Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, a Professor in the Department of Music and an international expert in American musical theatre and film, has received a prestigious award for his role on Meredith Willson: America’s Music Man, a project that grew out of his published research.
In 2021, Prof. Broomfield-McHugh was approached by Iowa PBS, the American equivalent to the BBC, to contribute to a documentary on Meredith Willson, the composer of the Broadway hit The Music Man (1957) and the Christmas classic ‘It’s Beginning to Look (a Lot) Like Christmas’.
Prof. Broomfield-McHugh’s research came to the film makers’ attention following the publication of his monograph The Big Parade: Meredith Willson’s Musicals from ‘The Music Man’ to ‘1491’ by Oxford University Press earlier that year.
They were interested because I was the first person to be given access to Willson’s papers at the Great American Songbook Foundation and his scores at the Juilliard School of Music’s library and archives in New York.
If you want to tell a historical story from a new perspective, you return to the original sources. And they knew I had unique knowledge of that information.
Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh
Director of MA Musicology and Chair of the Disability Staff Network at the University of Sheffield
After an initial meeting with the film’s producer-director Tyler Brinegar, Broomfield-McHugh fast became a key advisor, suggesting interviewees such as legendary Broadway director-choreographer Susan Stroman who could add new perspectives. He also accompanied Brinegar to the archives and drew attention to sources of particular interest.
I was especially keen to draw attention to how the plot of The Music Man, Willson’s biggest success, originally focused on the experiences of a wheelchair user, and how Willson was put under pressure to drop this aspect of the story.
Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh
This aspect of the research in his book inspired a long article in the New York Times in December 2021 and was also incorporated into the documentary.
At every stage of editing, Broomfield-McHugh was involved in making comments and suggestions, from the details of the voiceover narration (delivered by Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Sutton Foster) to the choice of recordings used in the film. In recognition of his contribution, PBS credited him as Associate Producer, a credit that has led to his winning a regional Emmy Award in October 2023.
He attended and introduced special screenings at the New York Public Library and Great American Songbook Foundation in April 2023. And after release in Iowa and on the PBS App, the film will now be seen nationally across America from 1 December, extending the reach of the impact of his research to the largest possible audience.
It was such a surprise to receive such meaningful credit on the film, never mind the honour of winning an Emmy Award. I’m delighted that the work I’ve been doing on behalf of the University of Sheffield has led to recognition through one of the highest honours in American entertainment.
Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh
Thanks to Prof. Dominic Broomfield-McHugh's world-leading research, students within the Department of Music will be able to study topics at the forefront of knowledge on American musical theatre and film.
