"The Music Man," in author/composer Meridith Wilson's words, is "a valentine to small town America," circa 1912. As with most musicals of the 40s and 50s, the plot is not profound, but it complements the catchy music and lyrics. The play is about a small town in Iowa, the "heart of America," shortly after the turn of the century. Harold Hill, the "Music Man," is a small-time con man whose arrival makes disturbing ripples in the town's serenity and complacency. He comes to take something away from them, but instead gives them something he can hardly discern - joy, camaraderie and the excitement of expectation. At the same time, he tries to make a conquest of the skeptical town librarian, Marian Paroo, but she resists his magnetism and he winds up losing his heart to her innocence and candor.