Theater: “The Music Man” starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster

Happy to report that Broadway is far from dead. Despite a pandemic and a bomb cyclone, it continues to pack them in, charming everyone from Texan tourists to Lenox Hill locals.

Seems as if Broadway audiences are as easily charmed as ever—particularly if the charmer is a handsome, fast-talking musical instrument salesman-cum-con-artist named Professor Harold Hill. And the musical is Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” currently in previews at the Bernard Jacobs theater.

As even aliens from the most far-off planet know by now, Harold Hill sneaks into unsuspecting small towns across America (in this case, River City, Iowa). He warns the citizenry that there’s going to be trouble (with a capital T) if they don’t resist the depredations of Pool (with a capital P) and buy uniforms and musical instruments for their kids. Once he grabs their dough, this snake-oil salesman heads for the exit.

It helps if said salesman is played by Hugh Jackman. Ironic, IMHO, that this Australian import calls to mind so many American heroes. He receives an entrance applause (five minutes long) befitting Ty Cobb. His comic skills and light-footedness recall Gene Kelly, proud son of Pittsburgh.

Hill’s only resistance comes from the skeptical Marian the Librarian (the redoubtable Sutton Foster). SF’s razor-sharp wit and dance skills go toe-to-toe with Jackman’s. And her luscious soprano, delivered so beautifully in “Till There Was You,” puts one in mind of the late Rebecca Luker, whom we had the pleasure of seeing as Marian the Librarian in the 1997 Broadway revival.

One of the big wows of this production is the razzle-dazzle, but never excessive, choreography (thank you, Warren Carlyle). “76 Trombones” not only captures the whimsy of the adults miming the playing of instruments but also showcases the talents of the most charming troupe of kids this side of “Our Gang” comedies. A standout is young Benjamin Pajak who plays Marian’s lisping little brother Winthrop, a role originally played by Ron Howard (then known as “Ronny”) in the 1961 movie.

Let us now praise famous Broadway men and women who further liven the festivities: Jefferson Maye as River City’s bumbling mayor, Jayne Houdyshell as the mayor’s wife, as well as

Gino Cascullela (a finalist from “So You Think You Can Dance”) and Emma Crow as the second leads.  And while we’re at it, kudos as well for director Jerry Zaks, who adds freshness to such beloved production numbers as “Marian/Madame Librarian” and “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little.”

Yes, “TMM” is often eye-rollingly corny. The score? Pure Americana. But this slick revival of “The Music Man” will wear down the resistance of even the most cynical New Yorker (points to self) and charm the rest of you. Looking to buy tickets? Reach for your wallet. Before Professor Harold Hill does.