
After these and other unsuccessful attempts, Willson invited Franklin Lacey to help him edit and simplify the libretto.

He first approached producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin for a television special, and then Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer producer Jesse L. Willson began developing this theme in his 1948 memoir, And There I Stood With My Piccolo. Meredith Willson was inspired by his boyhood in Mason City, Iowa, to write and compose his first musical, The Music Man.
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It is frequently produced by both professional and amateur theater companies. The show's success led to revivals, including a long-running 2000 Broadway revival, a popular 1962 film adaptation and a 2003 television adaptation. The cast album won the first Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and spent 245 weeks on the Billboard charts. In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances. Prim librarian and piano teacher Marian sees through him, but when Harold helps her younger brother overcome his lisp and social awkwardness, Marian begins to fall in love with him. Harold is no musician, however, and plans to skip town without giving any music lessons. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naïve Midwestern townsfolk, promising to train the members of the new band.

The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey.
