THE MUSIC MAN

The Neil Simon Theater, 250 W. 52nd St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, (212) 757-8646.

THIS could well have been an obituary notice.When I first planned to see “The Music Man” last Wednesday afternoon at the Neil Simon Theater, I intended nothing more dramatic than checking up on the production and its new leading man, Robert Sean Leonard.

Then I heard that the show, unable to get the necessary “disaster” concessions from one of the unions, would almost certainly close this Sunday, making any review – to borrow a Broadway title – a requiem for a heavyweight.

But at the last minute, in the best melodramatic tradition, came a reprieve, as the unions agreed to a pay cut. How long the reprieve will last, no one is saying.

At least those 76 trombones are still leading that Big Parade into next week and, let’s hope, beyond. And Susan Stroman’s fantastically energized and stylish staging of Meredith Willson’s wondrous old musical is still with us.

So how about the show? Well, at that Wednesday matinee, the cast was obviously strutting its stuff with a very particular strut.

At the end, after the cast sang a slightly tear-swept “God Bless America,” the audience – maybe two-thirds full – erupted into a heartfelt standing ovation.

The show is in tip-top shape. Sean Leonard, new to the magical world of musical comedy, makes a most convincing and engaging Harold Hill. He has a brash, shifty charm and a sort of corny, clumsy elegance – and an unexpectedly good singing voice.

He pairs perfectly with the always delicious Rebecca Luker as Marian the Librarian, while the rest of the cast, including Joel Blum as Hill’s amiably rascally sidekick, is just about perfect.

Rush to see this show. This classic Broadway musical is packaged in as classy a fashion as any you’ll see in many a moon.

Move quickly and you might get tickets for half price at the Times Square TKTS booth. Unless you think it’s your patriotic duty to pay full price at the box office – and it is.