星空娱乐官网

Act One

It is the Fourth of July in 1912, and a train is leaving Rock Island, Illinois. A number of traveling salesmen aboard the train gossip about a con-man who goes by the name of 鈥淧rofessor鈥� Harold Hill, and Charlie Cowell describes the man鈥檚 rather unique scam: Harold convinces parents that he can teach their children to play musical instruments in a band, and once he receives the money that is supposedly meant to pay for their uniforms and instruments, he skips town and repeats the same process elsewhere (鈥淩ock Island鈥�). As the train pulls in to River City, Iowa, Charlie scoffs that Harold would never get away with his scam in Iowa because the people are too stubborn. At that, a stranger stands up and exits the train: 鈥淕entlemen, you intrigue me. I think I shall have to give Iowa a try.鈥� He steps off the train with his suitcase, which the salesmen are shocked to see is clearly labeled, 鈥淧rofessor Harold Hill.鈥�

We are now on the bustling Main Street of River City. As