iTunes 12.8.2 hangs on launch in OS 10.11.6

I have an old 2007 MBP 17" that I am trying to set up for my wife to use as an iTunes only music source in her classroom. (I had previously wiped the drive in prep for recycling.) After installing El Capitan 10.11.6, the machine popped up a notification to upgrade software... and I ended up with iTunes 12.8.2 installed. (It also updated Safari to 11.1.2, Remote desktop client to 3.9.3, and Digital Camera RAW to 6.21.) iTunes refuses to launch. I get a pinwheel of death about 2 seconds after the first window appears. Force Quit shows iTunes unresponsive. I even left it over night once. It never came to. Am I missing something? Any ideas?

Thanks,

D