit. "That paint may still be
wet."
Luckily when she rises her shorts bear no traces of paint.
A week and a half before curtain time, the Perrysburg Musical Theatre’s production "The Music
Man" is still a work in progress.
Director Clark Ausloos said the production – the company’s fourth summer community musical – is at a key
stage.
All the elements are being brought together. The various cast ensembles, including the boy band, the set,
the choreography, and the staging that keep it all in balance.
He’s confident the production will be ready to strut into the high school auditorium when the show opens
next weekend. Show times are 7 p.m. July 31, Aug. 1 and 2, and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee Aug. 3.
Just the simple act of the boys band trooping on stage takes several run-throughs.
Cast member and music teacher Bettie Boswell helps the young cast members, some as young as 7, adjust
their horns. It’s important, members of the production team decide, that they at least hold their horns
well to give the initial impression they know what they’re doing before that’s dispelled by their first
tuneless blast.
Of course, to the boys’ stage parents that bleating is music to their ears.
Pam Williams-Rumer, a retired Perrysburg music teacher, said that "The Music Man" is well
suited for Perrysburg.
"Perrysburg is a lot like River City," she said. "They both have that hometown
feeling."
And just like that boys band, Williams-Rumer said, the musical "gives the community something to be
proud of."
Even the town politics may strike some as familiar.
Ausloos said the Meredith Willson’s classic was a good choice for the troupe’s fourth music following
"Annie," "Sound of Music" and "Joseph and His

Winthrop (right, performed by Gabe Omlor) plays his trumpet to the amazement of Harold Hill (left, performed by Christian Siebenaler), Marian (perfomed by Sarah Keune) and Mrs. Paroo (performed by Pamela Williams-Rumer) during a rehearsal of Perrysburg Musical Theater’s production of The Music Man.

Technicolor Dreamcoat."
First of all, it’s family friendly, and it has plenty of roles for community members, children and
adults. The cast and crew for the endeavor involves about 90 people.
"The show has so many opportunities for different personalities and characters," Ausloos said.

"We don’t go into a show with any preconceptions about casting," Ausloos said. "We start
fresh and see who shows up."
Leads are: Christian Siebenaler as Harold Hill, Frank Weaver as Mayor Shinn and Christopher Smith as
Marcellus.
Ausloos said he enjoys "seeing what they do with these characters. … They see themselves in these
characters." Though the show has a lot of comic exaggeration, the cast members "see the truth
underneath it."
Williams-Rumer said she’s enjoying the role of Mrs. Paroo with her thick brogue and desire to see her
daughter romantically involved. Back before she was so busy with teaching, Williams-Rumer was on stage
more often, including playing Marian the Librarian.
As a young woman she was thrilled to land the role of the ingenue. "I seem to get comic roles now
that I’m older," she said. And that’s all right with her. She enjoys the comic roles where she has
freedom to ad lib on stage.
Even at Tuesday’s rehearsal that spirit was evident. As she tried to make her exit, the yarn her
character was knitting, got tangled.
"I think I’ll snap beans," the actress quipped, as she finally made her way through the door.

While summer can pose problems in terms of vacations, it’s not been a great issue, Ausloos said. For some
students volunteering on the show, this is almost their full-time job.
He said PMT also brings in a top artistic team to oversee the production that includes Williams-Rumer,
who also serves as musical director, Cynthia Blubaugh as company manager, Jesse Simmons as stage manager
and Patrick Barrett as orchestra conductor.
Barrett, Ausloos said, is assembling a full orchestra of adults and students.
That rich orchestral sound is essential for the show, Ausloos said.
"The music is intricate," he said. "There are so many nuances that you need so many
instruments to bring that to life."
That includes the rousing chorus of "Seventy-Six Trombones."