Better Than the Original

I know that I have a minority view but I like Broderick's Music Man better than Preston's. Of course, it's a subjective opinion. I'll try to list some reasons:

1. First of all Professor Harold Hill. Matthew was ok as the Professor. Not great, but not so bad. His big problem was that he was compared to Robert Preston. Preston is the ultimate Music Man and noone can be compared to him in that role.

Think of Professor Higgins and who other than Rex Harrison could play that role. Who could play the king better than Yul Brenner? Could anyone be better than Joel Gray in Cabaret?

2. Marion. Hands down, Kristin was better than Shirley Jones. Just a few of her great renditions include: a. showing happiness b. stuck up c. love. She showed great love for Matthew and they had better "love" chemistry than Preston and Jones.

3. Marcellus. I just did not like Buddy Hackett's performance. He's a great comedian but he grated on my nerves - as did Shirley Jones. Check out David Aaron Baker's dancing in Shipoopi. Just great and then the extras emulated his moves which apparently are his own steps. Their rendition of Shipoopi was just great.

4. Mayor George Shinn. Ok, maybe I'm partial to Victor Garber. I actually hated him in Titanic because his performance was so great. He was the greatest "devel" in Damn Yankees. His performance in this movie was also great - not the same, of course as Paul Ford's but it had his own stamp.