Meredith Willson’s contributions to the Great American Songbook go far beyond his most famous work.
“Today, Meredith Willson is best known for writing ‘The Music Man,’ and if that is all he did, he would be a compelling figure in American music,” Great American Songbook Foundation Executive Director Chris Lewis said. “Willson changed the face of Broadway with innovations that last today. But there is so much more to the legacy of Meredith Willson and his vast contributions to American music.”
The Songbook Foundation will hold Indiana premiere screenings of the documentary “Meredith Willson: America’s Music Man ” at 7 and 8:30 p.m. April 11 at The Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. The later screening was added because of the popularity of the event. The tickets are free and available at thecenterpresents.org.
The documentary premiered in February on an Iowa PBS station. There will be a 6 p.m. discussion before the 7 p.m. screening and one following the 8:30 p.m. show with documentary filmmaker Tyler Brinegar, of Iowa PBS, and guests. The documentary is narrated by Broadway performer Sutton Foster and features interviews with Great American Songbook founder Michael Feinstein.
“(Willson) was a symphonic composer and worked with (Arturo) Toscanini and John Philip Sousa,” Lewis said. “He wrote film scores like ‘The Great Dictator’ with Charlie Chaplin, and he was a star on radio and television. His songs have been performed by everyone from Frank Sinatra to The Beatles. He even wrote the holiday classic, ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.’ There is no denying that Meredith Willson was an important figure in the Great American Songbook.”
Songbook Academy alumni Olivia Broadwater and Hayden Elefante, both Zionsville Community High School graduates, will sing some rarely heard songs that were cut from “The Music Man.”
Elefante will sing “We’re Engaged (Fireworks)” that was cut from the film version of the musical. Broadwater will sing “You Don’t Have to Kiss Me Goodnight,” which was cut from the Broadway production. Broadwater also will sing one of the most beloved songs from “The Music Man,” “Till There Was You.”
“This song happened to be a favorite of iconic actress and singer Doris Day, as evidenced by a letter she sent to Willson which exists in his collection at the Songbook Foundation,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the Songbook Foundation houses the papers of Willson in its archives facility in Carmel, where it holds the collections of more than 300 songwriters and performers who contributed to the foundational era of popular music.
“When The Music Man Foundation was looking for a home for the collection, there were several organizations vying for the opportunity, including the Library of Congress,” Lewis said. “The Songbook Foundation was selected because of our commitment and ability to preserve and process the collection and celebrate and share the legacy of Meredith Willson. We continue to do just that by creating exhibits relating to Willson and his work, as well as our work with authors, journalists, musicologists and filmmakers from around the world.”
Brinegar spent one week in Carmel in 2022 researching Willson’s collection.
“However, that was just the start,” Lewis said. “Our Songbook team then worked remotely with Brinegar throughout production, sending him digitized files from the archives,” Lewis said.
Joining Brinegar will be Dominic Broomfield-McHugh from the United Kingdom to participate in a moderated discussion. Broomfield-McHugh has a long history with the Songbook Foundation, Lewis said. His recently published book, “The Big Parade: Meredith Willson’s Musicals from The Music Man to 1491,” was researched in Carmel at the Songbook Foundation.
The conversation with Brinegar and Broomfield-McHugh will be moderated by Cary Peñate, assistant teaching professor of music history at Ball State University.
Along with the discussion, there will be an opportunity to view artifacts from the Meredith Willson Collection.
