PHOTO PROVIDED Elizabeth D’Aiuto will perform as Marian in “The Music Man” which will be shown at the Center for the Performing Arts Eisenhower Auditorium on April 7.

PHOTO PROVIDED
The Center for the Performing Arts spoke with Elizabeth D’Aiuto to talk about her national tour debut in the role of Marian in Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” her journey, what it means to her to step into this iconic role and what audiences can expect to take away from the show.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Audiences will soon be swept away by the charm and timeless music of one of Broadway’s classics as the national tour of “The Music Man” online prepares to return to take the stage of Eisenhower Auditorium.

At the center of this traditional production is Marian Paroo, an intelligent and independent librarian who captures the hearts of Harold Hill and the audience.

The Center for the Performing Arts spoke with Elizabeth D’Aiuto to talk about her national tour debut in the role of Marian, her journey, what it means to her to step into this iconic role and what audiences can expect to take away from the show.

Question: How did you first discover your passion for musical theater, and what has your journey been so far?

Answer: So I actually come from a musical theater family … My father comes from a long line of stagehands, and he’s currently working on Broadway himself as a head electrician, and my mother was an actress-turned-theater teacher. So, I was sort of destined to do theater in a way. So, once I told my parents I wanted to do it, they put me in voice lessons, dance lessons and acting lessons. I’ve been seriously training to do this as a career since high school. Then, I attended the Boston Conservatory for musical theater, and I graduated in 2019 right before the pandemic happened. So just as I was starting my career, unfortunately, that happened, but I sort of worked my way through that. I did a lot of work in Florida and Missouri and a whole bunch of other places. I also worked on a cruise ship for a year with Azamara cruise lines, as a signature singer, and that was wonderful. Then I also toured internationally with ‘The Sound of Music.’

Q: What originally drew you to Marian Paroo, and what aspects of her character do you find most compelling?

A: This music was always something that I gravitated towards, and because of that I gravitated towards the character. I first did this show when I was a little kid, and then I did the show again for one of my first regional professional theater contracts. I was a Pick-a-Little lady, and I understudied Marian, and then now it’s full circle. I’m playing her. She was written in such a way that’s so different from everybody else because of her ideals. She’s not interested in what the little ladies are talking about, she has her plan. She wants to support her family, and she doesn’t want to give up her life for a man and I empathize with that, because I don’t want to settle, I want the best for me, and I know what’s the best for me. So, I think that’s sort of what me and Marian share.

I’m paying homage to Barbara Cook, who was the original Marian, and Rebecca Luker, who was the 2001 revival Marian, and to Sutton Foster who did it in 2022. So, I’m sort of taking everything that they had, and I’m making it a mosh-posh of my own. I know I can bring a lot of different things to this Marian. She’s funny, kind of dorky, innocent and vulnerable, and that makes her a real person, instead of just this woman back in 1912 who’s falling in love with a con man. She sees him for what he is, but she’s so grateful to him because of what he’s brought to the town and River City. I think it’s such a wonderful character. I think it’s a wonderful show. The music is gorgeous. I’m so honored to sing it, and I’m really having a great time.

Q: What does it mean to you personally to portray a strong female lead like Marian Paroo on stage? What do you hope that young girls that come to see this show take away from her story?

A: She’s such an independent woman like me, and she is strong. I think back in the day, when Marian could be such an in-the-box character and just a typical Golden Age soprano, but she really is so much more than that. I think that’s something that Matt Lenz, our director, and I were trying to bring out. That she can be this 21st-century woman even back in 1912. I really hope young girls who come to see the show can see that. She’s not going to settle, but it’s okay to be vulnerable, and it’s OK to ask for what you want. It’s truly a life lesson to not read a book by its cover. I think she’s a really strong character, and I hope people from older generations can see that I’m bringing something different to it, and the younger generation will be like, yes, I can really resonate.

Q: Has the way you play Marian evolved over your time on tour? Have you discovered anything new about her along the way?

A: Every single day, and I think that is what’s so magical about theater, because every day, when I’m doing it, and when there’s a new audience, and whatever you’re feeling that day, and you’re bringing into the show you can really find new moments and you’re always discovering things. I’m like, oh, like, wow, that’s something different than I did but that connects to another thing in the show that also connects to another. It’s a blast, really, it is.

Q: Where do you see your musical theater career taking you next?

A: I mean, to be a working actress is the ultimate goal, and to make connections with other people to get you to the next spot in the career is really the goal. But, you know, if I could stay with, if this goes out on another leg, that would be amazing to keep playing her, to keep discovering things. And then, one of my goals is to get to Broadway. So that would be a dream come true if I could get there.

Come see Elizabeth D’Aiuto as Marian Parro in Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, at Eisenhower Auditorium. Visit “The Music Man” online for details and to purchase tickets.

— — — —

Sydney Waldner is a marketing intern at the Center for the Performing Arts.