The Great American Songbook Foundation will host the Indiana premiere screening of a new public television documentary that draws heavily from its vast music archives. Dive deeper into the life and legacy of the renowned Midwesterner, composer, arranger, bandleader, and playwright behind The Music Man in the Iowa PBS documentary, Meredith Willson: America’s Music Man.

Narrated by award-winning Broadway actor Sutton Foster and featuring interviews by Great American Songbook Foundation Founder Michael Feinstein, the documentary premiered in Iowa in February 2023 and will be screened in Indiana for the first time at the Tarkington at The Center for the Performing Arts. Attendance is free for community members. In addition to the film, screening attendees can also expect:

– To view materials on display from the Meredith Willson Papers ranging from early drafts of The Music Man to correspondence and scrapbooks featuring notable figures like President Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, Walt Disney, and more.
– To enjoy a prescreening discussion moderated by Dr. Cary Peñate (Ball State University) with filmmaker Tyler Brinegar (Iowa PBS) and Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh (University of Sheffield, UK), which will provide further insight into Meredith’s career and feature performances of iconic and rarely heard Willson songs by Songbook Academy alumni, Olivia Broadwater and Hayden Elefante.

Special thank you to Heartland Film and WFYI Public Media for partnering with the Foundation on this event, which is part of the WFYI Live event series.