The Music Man is a marvel for many reasons and I'm tired of all of the arguments that West Side Story was robbed of the "Best Musical" Tony that year (1957-58 season). I'm not knocking West Side Story. It's a special show full of artistry and it was certainly groundbreaking for its use of dance in telling the story. The Music Man, however, is a tightly constructed piece of original musical theatre, combining nostalgia, humor, musical pastiche, sentiment and a terrific concept. At the turn-of-the-twentieth-century, a con man masquerading as a traveling salesman sweeps into a small, uptight, midwestern town to sell the folks on the idea that they need a boys marching band. He hangs around just long enough to collect money for instruments and uniforms and plans to skip town. Along the way, he brings the town together, falls in love with the emotionally stunted librarian, and becomes a father figure to her little brother.