Out of the Shadows Theater presents: 'The Music Man Jr.'

COEUR d’ALENE — Wearing a keen vest and a straw boater hat, Logan Basta is all dressed up with somewhere to go — the spotlight.

"I enjoy singing,” he said. “I’m bringing charm and charisma."

The young actor plays the lead role of Harold Hill in the Out of the Shadows production of "The Music Man Jr.," which opens at the Kroc Center tonight.

Alec Steele, who plays Mayor George Shinn, is feeling pretty good about this year's show. He's acted in every Out of the Shadows Theater production, making this year his fourth.

"I really just like all the positive feeling I get here," he said. "Everyone’s just all happy, especially when I first came here. I got a good warm welcome."

"The Music Man," written by Meredith Wilson, follows the story of Hill, who poses as a band organizer and sells instruments to people, promising to teach them how to play. But he's a con man, not a musician, and intends to ditch the unknowing townspeople without fulfilling his promises.

The show entails a lot of laughs and alliteration, as well as some heartwarming moments.

But the true heartwarming is in the production itself. The nonprofit Out of the Shadows Theater gives special needs and disabled actors a place to shine as they are guided and helped by fully able "shadow" actors, who wear black and keep a script handy as they support their counterparts. In "The Music Man Jr.," which is an abridged version of the full play, 32 actors and 32 shadow actors will share the stage.

"The experience for the audience is incredibly different,” said director Lorna Hamilton “They’re not only witnessing and listening to this really fun music and this story, but they're witnessing an expression of these people who they maybe have written off as not being able to do this magical, artistic endeavor. It’s literally life-changing for many people, as it was — as it is — for me from the very first production."

The annual production has become so popular that it is expanding to two weekends this year.

“There are countless audience members who come up in tears with handfuls of tissues that say ‘thank you’ and they’re just overwhelmed when they see the show,” Hamilton said. "People will be laughing out loud and next to them someone will be crying, and spontaneously people will break into applause. It’s a whole experience for the audience that they get to participate in."

"The Music Man Jr." plays at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday and Nov. 8 and 9. It will also run Sunday and Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and children 15 and younger.

The Kroc is at 1765 W. Golf Course Road in Coeur d'Alene.

Info: www.kroccda.org or 208-667-1865